Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 165618 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 662(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 165618 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 662(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
As for me, I’d had a long conference comm with Gayle and Laura, informing them what happened with Monique.
There was incredulity, and tears, mostly from Laura, unsurprisingly, because she’d learned our Monique had saved her life.
But they both perked up when I confirmed I was indeed Tanyn’s fated mate.
Laura confessed she and Aleksei had long since thought that was the case with some of the things I’d shared. She just hadn’t mentioned it because she didn’t want to get my hopes up.
That was very sweet, as Laura always was.
And now, considering the state of Berg Castle, it was undeniable.
And mega.
It was safe to say, both Tanyn and I were still coming to terms with the new normal of the castle.
Neither of us understood it, because obviously, all the furniture and fittings had not been the same back when the curse was settled on the structure, so it would stand to reason they had not been magicked.
But all of it was different.
And not different in the sense that just the colors of it had changed.
It was different…
Entirely.
Actually, it looked a lot like what was in the citadel, except more majestic and less worn.
And there was a good deal more of it.
This was not my aesthetic at all.
But Tanyn seemed made for it.
It was all kinds of freaky.
Though you couldn’t deny, it was real. It was there. The other stuff was gone (even the art, which I could not turn my mind to those priceless works being lost in some magical ether, or I’d lose it).
As of now, however, we’d had the storm (or, another one), and we were in a calm.
And as for me, I was learning to get all I could out of these calm times, because we still had no real clue what was going on.
Except all evidence suggested it was way bigger than we expected.
And a whole hells of a lot scarier.
Thus, I knew there were more storms on the horizon.
So I was going to suck as much out of the calm times as I could.
“That didn’t give us a lot of info,” Tanyn complained toward the screen.
“Were you expecting a lot of info?” I asked.
He turned his head toward me. “No. Which is why we’ve got a meeting with an expert from SinBaal University tomorrow. Aleksei is holoing in.”
“Can I be in on that?”
“Of course.”
Right.
So there was that.
Time to hold on to the calm.
“Do you think we can fit in a quickie before the others get here?”
His eyes hooded but his lips said, “First, we’ve had a busy day. We haven’t been able to get into it, so we have to talk about whether you’re upset with me or not.”
What was he talking about?
“Why would I be upset?”
“I knew you were my fated mate.”
Okay.
Old, un-sexed-up, not-having-a-fated-mate-of-my-own, not-knowing-my-very-existence-lifted-a-curse Catla might give him some lip about this.
New, I-was-getting-it-good-and-regular, I-had-a-fated-mate-and-he-was-amazing, I-brought-down-a-curse Catla was cool with it.
Of course, he told me that he’d noticed the snowpack was receding since the time I first entered the castle, and that might have been fun to know.
But, I mean, you tell your mate you love them, say those words for the first time, receive the best kiss in history (said me) and a whole new castle emerges, stone, floors, roof, and furnishings because a curse was lifted…how could I complain about that?
That was fairytale stuff right there.
“I should probably bust your chops,” I remarked. “But kicking demon ass with one of my besties who happens to be a Daughter of the Gods took it all out of me.”
His frown was severe.
He was not a big fan of me reminding him Monique and I had to go it alone.
We were cuddled with Hurley snoozing between us, but I cuddled even closer (and Hurley kept snoozing).
“She was amazing, baby,” I said quietly. “For serious real. And I held my own.”
“They sent you over the edge,” he replied.
Yes.
I’d shared that.
I probably shouldn’t have, because after I did, for a second there, I thought Tanyn—my collected Tanyn—was going to tear the room apart.
But when I shared what the flames had done, he settled down and told me he commanded them (more awesome) and clearly, they served me too (way more awesome).
“What is that place anyway?” I asked belatedly (remember, I’d been dealing with a supremely frustrated, angry fated mate). “I thought it was the stairway to the hells, but even if it’s way down there, the hells didn’t seem very big.”
Tanyn—my collected Tanyn—suddenly appeared uncomfortable.
“What?” I asked.
“Catla…” he let that trail and said no more.
Not a good sign.
I pushed up to a hand and looked down at him (and at this, Hurley stopped dozing and lifted his head).
“What?” I demanded.
Tanyn pushed up to his hand too, took in a deep breath and shared, “It seems a lot of lore is true. That plateau is the gate to the hells.”