Total pages in book: 401
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
“I couldn’t find Millicent,” he explained, holding up his hands.
“So, you got him?” I demanded in a low voice.
“Actually, no.” Malik’s posture was as stiff as mine. “I heard he was looking for Millie. I decided to see why.”
“I didn’t tell him anything,” Emil said.
“Much to my annoyance,” Malik added. His gaze flicked to the cell door once more. “I have a lot of questions.”
“And I just need to see Millicent.”
His gaze narrowed on me. “Before you tell me why you’re down here—”
“Wasn’t planning to do that.”
He ignored me. “You’re going to tell me what the fuck is up with your eyes.”
It took me a moment to figure out what he was talking about. My eyes. Of course. He was just now seeing the brighter aura of eather. “It’s nothing.”
“Are you for real right now?”
Crossing my arms, I arched a brow.
“You have strands of eather swirling around your irises, Cas. In case you need a reminder, they weren’t there before.”
“I don’t need a reminder, but thanks. Where is Millicent?”
The taste of his annoyance was prickly and faintly acidic. “Why do you have Poppy down here?”
“What makes you think she’s down here?” I countered as Delano’s gaze darted nervously between us.
“Why would you be here if she’s not?” he challenged.
Fuck. Was the motive behind my presence that obvious?
The answer was yes.
A muscle began ticking in Malik’s temple, just like our father’s did when he was annoyed. He moved closer. “Cas,” he said, his voice low. “Gods. I know things between us are tense…”
“Understatement of the year,” Emil murmured.
Malik shot him a look of warning. “But some shit has clearly gone down, and I’m concerned.”
“There’s no need.”
“And I’m not the only one. So is our father.” Malik waited for me to respond. When I didn’t, he stiffened even more before stepping back. His gaze moved to the dimly lit corridor, flickering over the closed iron doors. The skin at the corners of his mouth tightened before he masked whatever he was feeling, but the tangy, almost bitter taste of anguish coated my mouth. “Fine. Whatever,” he said. “I have no idea where Millie is.”
My brows raised. “Really?”
Malik’s jaw flexed, and it took a couple of heartbeats for him to answer. “She left.”
I eyed him, frowning. “Then why are you here?”
A dry laugh left him as he looked away, the corners of his mouth tightening more. “The last time I chased after her, she made it abundantly clear that she didn’t want me to do that.”
I had no idea what had gone down between them or why Malik refused to tell Millicent they were heartmates, but I did remember him telling me that she hated him. It wasn’t like that was something I could forget. But now wasn’t the time to figure out the reasons behind that.
The Rev was dead.
Millicent was missing in action.
And Reaver still hadn’t returned.
Fuck.
Without saying another word, Malik turned away—
Fuck. “She’s awake.”
Malik stopped.
I glanced over at Emil and Delano. The latter no longer watched us as nervously. I took another deep breath. “But she doesn’t completely remember who she is.”
My brother spun. “What?”
“It was something Nektas warned us could happen,” I said, my jaw flexing. “I moved her down here so she…” I cleared my throat. “So she wasn’t so close to others.”
Malik stared, appearing as if he were at a loss for what to say. He turned at the waist, then faced me as he brushed the strand of hair back from his face. “Did the draken say how long she would remain this way?”
I shook my head.
He was quiet for a moment. “Damn, I…” Swallowing, he looked down. “I’m sorry, man.”
I tensed. Every part of me wanted to reject his sympathy because it meant there was a reason for it. I managed a curt nod, and Delano rose and came to where I stood. He sat, leaning into my side.
“Why did you want to see Millie?” Malik asked. “You think—?”
We all felt the shift in the atmosphere at the same time. A powerful charge of energy thinned the air, stroking the essence inside me as Delano rose to all fours, his ears flattening.
I spun toward the cell door, and Malik was beside me in the blink of an eye. “You can’t go in there,” I told him.
“And you can?”
“Yes.”
His nostrils flared. “That’s a Primal god who doesn’t recognize—”
“Uh, guys?” Emil interrupted. “I don’t think it’s Poppy. Because there’s a…ball of light.”
Malik’s gaze met mine, and we both turned. In the center of the narrow hall, a small orb of silver eather grew, crackling and spitting thin tendrils of essence.
“What the…?” Malik muttered as the fur along Delano’s back rose.
A guttural snarl erupted from the wolven as he prowled forward, head lowered. Emil’s hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword.
The realm was opening before us. I just hoped it was whoever Reaver had reached and not someone about to make an enemy of me.