Total pages in book: 194
Estimated words: 187021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 935(@200wpm)___ 748(@250wpm)___ 623(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 187021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 935(@200wpm)___ 748(@250wpm)___ 623(@300wpm)
“I didn’t think you’d dress up,” she teased to keep from falling to her knees at his feet.
His head lifted at her voice, and he stilled as if all the air had been sucked out of the room.
His eyes dragged down her frame, from the crown atop her head to her bare neck to the scandalous dress, which suddenly made so much more sense. The sheer material molded to her body, revealing every inch of her from collarbone to high-heel-clad feet. Handsewn onto the plunging neckline were branches made from a gold overlay that shimmered as it discreetly climbed its way from the long, trailing skirt up her center and across her chest. The branches came together at the top of the garment to make one strap that looped around her neck, leaving her entire back open. And every inch of her exposed skin had a soft, golden shine.
“Come here,” he said, holding a hand out.
She took the remaining steps down and set her hand in his. She was still a head shorter than him even in the heels. Her head tipped back as he drew her to him.
“My wren.” His eyes dipped to her mouth. “You are a vision.”
She swallowed, running a finger down the gold branch that led to his chest. “You look like you’re ready for mischief.”
“With you? Yes,” he said, slipping an arm around her waist and drawing her closer. “With the party? It’s the wrong M-word.”
She laughed despite herself. “Now, now, no murdering anyone. We don’t want to break the Monster Treaty.”
“Don’t we?” he teased.
“Stealing is okay. Murder only under duress.”
His lips quirked in appreciation. “Your morals are astounding.”
“At least I have some.”
He tipped his head to the side. “Morals get in the way of a good time.”
Kierse couldn’t help but laugh. She knew who she worked for—Graves was the villain of everyone else’s story. The monster prowling through nightmares. At some point he’d embraced that fact. And while she knew him to be so much more, she wondered what exactly had gone so wrong that had convinced him of it.
“We shouldn’t keep George waiting,” Graves said, pressing the button for the elevator. They were swept down to his basement garage. Kierse’s eyes lingered briefly on the closed and sealed door that held the spear, wishing for a moment that she could bring it with her.
George had the back door to the limo open and waiting. Graves got in first because there was no way to slide across the seat in this dress. She gathered her train and took a careful seat. Graves’s eyes were fastened on her as they came out of the tunnel and into the city beyond.
During the war, there hadn’t been any traffic at all after the sun went down. It wasn’t safe to be out, even in a car. Now, they merged into a row of cars. Kierse could see lights still on in office buildings as they passed through the city. A few people were even walking together down well-lit streets.
“What do you think of all of this?” she asked, gesturing beyond the safety of the limo.
“It’s returning to normal.”
“Is that what it feels like to you?”
“No,” he said simply. “It feels like a calm before the storm.”
Same as what Nate had said.
She so desperately wanted it to be the first option. That monsters and humans were getting along. The city was renewed. The world made sense again. But how did a world heal from a scar that deep?
Graves’s hand touched her bare wrist. “How go your mental barriers?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Fine. But I don’t like them.”
“You should try to keep them up tonight. May I test them?”
She nodded and then reached for the black wall she put up in her mind that was supposed to keep anyone from accessing her thoughts. With a breath, she pulled her absorption back.
Graves’s magic came up against that black wall, and like smoke it blew away at the smallest prodding. The vision she saw was him, exactly as he had looked as she descended the stairs. The way he had been stunning and dangerous and how she had never been more captivated.
She shut it off. “I failed instantly.”
“I did warn you that you would likely never be strong enough to keep me out,” he said with no bravado. “Let’s try a different approach. You can work on a wall, or you can stick to a single memory. That way, when someone gets into your mind, instead of nothing they see only what you want them to see. Sometimes it’s easier to focus on that than on shielding.”
“Okay,” she said. She’d read that in the book. She tried reaching for a mundane memory. “Ready.”
Graves touched her, and he stepped into the memory. It showed Kierse breaking into a small bank vault. She used to do it methodically, like taking apart and reassembling a gun. Break the vault, put it back together, break it again. Until her fingers could do it with her eyes closed.