Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109329 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109329 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
“Queen of crooked lines.”
“Sounds about right.”
“Head ringmaster.”
“I think it’s just ringmaster. I don’t think there is more than one?”
“For this circus, there might need to be.”
He laughed again.
We walked quietly for a time, hearing the throb of insects around us. My magic fanned out, picking up little creatures scurrying in the night and a couple basajaunak lounging in the trees. Gargoyles flew above us, starting to disappear into the night sky.
“This is the last push to prove myself to shifters,” he murmured, his deep voice blending into the coming evening.
“Not at all. You will undoubtedly win some over at the conclave, and then we can keep at them just like we’re doing with the gargoyles. We’ll get them in the end, Austin. We’ve proven to be very good at dogged determination.”
He breathed out a laugh. “We are…but that’s not what I mean. I’ll prove myself here, without allowing anyone any doubt about my power…and then I’ll take the magic.”
Shivers washed over me.
“About time,” Ivy House said.
“Shh!” I waved her away.
He gave me a confused look.
“No, sorry, not you. Ivy House.” I waved that away too, stopping on the darkening sidewalk. I turned to him. “You’re going to take the magic? My magic?”
“The Mate Protector’s magic, yes. With Tristan and Sue and now Aljoe, there is enough power to pull me down if…I lose myself to…whatever always sucks at you.”
I reached up to put a palm against his cheek. “I will stop you from losing yourself, Austin. I will keep you grounded, just like you always keep me grounded. But…are you sure?”
A humorless smile pulled at his lips. He looked deeply into my eyes. “No. But it’s time. That magic is there to help me protect you, and it feels like I’m going to need that very soon. This feels like…the calm before the storm, Jess. A lull while Momar regroups. You’ve got the gargoyles. I need to prove myself to the shifters, and this conclave is my chance. After this, it’s time to go after the mages. Friend or foe, it is time to meet them on their turf, and for that, I need whatever help Ivy House can give me. I’ve decided that after the conclave, I will finally take that magic, come what may.”
I put my free hand against his other cheek, holding his face softly. “It’s forever. You’d be tying yourself to me forever.”
His gaze roamed my face. “I’ve already tied myself to you forever, Jacinta. In multiple ways, all anchored firmly to the very deepest part of me. I have always struggled with the darkness within me, you know that. I worry this will tip me. It’ll spin me to a place I can’t keep control of. I want assurances that I can be put down if—”
I covered his mouth with my hand. “Stop. Don’t be absurd. I struggled with the darkness because I was a Jane, Austin. I didn’t know magic, and all of a sudden I was enclosed in this dark creature. But you already know what that’s like. You’ve wrestled with it all your life, and you’ve bested it. Now you’ll add different magic to the mix. What kind, we don’t know, but as long as you don’t lose your head and try to steal my magic, then we’re okay. We’ll confront this together, and we will come out the other side. We will be two weirdos who got their magic from a house, except you’ll probably still be able to teach people how to form a line.”
His lips moved against my hand, in a smile and then a kiss. His eyes looked worried. He nodded silently.
“But you don’t have to take it if you’re not sure,” I said, pulling my hand away and hooking my arms around his neck.
“Yes, he does,” Ivy House said.
I rolled my eyes at her.
“She told you I do, huh?” He gave me a small smile and pulled me in a little tighter. “She’s right. I do. If it means I can protect you even a little bit better, it is worth the risk.”
“You’ve done all this to protect me already. I’ve turned your life upside down, Austin.” I shook my head at him. “I stripped you of a nice, peaceful, quiet life and then basically shoved you at a coming war. If you’re not a hundred percent sure, then you shouldn’t do it. You can always take it down the road if you want. It doesn’t have to be now.”
He laughed sardonically. “Peaceful life? I was hiding here, Jess. I told myself it was for the best, but I was fooling myself. I was being a coward. You woke me up. You nudged me into reaching for the stars, and because of that, I reconnected with and then saved my family. I owe you everything, all that I am. You cannot imagine the suffering I would’ve endured if my family had been taken down by Momar and I’d done nothing. If I hadn’t been there when he needed me, or even known about it until after, it would’ve…”