Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Marie actually laughs out loud. “I wouldn’t say anything you’ve been through has been easy, dear.”
“Well, I know.” I try to figure out how to say what I mean without stumbling over the words. “I know my life has been difficult. I know what I went through was unfair. I know what the Order did was wrong. Like, I know all that.” I sweep my hand toward the closed library doors and the hallway that seems to stretch on forever. “But this? You’re just giving it to me after what I just did…” I open my mouth, but I can’t get the rest of the words out.
“Like I said, the universe has a way of working things out. You’re used to having to fight tooth and nail for even the bare minimum of normalcy,” she says as we start walking again. “I have access to this, and I’m offering it to you. Sometimes good things really are just that simple. Sometimes things do go right.” She looks at me. “Stop looking for a reason for it to go wrong, because if you don’t find one, you’ll make one.”
“I agree,” I tell her. “I’m still having a hard time accepting this.”
“Just like you’re having a hard time accepting that your vampire husband acted out of love and not selfishness.”
My brows go up and my mouth opens and closes, but I have no idea what to say.
“I told you.” She gives me a playful nudge. “My intuition doesn’t lie. While he acted without your consent, he does love you.”
“But isn’t that wrong?”
“Yes,” she says simply and takes a slow step forward. I fall into step beside her. “I feel like this could be one of those, if it’s wrong, I don’t want to be right, situations, which sounds cliché, I know. But isn’t that the kind of love we all want? Someone who would do anything for us…even the things we can’t do ourselves but know have to be done.”
“I thought you wanted to find a way to keep you-know-who in the you-know-what,” I say, startled that she’s basically agreeing with Xavier forcing me to save myself by freeing the demon.
“I did,” she tells me with a nod. “But I also would’ve told you to do the same thing if it came down to it. Once you lose your soul…” She looks away, slowly shaking her head. “You can’t get it back, Wren.”
“I mean, if something can be taken, can’t it be given back?”
“Can you get your virginity back?”
“I guess when you put it that way…” I let out a breath. “Well, I still have a soul, and you-know-who is now on the loose.”
“As he was once before.” She reaches out and takes my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “That’s why you’re here. With your own kind. We’ll figure something out.”
I try to drop my guard and get a good read on her like I do with other humans. Maybe it’s because she’s a witch, or maybe it’s because she has no ill intentions at all, but I can’t pick up on anything right now.
“I just don’t understand why you’re helping me,” I tell her honestly.
“There are good people in this world,” she says. “You’re one of them. Why do you kill demons that otherwise wouldn’t affect you? A monster in California isn’t going to impact your life at all here in North Carolina, yet you travel and put yourself out there, anyway.”
“It’s…” I hesitate. “It’s my job.”
“The Order isn’t what it used to be,” she begins, “it was formed because people wanted to make a difference. They wanted to help others. It doesn’t even have to be supernatural. Look at all the people in the world who become doctors, nurses, firefighters, teachers, police officers… Most of them don’t do it for the money. Most of them do it because they feel the need to make a difference.” She glances at me. “And if it makes you feel any better, maybe I do have a slightly selfish motive. I don’t want this demon out either. My personal theory is that your family targeted demons who went after witches. Many demons seek out other magical creatures because they have ways of gaining our powers.”
“What?” I ask, even though I heard her clearly. “I thought our powers died with us.”
“They do. When a vampire tries to turn a witch into a vampire, they’re basically murdering her and bringing her back from the dead. The witch she was dies, and she rises as something new, with a different type of magic coursing through her veins. The magic she could wield before is gone.” She pauses and looks at me as we continue to walk slowly down the hall. “But demons aren’t vampires. They operate on an entirely different wavelength. To put it simply, they have ways of taking our powers and using them for themselves.”