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)
I lower my hand. It stays there, hovering above me. I take my purse off and reach into the leather bag containing the notebook. I pull it out and flip through the names over and over again. Then I close it and hold it against my chest, hoping I’ll get some sort of vision or something that tells me what to do. Instead of a vision, another familiar feeling comes over me.
I open my eyes and see Xavier standing only a few yards away. His brows are pinched slightly together with concern, but his face lights up when our eyes meet.
My heart skips a beat in my chest, and I get to my feet, setting the notebook down on the bench beside me.
“Hi,” I say.
He comes over and wraps his arms around me.
I melt into his embrace, hooking my hands around his shoulders and leaning into him. His cool, firm body is the pillar of strength I need to stay upright at this exact moment, and we just stand there quietly holding each other.
“I walked through a portal and visited a Covenstead in New Orleans,” I tell him, leaning back just enough to look into his beautiful blue eyes.
“I think I’m beyond the point of asking if you’re serious,” he says, his lips curving into a slight smile, “because I’m pretty sure you are.”
“Serious as a heart attack.”
“What is a Covenstead?”
“To be honest, I don’t really know how to explain it.” I think for a second. “It’s like a little hidden town, I guess. There’s a school and a bar and a graveyard and maybe some houses, but it was dark, so I couldn’t see too far. Plus, Marie didn’t want to keep me out too late.”
Xavier just looks at me, unmoving, for several seconds, eyes holding back emotions he’ll never admit to me. Or maybe himself. It’s a fear of him not being able to offer me what I fully deserve.. Then he asks, “Do you want to go back?”
“I do,” I say honestly. “I want to learn how to use my powers fully. I want to be around other witches. I want to know more about my family. And most importantly, I want to learn how to trap Vaelric again.”
“Okay,” he says simply.
“But I don’t want to tonight,” I add. “I’m tired.”
Xavier just nods, and I can tell by his stoic expression that he’s trying hard to keep his emotions at bay. His hands slide down my body before he shrugs off his suit jacket and drapes it around my shoulders. It isn’t chilly at all tonight, and there’s no humidity, making it rather pleasant. But the mosquitoes are terrible.
“This is neat,” he says apprehensively, poking at the little ball of light hovering beside our heads. His fingertip burns when it touches the bright energy and then instantly heals. He looks at his finger, then back at the light. “It feels like sunlight,” he tells me.
“Sunlight has a specific feeling?”
“Yes,” he says. “And it’s probably something I can’t explain either.”
He holds his hand beneath the floating ball of energy. The light itself doesn’t seem to affect him. It only hurts when he physically touches it.
“You know, the first time we were here, I hated you,” I say, looking around the garden.
“You can still hate me,” he says. “Like I told you, you just have to be alive to do it.”
“I probably should.” I look into his blue eyes, feeling my breath hitch in my chest. “But I don’t. I can’t. Not even if I tried.”
“Then try harder.” His eyes cloud over, reflecting the same angst I’m feeling.
“It’s not possible,” I whisper, and Xavier brings a hand up, fingers slowly trailing up my arm, causing me to shiver. “And I’d be a hypocrite if I did.” I look down for a second. “I didn’t want to live without Antonio. I don’t want to have to suffer the loss of my brother.” I look back up at him. “I would say we’re all human, but I know you’d counter that.” I’m trying to inject even the smallest bit of relief into an otherwise heavy conversation.
“There’s a part of humanity in us that never dies, I suppose.” He steps closer, his fingers going to my chin as he gently tips my head up and kisses me. Tingles make their way down my spine, and I step closer, needing to feel him fully pressed against me.
“I am sorry,” he says softly. “Not for what I did, but for everything that’s going on. I will never regret choosing you, Florence.” Tears well in my eyes, and I wrap my arms tighter around him. Xavier picks me up and carries me over to the bench where I’d just been sitting.
Pushing his tongue into my mouth, he holds me tight against him, with my breasts crushing against his hard chest. Heat floods through me and any anger I was feeling melts away.