Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
“Yeah.”
“You can find a girl so much cooler and hotter than me. Trust me, you’re going to look back on this with relief.”
All he did was stare. “Take care, Elora.”
“You too, Victor.”
With that, he turned around and left.
I watched him walk down the street before I unlocked my front door and stepped inside. Once I hung my coat, I gave a slight jerk, seeing the man seated at my kitchen table. With dark hair and those piercing eyes, he stared, a bottle of scotch in front of him.
“I don’t know the customs of Necrosis, but in HeartHolme, we don’t just enter people’s homes.” I sat across from him at the table and pulled the bottle toward me. Didn’t even bother with a glass. Just took a drink straight from the bottle and gave a cringe as it burned on the way down.
“Victor isn’t taking the breakup well, is he?”
“It’s not a breakup,” I said quickly. “We were never together in the first place. And you heard all that?”
He pulled the bottle toward him, gave a slight nod, and then took a drink.
Which meant he’d heard everything else. Shit.
“So, who else thinks I’m hot?”
Gods, the humiliation. “Ian.”
His eyebrows immediately furrowed. “That’s flattering.”
“He’s straight. Meant it in a different context.”
“Good.” He took another drink. “Glad I don’t have to break his heart the way you just broke Victor’s.”
I rolled my eyes. “He’ll be fine. I just made another woman very happy.”
He slid the bottle back toward me then rested his arms on the table. Those vibrantly colored eyes stared into mine with a quiet stillness, a depth that couldn’t be perceived by the naked eye. He held the contact effortlessly, his eyes not shifting back and forth, absolutely motionless.
I grabbed the bottle and took another drink, mainly just to brush off his heated stare. “Ian agreed to the plan.”
“Really? That seems unlikely.”
“Are you calling me a liar?”
“Yes. Just trying to be gentle about it.”
I set the bottle down and slid it back toward him. “He knows it’s our only option.”
“There’s always another option. If our positions were reversed, my decision would be the same. Would never allow my sister to travel alone with a monster that feeds on souls to retain his own immortality.”
“But you aren’t like them.”
“That’s what I say—but how can you ever really trust me?”
“Well, I think it’d be pretty lame for you to jump through all these hoops just to eat me at the first opportunity. Seems like a lot of work for a very small payoff.”
He cracked a subtle smile but pulled it back instantly.
“And I’d like to see you try. I’d kick your ass.”
The smile returned, bigger than it was before. “You underestimate my strength.”
“No. You underestimate mine.”
His lips returned to their straight line, and his eyes focused on my face with greater intensity than before. “When do we leave?”
“Tomorrow?”
“How will you handle Ian?”
I shrugged. “We’ll just leave.”
“I think your brother deserves better than that. He deserves the chance to say goodbye.”
My eyes narrowed on his face, taking in the somber expression. “Why do you care so much?”
“Because I know what it’s like to be an older brother. We don’t leave until we have his permission, and we don’t leave until you say goodbye.”
THIRTEEN
Elora
The next morning before the sun was up, Bastian and I entered the castle and found my brother in his study.
He finished his note with his quill before he rolled it up and stamped it with a seal. “I sent the missive to Huntley this morning. Not sure if it’ll make it there in time.” He rose to his feet and gave me his authoritative stare. He was different when someone else was in the room, especially someone of Necrosis.
“Make it there in time?” I asked.
“His last letter said they would take Minora immediately,” he said, moving around the desk. “They may have already departed Delacroix.”
Shit, I hoped not.
He stopped in front of us, giving Bastian a cold look. “I gave you my answer, Elora. If you’re here to convince me otherwise, you’re wasting my time as well as yours. And we both know we have more important shit to do.” The accusation was in his gaze, as if Bastian were responsible for this meeting.
“I wanted to sneak out this morning, but Bastian refuses to leave without your permission,” I said. “So, you can stop looking at him like he’s an asshole.”
Ian turned back to me. “I never would have forgiven you if you’d pulled that stunt.”
“Your forgiveness won’t matter if we all die.” All the pieces on the map were in motion, and we only had a finite amount of time until disaster struck. “I need to do this, and you know it.”
Ian shifted his gaze back to Bastian.
“If Bastian meant me harm, we wouldn’t be here right now.” He’d have no problem sneaking out of the gate and getting me alone.