Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 130619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Gabriella steps in front of him and pokes his chest. “Feels so soft, I guarantee you she’s going to hurt you.”
He catches her hand. “Don’t be a bitch. I’m not soft.”
“You’re the bitch. Soft little bitch.”
Oh my, I think. These two have something between them. Either they’ve fucked, or they want to fuck, and it’s so ripe in the air, it’s all but setting it on fire for me.
“You want to see a bitch?” Silas demands, and he lifts her up so high she’s at his face level. She lifts her hand, and water splatters all over his face.
I can’t help it. I laugh while he sets her down and uses his magic to dry himself off. “Careful there, you little water witch. One day I’ll make you pay.”
“Doubtful,” she rebuts and waves at me. “See you tomorrow.” And with that, she rifts away, apparently not staying for the show after all.
Silas runs a hand through his blond hair and grins. “She makes me wet.”
“Did you really just say that, Silas? That was bad, so very bad.”
He wiggles an eyebrow. “I couldn’t resist.” He rifts from where he stands to right in front of me. “Want to fight about it?”
Silas is a heartless beast who I both love and hate for training me with such viciousness. Every time I fell down, he’d scream at me and tell me I’d be dead right now if he were a demon. Every time he held a blade to my throat, he’d tell me I was dead, and so was everyone else I could save by being better.
And he was right.
But I held my own. I got stronger and better. The more I reached for my magic, the more in touch I was with Sara.
But in the aftermath of our little training session, I’m beaten and bleeding to the point that I can’t control my magic. I attempt to rift back to my room and end up outside the door instead. I’m weak and not sure how I’ll be ready for the morning with Micah in the forest. I can’t even open the door. I try, but my knee is badly injured, and every muscle in my body aches. I need a minute, maybe a long minute. I turn to lean on the door, sinking down to the ground, even the idea of attempting another rift is too much. I lean my head back and shut my eyes.
The door next to mine opens, and I can feel the shift in the air. I can smell the earthy scent of him. He curses, and I blink Micah into view to find him squatting down in front of me, his eyes so blue I could swim to blessed relief in them. “What the hell was Silas thinking?” he murmurs. “I’m going to beat his ass.”
“No,” I say weakly. “No. I told him—I wanted—to be pushed.”
“This is beyond pushed. Let’s get you in the room.”
In my mind, I hold up my hand, but my hand doesn’t actually move. “I’m just resting.”
He reaches for me, and a moment later, I’m sitting on the edge of the bed with him kneeling in front of me. “I started you a bath. The hot water will help.” A small vial appears in his hand. “I need you to drink this.”
It’s purple and thick. “What is it?”
“It’s called nectar, made from a magical soto fruit that grows in the kingdom and promotes faster healing. Down it like a shot.”
With a shaking hand, I do as I’m told, and he takes the empty container, and it disappears. It tastes like honey, and it’s thick on my tongue. “How fast does it work?”
“It starts working fast. You’ll wake up much better tomorrow, but you need sleep for it to fully do its job. Let’s get you in that hot bath.” He stands and takes me with him, scooping me into his arms and carrying me toward the bathroom.
When he sets me down in front of a full bubble bath, my aching body is ready for relief. “I’ve got it from here,” I say, but when his arm wraps around my waist, I welcome the support.
“I got you, sweetheart.”
I’m not sure how I can ache with the pain of the damage to my body and still ache with a need for this man. “How many women do you call sweetheart?”
“Only you. Let me help you undress.”
“No,” I say, a lift to my voice I wasn’t capable of minutes before. Could the nectar be helping me already? “This is not how you’re seeing me naked for the first time, Micah.”
His eyes light up. “That statement implies you have plans for me to see you naked another time.”
“When the serpent is gone.”
“There’s no serpent in Elysium.”
“We both know that’s not true. If he’s back when we leave, he’s still inside me. He’s just bound, like my wolf was until we got here.”