Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 117510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
“His recent actions would suggest otherwise, baby.”
She scrubbed a hand down her face. “It doesn’t even make sense that he’d work with Alethea. You’ve been in his head; you say he wants me. Why would he have ever worked with someone who would have loved to see me dead?”
“I don’t believe he was working with her, I believe he was using her. We agreed that the Horseman probably lied to Alethea about his plans. Maybe Drew told her that he wanted you dead. That would have gained him her cooperation. In using her, he also kept her away from you.”
“What about Heidi, Knox? The Horseman arranged to have her kidnapped so that she could be used in a damn ritual. No matter how much Drew wants to be a Prime, he would never hurt Heidi. I firmly believe that.”
“So maybe, unknown to him, it was Alethea who chose Heidi. Maybe the reason that there wasn’t another attempt to snatch her was that he disapproved of Alethea’s choice. But don’t be so sure he wouldn’t harm Heidi. You said Drew was a decent person who would never try to break up a family, but he did. He tried to turn you against me. Tried to convince you to leave me. And he spoke of our son as if Asher were a thing, not a person. Does that really sound like the Drew you thought you knew?”
She swallowed. “No. No, it doesn’t. I just wish that—” The jet jerked to the side, struck by something hard. “What the—?” She cuddled Asher tight, eyes wide, mentally fumbling as the jet shook. Swayed. Tipped to the side. And then they were falling.
Jaw hard, Knox let out a wave of raw power that punched a hole through the jet. “I’ll get the others. Go!”
Harper called to her wings, tightened her arms around an alarmed Asher and—hating that she had to leave Knox behind but trusting him to get himself to safety—shot out of the aircraft like a bullet out of a gun. The air whipped at her hair and face, almost taking her breath away. They were above an island that neighbored theirs, she realized, and—
Something slammed into her wing, sending her dipping into the trees. Her wing got caught on a branch, yanking her backwards so sharply that it felt like someone was trying to pluck the wing stem right out of her back. Grinding her teeth through the blinding pain, she wrenched free, wincing as the branch tore a long, wide strip through her wing.
Panicked, Harper flexed her back muscles hard. Yet more pain assaulted the stem, and her injured wing failed her. Knox, we’re going down! All she could do was helplessly and shakily glide her way down, navigating her way through the tight clusters of trees.
As they neared the ground, she curled herself even tighter around Asher and snapped her wings around them to cushion their fall. It helped, but her head still connected hard with the spongy moss ground. Stars burst behind her eyelids and fiery pain knifed through the stem of her injured wing, making the breath explode out of her lungs.
She heard a sob build in Asher’s chest, but the sound seemed so very far away. “Shh, baby,” she whispered, voice lacking in strength, head spinning. “We’re fine. Let me get a good look at you.” But even as she said it, she could do no more than loosen her hold on him before the darkness pulled at her. She fought it, she really did, she fought it so fucking hard … but it was mere moments before it swallowed her whole.
Knox felt it the moment that Harper lost consciousness—his own vision darkened around the edges, making him almost lose his footing on the moss-covered earth. His heart leaped, and his ribs suddenly felt too tight as panic tore through him.
Baby, don’t fucking do this to me. Wake the fuck up. He had no chance of sounding gentle when a soul-wrenching terror was strangling him with a vice-like grip.
Pulse racing, Knox touched Asher’s mind and felt vibes of fear, confusion, and shock. But no pain, to his utter relief. That didn’t calm Knox’s demon—the entity was going fucking insane.
Knox soothingly brushed his mind over Asher’s, trying to ease his anxiety. It’s okay, I’ll find you, he said, hoping the reassurance in his tone would somehow comfort his son.
Asher’s mind slid against his own, cold and composed, and he knew it wasn’t Asher responding to him. It was his son’s inner demon, giving him the “impression” that it would keep Asher safe. That would have to be enough for now.
Knox scanned the area, as if he’d miraculously see some sign of Harper and Asher. He didn’t. Hell, they could have been twelve feet away and he probably wouldn’t have noticed, since the undergrowth was so dense. Ropy vines curled around thick tree trunks and draped over branches that boasted long-ass leaves. If he’d thought it would help, he’d fly over the island in search of them, but the canopies were too thick—he could easily skim right over Harper and Asher without knowing it.