Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
“That’s probably for the best,” Austin said. “None of them would add to our power. But you heard what Niamh said—your power and Elliot Graves’s interest in you will be talked about. It’ll lend credibility to the stories about your evading Momar. That’ll interest mages with more power and more influence than Arthur and his friends, who will hopefully also want a change in the mage dynamic. This is a steppingstone. We have to believe that.”
I nodded, trudging through the sand now, grumpy. “I know. I’m just really annoyed. Nessa was in the house and she didn’t even say hi. Or leave me a note. Not to mention she never sends me messages through that phone. You don’t just cut off friends, especially when you’re the reason that friend is messing with mages in the first place.”
“I think the phone has something to do with Tristan.” He recounted what Tristan had apparently told him about tracking her.
“Ah. He never mentioned it.”
“He’s piecing everything together as we go.” He swung our joined hands. “And if she tries to cut us off, we’ll hopefully be one step ahead of her and save her from herself. It’s all going to work out okay. You’ll see.”
“You need to tone it down with your optimism. It’s making me grumpier.”
He laughed, delighted. “Jess…” He stopped, reaching into the inside pocket of his trendy bomber jacket to grab his phone. He held it up, obviously taking a picture of me, and then slipped it into his back pocket. “Not to change the subject—”
“Please change the subject.”
He smirked. “The mage situation is very important…”
“I thought you said you were changing the subject?”
His smile widened. “But I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow.”
“Let’s go back to talking about the mages.”
He stooped to take off his shoes and then roll up his pants. He rolled up mine as well, and I let him, because whatever. It was in the middle of winter and cold (for Southern California), but you just kinda had to let non-beach people do what they thought was standard protocol. He probably thought dipping one’s feet in the reaching surf was part of that protocol.
“How are you feeling about the party?” he asked, taking my hand again and veering toward the wet, hard-packed sand.
My heart had sped up the moment he broached the subject, but a new determination steeled me. The situation with Matt still made me uncomfortable, and the prospect of hearing constant slights from his mother for an afternoon made things worse, but I’d hit my threshold. I now saw Matt through a new lens that helped me make sense of my past—and also make peace with it. The last bits of the old me, the one who’d cared so much about pleasing him, had burned away.
This time when I went to a party with his people, I wanted to roll up as unapologetically me. Jessie, the socially awkward, weird-in-general girl from the “wrong” side of town. I wasn’t one of them, but I knew their language, and this time, I wanted to talk back in a way they’d understand.
And then I wanted to close the door on the whole situation. It was time to move on.
“I feel like I have the ability to be on equal footing for once, and I want to see their expressions when I prove it.”
He nodded at me as he stopped. A cresting wave grabbed his focus for a moment before he turned back to me.
“You know that I love you,” he told me, his expression turning serious. “You know that I consider us life partners. We’re connected in a way non-magical people can’t be. A way that is permanent, through not one but two bonds. Even if that weren’t the case, you are my heart. You are my world. You are the reason I picked myself up and finally started to live again. For you, no obstacle is too tough. No challenge too great. I would die to protect you. I’d feel honored to do so.”
I pressed my hand to the side of his face.
“I also want you to know this—I will take your magic. I will be your mate protector. The commander for the queen of the gargoyles. First, I need to organize the shifters and prove to them I am powerful enough to dominate on my own, but once that’s settled, I’ll join you with the Ivy House magic. I’ll join you in your version of darkness, and we’ll figure it out together.”
I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him closely.
“He seeks to become the king of the shifters before he joins his queen,” Ivy House said. “He still seeks to earn you. You couldn’t have chosen a better mate.”
I told him what she’d said.
“I won’t ever deserve you,” he murmured against my lips. “You’re much too good for me. Let’s hope you never realize it.”