Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 53433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
“I don’t think of that night,” I lied.
“You don’t think of us living together in a beautiful house near the ocean, of you reading all the books you love during the day and of me cherishing you in bed each night?”
My stomach flipped. I did think about it, especially how good he felt inside me. I still remembered every lick, every soft kiss, every touch. “Wait. I remember the reading part.”
He chuckled in disbelief.
“I think you’re the one who can’t get my constant rejection out of your mind.” That was what I’d suggested to him that night before he’d zonked out. “That’s why you were trying to dig inside my head just now. You want to know why the dream keeps coming true in real life.”
“I admit, I am intrigued by your denial of our connection; however, that is not why I attempted to pry the lid off your mind just now.”
I stared, waiting for him to elaborate.
“I was curious why you left the house and your baby,” he said.
“Are you saying it’s my fault Draco was taken?”
“I merely wonder what was so important that you would leave something so precious.”
I thought it over. What if he knew something about my headaches? Maybe they were a side effect of the dream potion. Maybe I was grasping at straws. “I keep having these headaches. Thought I should get them checked out.”
“Ah.” He leaned back in his seat. “So you were going to visit your physician.”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Why not see a doctor in Miami?” he asked.
“I have a family doctor in Tallahassee. He’s known me since I was little.”
“And?”
I shrugged. “I figured if it’s something bad, I’d want to hear it from him. Not some stranger.”
Ansin turned in his chair to face me. “This is what I do not understand about you, Jeni. You are a Seer. A very powerful one. If you wish to know what the cause of these headaches is, you need only to summon your power of sight, then you use your gifts to heal.” He placed a hand on my leg, and a heated shiver spiked through me. It felt, well, nice actually.
“I’d love to use my gifts, but I don’t know how, Ansin.” For all intents and purposes, I’d been abandoned by the Seers completely. At first, when I discovered what I was, they told me I had to explore my abilities on my own. Now I think they never wanted me to hone my skills. Mostly because I saw the Seers as the enemy and had no intention of joining them. Not in this life or the afterlife. The last thing they’d want was for me to figure out how to defend myself against them. The weaker, the better.
“All you must do is push yourself. And ask me for help,” he added with a cocky tone.
I stared into his eyes. He had no idea how much I wanted—needed—to trust him. He was my only hope of finding Draco right now.
“You’re too afraid, aren’t you,” he said.
“Can you honestly blame me?”
“No. Which is why, unlike the Seers, who have attempted to keep you from becoming what you are meant to be, I have encouraged it. The more powerful, the better.” He folded his arms over his chest, looking menacing with a short-sleeved T-shirt and swelling muscles. “When the power to destroy is equal between a man and woman, trust takes on a different meaning.”
I scoffed. “So you think if we can kill each other by snapping our fingers, we’ll be a happy, trusting couple?” Silly.
“We would be equals who can protect what is ours and give each other what we both want.”
“Which is?” I asked.
“A purpose beyond this life. A legacy.”
“So…children.” He seriously needed to drop this. Timing was everything, and this was the shittiest time possible. I was inches away from losing it. “If you haven’t noticed, I already have one, and getting him back is all that matters.”
He remained silent for a long moment. “I agree that finding Draco is important, but he is not the only matter of importance. Have you ever wondered how Ten Club was able to grow into the monster it became?”
“No.” I figured it was like King once said: Evil has always been and always will be. He’d created Ten Club as a means to control it. Turned out to be a bad, bad, bad idea.
“Ten Club got out of hand because there was no countermeasure in place to stop them. Once, the world was filled with tribes like mine. Seers, healers, protectors. Little by little we were wiped out. The few who survived were poisoned by all the cancers of the spirit this modern world has to offer.”
“Poisoned. Like you.”
“I am indeed poisoned.” He leaned closer again, lowering his voice. “Which is why the world needs you, as do I.”