Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75457 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75457 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
And before anyone can object, she vanishes.
Finley whirls on me and glares. “This is because of you. What did you do to her?”
Gods, what haven’t I done to her? But that’s private between me and Zora.
“Babe,” Carrick says in warning, subtly telling her to lower the temperature.
“No,” she snaps at her husband, turning back to me. “You have her tied up in knots—”
“Me?” I say as I explode out of my chair. “Your sister is the knot-tier. I have given her everything she’s wanted and needed and haven’t asked for a fucking thing in return, other than for her to open up to me. So get off your high horse, Finley.”
Carrick rises from his chair, prepared to intervene, but Finley backpedals. Holding up her hands, she huffs out a breath. “I’m sorry. She’s under a lot of stress—”
“I probably know that better than you.” It sounds petty, but it’s true. I spend intimate time with Zora and catch glimpses of her pain and uncertainty, far more than I know she shares with her sister.
“Then what are you waiting for?” Finley asks. “Go after her.”
I look to Carrick, who shrugs, and then looks back to his wife. “Go after her?” I ask.
“You obviously care for her, so, yeah.” She shoos me with her hands. “Go away.”
I grin at my sister-in-law but don’t bother with a glance at Carrick. Wrapping my hand around the key that’s always in my pocket, I ask it to take me to Zora and vanish.
CHAPTER 11
Zora
Testing out my powers and how infinite they truly are, I imagine a deserted island with a sandy beach and aqua waters lapping the shore. I have no clue if I’m even in a real place or merely a quick dimension I created with the power of my imagination.
Regardless, I ditch the leather and conjure a sundress. Because my little island has a nice breeze and I want to feel it on my neck, I use magic to bind my hair. It floats up and outward, winds, and coils on top of my head where pins materialize to hold it in place. I command the sun not to burn my pale skin and I walk along the shore.
I can’t believe I ran like that. While I went to Finley’s to see her, to spend time with my sister, part of me hoped Maddox would be visiting.
He was.
And I ran.
Because the sight of him causes a cyclone of emotions to twist within me, and I was so knocked off-balance by his presence, I panicked.
So here I am.
“You should never have given me that key.”
I whip around to find Maddox striding my way. As he comes closer, his clothes disappear, replaced by a pair of swim trunks.
Glancing around, he nods in approval. “Nice use of your magic.”
“I don’t even know where I am,” I say as I follow his gaze to the tropical trees a hundred yards back from the beach.
“Does it matter?” he asks, coming toe to toe with me.
He’s so damn tall. So powerfully built.
I feel minuscule as I tip my head back to look at him. His hands reach into my hair, find the pins, and pull them free. My locks tumble, and he runs his fingers through it.
“Love your hair down,” he murmurs, and the timbre of his voice is like distant thunder rolling in. It makes me shiver under the hot sun.
I’m at that point with Maddox where so much of me wants to step into him, but the bigger part tells me to stay aloof. It’s a constant war within, and both of us are casualties.
He senses my uncertainty. I see it in his eyes and because he cares for me, he makes it easy.
Taking my hand, he says, “Come on… let’s walk.”
The need to pull from his grasp is as strong as the desire to step in closer, but I fall into step beside him. He doesn’t say a word, content to be in the silence with nothing but the sound of the waves and a distant seagull crying.
“Amell’s punishment has been lifted,” I say, and his head whips to the side. I see surprise and delight as well as questions. “I went to the Council and made the request.”
“How hard did they make it on you? Gods give nothing for free.”
“They unanimously denied me but I kept talking. I reminded them that he’s not only kept the Underworld in a state of peace, and thus kept other dimensions safe, but he also helped in the battle against Kymaris.”
It’s true. While Amell’s loyalties were with his dark queen, he also cared for me a great deal. In the end, he told me where the ritual was going to take place so that we could stop it, and for that reason alone his punishment should have been lifted.
“And they eventually gave in?” Maddox asks.