Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
“Let me show you something.” He swiveled us in the chair and pulled me closer, pressing me against him at an angle. His body all but surrounded mine as he unlocked and opened a drawer to withdraw an ancient tome. “We both know you are referencing soul switching. Only the oldest generation remembers this, and that’s the way we prefer it. For others, the command of an honorable king to refrain from doing that which should not be named is supposed to be enough. But you are my exception.”
My heart fluttered as he flipped to different pages, revealing drawings that depicted groups of men, women, and children mauled in villages long past. I sucked air between my teeth. “What is it you want me to see?”
“The reason soul-switching was outlawed centuries ago. These were the first among us to realize such an ability is possible. They took advantage of it, switching with others to break a law or bed another’s firebrand. After a while, no one trusted anyone else. Suspicion led to fear and fear led to madness. Our kind cannot thrive without trust.”
My blood ran colder with each new word. How many times and ways had I broken his?
“That is also how the first shifters came to be,” he said. “The switches caused the bond between mates to weaken. Tempers flared, and many fated ones were killed. The ensuing grief and guilt pushed the warriors to invite evil into themselves, and they turned into vicious wolves with a desire to ruin the marital bonds of others. War erupted, and thousands died.”
Any hope of a happily ever after withered to ash. For the sake of the people I’d grown to care about, Isobel must return, without Callen learning of the switch. If he snapped and gave in to his wolf, if he became the very being he despised…
“Is that what happened to Tavish?” I asked, fighting tears.
“No.” Callen’s tone sharpened. “Tavish is my father and was my king.”
“What!” How was that possible? They appeared to be near the same age. But then, they were both immortals and over a thousand years old.
“His firebrand died giving birth to me, and he shifted that very night.”
Shock bombs detonated. Tavish was his father? Callen lost his mom the same day he was born? Sympathy welled along with a hundred other emotions. “What about the man the modern world calls your father? The one thought to have vanished?”
“He was my adopted father, and he died in a battle against wolves.”
How the loss must have cut. I patted Callen’s chest, asking, “Have you ever shown mercy to someone who soul-switched?”
“I have not.”
How would he feel about those who helped bring suspicion, fear, and madness to his door? Because that’s what Isobel had done. And, yes, me too. How would he trust anyone again if he learned the truth of our treachery? That it hadn’t been of my own free will didn’t matter. Not after everything we’d experienced together.
Dismay clawed at my sternum. I needed to call Isobel. Tell her this had to end. She must right this wrong before Callen decided we both deserved the chopping block. I had a credit card now; I could afford her ticket.
“A potion is required for every switch,” he said. “A wicked thaumaturgy that infuses with the host’s cells. When their blood is mixed with certain elements, and others partake, they can then switch with someone else.”
Realization spit in my face, dread mule kicked my gut, and horror followed up with a sucker punch. I’d drunk someone’s blood? And to return to my old life, I had to drink blood again?
No wonder Isobel avoided contact with me. Could I forge a potion by tapping into my own veins?
“Well then.” What was I going to do? I needed to consider everything I’d learned. Pasting on a brittle smile, I brushed invisible lint from the collar of his shirt. “Thank you for seeing me today. I should be—”
He held me in place. “Did someone force a switch on your friend, lass?” he asked with a dead serious tone.
Eek! No way I should answer that until I had worked through my thoughts. I pressed a hand over my heart and gave him my best bless-your-heart expression. “Why don’t you think I’m the one who switched?” I’d outright stated it once and hinted often. And hadn’t he noticed the differences in me?
“Because I’ve done exactly what I told you I’d do before we married.” His tone hardened, as if he expected me to argue. “I’ve monitored your whereabouts and interactions.”
I went still, not even daring to breathe. Including my phone calls and texts? But why hadn’t he pounced? Evidence was all over my cell. Unless Isobel had found a way to keep certain communications from his notice? “Not to brag, but I’m smart enough to fool my guards.” What are you doing? Stop!