Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
I didn’t know that, but in the end, it will make my job so much easier. Castello will come here seeking to find answers. I must confront him and slay him before he manages to enslave any of the villagers. They have shields, but it’s possible he could wear them down.
“Sit out here on your verandah and talk to me. I have many questions for you. The answers will be important to us both,” Drakos cajoled. He gave her a winning smile.
He thinks he’s utterly charming and irresistible, she informed Benedek with obvious disgust. He thinks he’ll get answers from me, but I intend to get them from him.
This is dangerous.
Not really. I have you.
Silke spoke with utter confidence, and a strange feeling of triumph swept through him. He hadn’t earned her entire trust yet, but she believed he would keep her safe. He was all too familiar with mages and their ability to take over a situation in a flash. Silke didn’t have those experiences to draw on, so she was counting on him.
If we’re going to do this, you do what I tell you.
Silke flashed the mage a smile and gestured toward the gliders. The two chairs were facing the rings of flower beds. She took the chair Fenja always sat in, forcing him to sit in her glider.
If he can pick up any information, better not to have him know anything about my mother.
“You have a beautiful home. It’s very unique,” Drakos said as he sank into the comfort of the glider. “The stone has strange properties.”
“Yes,” Silke agreed, giving him an opening. She widened her eyes, looking innocent. Guileless. She even leaned toward the mage as if anxious to talk about her rare home. “Do you feel that, too? I thought I was the only one. I’ve conducted experiments on the stone they built the house with and even the stone walkways and stairs. I started when I was a child and noticed outside sound did not penetrate into the house.”
Her words tumbled over one another as if she were very eager to finally have someone to talk about the strange phenomenon with. Benedek found himself admiring her even more. She didn’t tell a lie. The mage might have been able to discern deceit, but she was careful to tell the truth. Her deception was in the delivery, but the mage didn’t know her. She was giving him what he expected.
Are you able to read his thoughts? Benedek was Carpathian, an ancient, and he couldn’t see into the mind of the mage.
I don’t read his mind like you envision.
Benedek merged further with her, staying very still and quiet. Silke put out the lowest energy of any living creature. He doubted if before he had tied them together as lifemates he would have been able to detect her presence. She had called the demons to her with a similar takeover. He watched the mage carefully. They could be very sensitive to magic.
I don’t use magic.
Benedek wanted to smile, and that shocked him. He was in hunter mode, and yet he found himself amused by her. She didn’t know herself at all. You are magic. Just managing to make me feel emotions, making me want to laugh, even in a situation such as this one, just proves to me how magical you are.
“Sound doesn’t get through the stone walls?”
“No. Not even the windows.”
Drakos frowned. “That’s highly unusual. Did you ask your mother about it?”
Silke’s laughter was sweet. Musical. Benedek saw the mage wince. He shook his head and then brought his hand up, pushing at the air between Silke and himself. That pure note in her laughter bothered the mage, telling Benedek he was far darker than he appeared. That meant his skill level was extremely high. He moved his body between his lifemate and Drakos.
“Yes, several times. She said the house and walkways had been constructed by someone famous in the village. She had always loved the estate, and when it came up for sale, she bought it.”
“So she didn’t have this house built?”
Benedek detected the subtle flow of magic streaming from the mage as he asked his questions. Benedek held up his palms as a barrier. He doubted if Drakos’ dark magic would work against Silke. She seemed to have built-in protections. Nevertheless he was remaining between them to ensure the mage couldn’t get to her when he struck—and he would. Benedek felt his underlying frustration.
“I’m going to be very honest with you, Silke,” Drakos said. “May I call you Silke? And please call me Herman.”
That is not his real name, Silke said. It has a false ring to it when he says it.
Mages rarely allow anyone to know their given names. There is power in a name.
“Please do be honest with me,” Silke encouraged.
Benedek became aware of Silke’s silent, stealthy invasion into the mage’s mind. Just as she had drifted, low-key, into the minds of the demons, she did the same to Drakos. His woman was fearless. Throughout the centuries, he had fought beside many Carpathians, humans, jaguars and werewolves. Her courage rivaled any of those he had gone into battle with.