Total pages in book: 207
Estimated words: 196971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 985(@200wpm)___ 788(@250wpm)___ 657(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 196971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 985(@200wpm)___ 788(@250wpm)___ 657(@300wpm)
She loved her Master for never breaking his word.
All eyes turned to Rhapsody as she entered the room, and she dropped to a graceful curtsy before turning to her Master.
Mihail smiled at his marchioness. "Hello, Rhapsody."
"Hello, milord," she greeted back.
"Is there anything I may do for you?"
Rhapsody bit her lip, and almost everyone in the room reacted when this lasted for more than three seconds.
"Are you serious?" Lord Erou groaned. "We're preparing for battle, Lady Gheorgiu."
The Trois Belles Lames, on the other hand, had snapped their fans out to hide their snickering expressions.
Adrijan appeared merely exasperated while Ilie simply rolled his eyes.
The newcomer to the group, however, was visibly bemused. It was William's first time to join the others in such a meeting, and for the life of him, he could not understand what had everyone either bothered or amused. "Will anyone explain to me what the hell's going on?"
"My wife has need of me," Mihail explained as he rose to his feet.
And that's it? William's puzzlement only grew at the ambiguity of the marquis' words.
Mihail had finally reached his wife's side and ran his thumb over her lips. No more. You know I do not want you accidentally bruising yourself.
Rhapsody stopped biting her lip at her Master's command. May we go now?
Green eyes gleamed down at her. It is that urgent?
She nodded emphatically. Yes.
Then perhaps it's best we remain put. The marquis, taking Rhapsody's hand, pressed a kiss to her knuckles, and the gesture had Erou shaking his head even as he joined the others in getting his butt out of his seat.
A still-puzzled William was the last one out of the room, and the doors had barely shut closed when he heard the marchioness whimper and the marquis laugh. A scent permeated the air, and William finally understood what that look was all about.
The gray-eyed earl shook his head in amusement. It was a good thing that his being a heartkeeper to Rhapsody was only a farce that he had agreed to. With it his debt to Sir Isaac had been paid, and he had even become good friends with the couple. It would have been fucking hell if it were otherwise, for there was clearly no way anyone could break those two apart.
William caught up with Lord Erou outside the keep. The younger man wore a harsh expression on his face, and as the other earl finished speaking with his men, William stepped forward, asking, "Anything wrong?" Recent circumstances had made him rather restless lately, and as far as he was concerned, trouble of any kind was best nipped in the bud and never allowed to worsen.
"It's actually good news for once," Erou said with a frown, "but only if I can have it confirmed."
William raised a brow. "It's that good?"
"We've received a message from one of our spies outside," Erou said. "It says Lord Alexandru has returned from the dead."
The End
Missing: Vampire Lover
by Marian Tee
The Woman and Her Child
Prologue
THERE USED TO BE A time when we lived in harmony with all living beings. The humans called us sybils while the otherworlders used another term. Soul seers, they called us, and it was this name our hearts chose for us.
In those days, living beings sought our visions for the greater good.
But those days didn't last.
The Demon Duke of Sulphur, having learned of the prophecy of his death at his own son's hands, sought to decimate our numbers. A handful would be spared their lives, but they shall only live to feed the demon and him alone, their visions to be used to turn the world into his playground.
It was then we decided to scatter, and we learned to hide in constant motion.
Day after day, always running away, desperate to avoid being caught, but still the demons found us, still they killed our kind, one soul seer dying after another.
Until there's only you that I can trust.
My darling daughter Zari.
The pain and grief in my heart is immeasurable. This is not the future I dreamt for you, but I have no choice.
To save your life and give you the future you deserve, your heart must break again and again, and only then will your shoulders be strong enough to carry the burden of our entire race.
I wish I could be there to see your soul shine, but I know the end is nigh, and the only thing I can do now is to give you one last gift.
A shield, my brave and beautiful child, one that I will carve in my final moments, infused with all the love that your father and I have for our most precious girl.
This shield will be with you to the end, yours alone to wield, and so powerful it will be that not even the fires of Hell can burn through its armor.