Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 115860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
“The rumors or the attacks?”
“The former, but I know that can’t happen until I stop the latter, which they’re still refusing to publicly acknowledge.”
“And you’re trying to persuade the Council to make a statement to magickind at large, explaining the real danger, I take it.” I scoff. “Good luck.”
The group of elders has never moved quickly or advocated for a less-than-traditional path. It could take them months, even years or decades, to reach a consensus on a public statement about Mathias’s return. By then, the madman will likely have already taken over magickind. Stupid sods.
“I need it. And Sabelle.” Bram sighs. “I could send Shock, I suppose. He can skim Sydney’s thoughts—”
“Absolutely not! How do I know he won’t deliver her straight to Mathias? I will not have that turncoat anywhere near my…” Mate. The word nearly rolls off my tongue. “Former coworker.”
There, that sounds better.
Even if it’s a pitiful lie.
Though Shock is bound to Anka—despite the fact she rejected his Call, and he cannot, therefore, touch Sydney sexually—the thought of him in the same postcode as my fiery redhead makes me murderous.
“Is Sydney your mate?” Bram asks pointedly.
I should have guessed that I can’t fool him. “I haven’t tasted her.”
Bram grunts. “For everyone’s sake, I hope she isn’t. You’re preparing for transition. I sense it. You’re irritable and tense. You’ve been tired a great deal, haven’t you? And the urge for sex is overwhelming, right?”
I don’t answer. Why tell Bram he’s hit a bull’s-eye? He likely knows it anyway.
“You’ll need a witch to transition with, who will power your coming magic.”
Grinding my teeth, I turn away. Yes, I know I need sex—and a lot of it—to create the energy necessary to transition. If I had issued the Call to Sydney, only she would do. But I haven’t.
Even so, I don’t want some nameless witch. I can’t imagine touching anyone else.
“I have not issued the Call,” I reiterate.
“Unless that changes, you should have no problem.”
Wrong. “Except she believes in this story and is suspicious of everyone. No one is more suspect than Shock. You come,” I suggest.
The thought of Bram charming Sydney makes me want to grind my teeth into powder, but the wizard is newly mated. He can’t woo Sydney, either. And he won’t turn her over to Mathias.
“I told you, I can’t, not until I manage to abide by the Council’s demand for magickind to stop spreading rumors—even if they’re the truth.” Bram snorts. “This assignment allows me to quietly warn Privileged families that Mathias is likely to target them to demonstrate to his Deprived followers that he embraces their bid for equality.”
“It’s shit.”
“But I cannot defer this duty. There have been four Anarki attacks in the last three weeks. If the Council won’t send a transcast, I must warn people unofficially. I am spending what little free time I have trying to locate my errant mate.”
After everything these past few weeks, I empathize. In Bram's shoes, I’d be doing the same. “Keep Shock away from Sydney.”
“Then stop her from writing articles.”
“I’ve been given the bloody chop. How do you propose I do that? Sydney may very well write a story about the Doomsday Diary.”
“For the last bloody time, charm the woman!”
“I tried. It’s…complicated.”
“Uncomplicate it,” Bram snaps.
“This was your fucking mission to start with. I did my best, and as much as I hate failure, I admit to it. This morning, I tried to steal the Doomsday Diary from Sydney, but when I attempted to leave with it, the book dissolved in my hands. Twice.”
“Dissolved?”
“Disappeared. Poofed. Completely. Moments later, it appeared again on the table from which I took it.”
“It would not leave Sydney’s space with you. Interesting… I might know why. You’ve heard me say the book is an object of feminine reverence? That means it responds only to women.”
“And I’m male. But I didn’t try to use it to grant a wish.”
Bram hesitates. “Stealing it may work the same way. We’re learning as we go, but it makes sense. Eons ago, Marrok paid a woman to steal it from Morgana. After she did, she gave it to him. Marrok kept it in the same cottage for centuries. Then came Olivia. She brought the book to my estate and hid it. I assumed at the time that anyone could transport the book, but given your experience, clearly not. Neither Marrok nor I could write in it when Mathias abducted Olivia. Sabelle, however, could. A wish to fix a button was granted instantly. Her wish to save Olivia was not, and we discerned that whoever uses the book must have both great power and great desire to fulfill the wish. My mate stole it from me. Somehow, it fell into this Aquarius’s hands, and she gave it to Sydney. Female to female to female. When you tried to steal it from Sydney—”