Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 111898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
A vision overtook her mind.
She saw the harpy throne room. This time, Azar didn’t have to add the final piece of the macabre puzzle that was Lore’s skeleton. The dark-haired beauty was already flesh and blood. She perched in Taliyah’s chair, wearing an evil queen ball gown, complete with an elaborate headdress dripping with diamonds.
Neeka’s blood chilled as her heart nearly pounded its way free of her chest. I failed.
Azar knelt before her, head bowed. Lore petted his hair as the other Astra shouted protests. Taliyah stood among them. Grenwich and a handful of other harpies, too. And yes, Erebus was there, grinning as widely as before.
Hades acted as guard at Rathbone’s side. The red king’s fate hadn’t changed. He remained chained to a wall.
He didn’t struggle against his bonds at least. Oops. Spoke too soon. He erupted, fighting his captivity, bellowing, “Do not do this. Please do not do this. I love you!”
In real life, Neeka clutched him tighter. How she abhorred seeing this powerful male bound and helpless. But, um, love? He loved Lore, despite the evidence of her treachery? Or he lied to trick her into stopping?
The goddess glowered and snapped, “Shut him up. His bellowing is beyond irritating to my darling beasties.” She rubbed a flat belly, as if she were pregnant. “I can’t concentrate, and I need to concentrate.”
Azar stood, unsheathed a dagger, stomped over and, after a savage fight, cut out Rathbone’s tongue. For some reason, Hades allowed it.
A thousand protests bubbled inside Neeka.
The Memory Keeper returned to Lore, presenting the goddess with her prize.
“Marvelous. Marvelous indeed.” Erebus widened his grin and clapped. “Do you want to proclaim me the winner of this task yet, or shall we continue?”
The remaining Astra went quiet with shock.
“That’s better.” Lore took the dagger Azar had used and licked the blood from the blade. Crimson smeared her cheek. A ghoulish sight, she stood slowly, almost chest to chest with Azar. “Oh, how I’ve longed for this day.” She traced her fingers over his jaw. “Stop fighting your desire for me. Unleash it.”
The Astra huffed and puffed, as if he wrestled with her command with all his strength. But in the end, he couldn’t stop himself from obeying. Desire heated his eyes as he swooped in to kiss her.
“Mmm. That did it.” She laughed as she pulled away, calling, “My sweet army. Come!”
Her laughter mutated into a scream as her head fell back, her body curved, and her feet lifted off the floor. She hovered there, nothing but a vessel as the shadow monsters burst from her abdomen. Wow. More than before. So many more. They swarmed the audience, attacking the Astra, Taliyah, Hades, and the chained Rathbone. Still no sign of Neeka herself. Chaos had vanished.
Though their group fought hard and dirty, the members were devoured until every trace of them vanished.
In reality, rigidity invaded her limbs. She might be dead in the future, but the vision chugged on. Erebus was the sole survivor of the feast.
“We did it,” Lore grinned at him as the shadow beings surrounded him. “A war far easier than we anticipated.”
The Deathless winked at her, evincing no hint of anxiety. “Which makes our victory sweeter.”
Our victory? They worked together?
The vision dwindled to nothing, allowing the world to whoosh into focus once more. Neeka was panting, sweat drenched and crushed. She’d changed the future all right, just not for the better. Somehow, she’d made everything worse.
Rathbone had yet to move a muscle. Blood still leaked from his wounds. At least he survived these wounds. How else could he attend the ceremony and shout his love for Lore?
Obviously, Neeka hadn’t utilized the elixir in this current fate. Thanks to their most recent trips, she’d already gathered the proper ingredients—items she carried around in a weapon sheath. With the acquisition of the water droplets, she now possessed everything. Was the elixir the answer to her dilemma?
There was only one way to find out. So, she would do it, no matter the cost. Once his obsession with Lore ended, they could collect and destroy the remaining bones. Along the way, Neeka could kill her mother. Not Azar, though; she’d promised Taliyah. But Mother Dearest was a hundred percent fair game. In fact, her death would mark another positive change.
There was a wrench in Neeka’s plan, however. What if the General was right, and Rathbone was her consort?
Her breath hitched. He wasn’t her consort, no way, no how. But he could be. But he wasn’t. But he could be. But he wasn’t, not while he loved another. Though there was always a chance, right?
If Neeka was his fated one, not Lore...if the goddess had tricked him into feeling what he felt, or would feel, which was a strong possibility... That meant Neeka would sever her own bond to the male when the two of them consumed the elixir, exchanging it for an artificial bond. She craved genuine, or nothing.