Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 147891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
I choke on my next breath when I see a man sitting on a bed in front of a window. The window pours in that filmy white light, and at first, he’s nothing but a silhouette. Tall, square shoulders, his head hanging low, focused on the floor. I step closer, taking in the details. His locs are much longer, the roots dark, poofy, and thick. That childhood scar remains on his forehead when he’d cut himself trying to jump a fence.
I can’t believe it. It’s my brother, in the flesh.
“Warren!” I scream, pulling my hand out of Caz’s and running across the room. I throw my arms around him, holding on tight, hot tears dripping down my cheeks. I wait for him to hold me back, to wrap his arms around me in a tight embrace once he’s realized this is me and that it’s all real…but he doesn’t. He remains stiff, unmoving, and I sense something terribly wrong.
I pull away from him, studying his motionless body. He’s breathing just fine, his chest rising and sinking, but his head is still down. He’s still staring at the floor, face solemn. I force his chin up to look at me, and he stares right at me—the same brown eyes as mine—but there’s nothing inside them. They’re empty and cold, and my heart plummets.
“Warren?” I whisper. I drop my hand and his head falls again, eyes gluing to the floor. “What’s wrong with him?” I demand, turning to look at Danica.
Danica looks from me to Warren, her eyes now thick with tears. “Warren and I were a source of Decius’ power for years. It’s how Decius could change forms and blend in while keeping his negative energy at bay.” She steps deeper into the room. “I was with Warren the day Decius came for us. We were in Vanora, and I remember feeling this strange pull inside of me, like a magnet being drawn to an iron board. I could sense Warren before we even met—his fear, his panic, and I followed those senses. I left Vanora and made my way to Gilded Forest, and the closer I grew to him, I began to hear what he was thinking. I’d heard his voice many times before, around the time I turned twenty-seven, but my counselor told me it was the guidance of a Regal—that they took on many voices to lead us and help with our decisions. But I didn’t believe that because I could have full conversations with this voice. We’d talk about things or confess our deepest secrets.” Danica swipes the tip of her nose, bobbing her head toward Warren. “I found him near the ocean. When I saw him, I just knew he was my mate and that we were to be together. The moment we locked eyes, we fell in love. But only two weeks later, while we were residing in Vanora, Decius infiltrated. First with our dreams, then in person. We started feeling random bursts of coldness, even when we held each other to keep warm. Eventually, Decius took us both and brought us here to The Trench. He kept threatening how he was going to kill us, but that he couldn’t yet—that he needed someone else before he could. He kept saying something about a twin. That he needed both twins together before he could absorb the energy from our Tether.”
“What?” I stand up straight. “So, he kept you and Warren locked away in here until he could find me?”
“I believe so. We were nothing but his puppets, really. We lost control of our bodies, our minds. I don’t remember being able to eat or drink. It’s all so dark during the time he had us under his spell. But, only days ago, something changed. That darkness I felt with Decius keeping us hostage lifted, and I suddenly remembered everything.”
“Sounds like what he did to the people of Whisper Grove,” Caz says, more to himself than to us. His eyes swivel to Danica. “Decius is now gone, trapped in a coffin, and the spell he had over you has lifted. He can’t take you or your Cold Tether anymore.”
“Are you certain?” she asks.
“More than.”
“I could remember everything when I came to. All my skills, my purpose, our Cold Tether…but Warren. He’s never really gotten out of whatever it is Decius has done to him,” Danica goes on. “I don’t think Decius still has a hold on him, but I think his mind remains in a dark place. He won’t leave the bed. He won’t look at me. He won’t speak.” Her bottom lip trembles a bit, but she sucks it up and raises her chin. “I didn’t know what to do, so I ran to a Mythic in Vanora, who told me he most likely needed a mental recharge. She said he needed to encounter something or someone he remembers before he ever entered Vakeeli.”