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)
“We understand, and we promise to take very good care of it.” Maeve gives her a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes.
“Look, if you want to stay here, and if you really care about my brother, you’ll hand it over,” I tell her, standing. “It’s your only option. You’ve met Caz. He’ll take your rejection as a reason to kick you out of Blackwater completely.”
“Don’t make this difficult, dear.” Maeve blinks at her, waiting, that hand still firm. Danica looks at each of us, and her eyes may as well be on fire, even her scarred eye. She’s livid, but Caz is right to do this. Danica is a vanisher, and she snuck inside once. She could have some ulterior motive that we know nothing about.
With pure reluctance, Danica unstraps her Katana from her body and shoves it into Maeve’s hand. “If I find so much as a scratch on—”
“Careful with your threats, dear,” Maeve interrupts. “I may seem kind, but I’m much older than you are, and believe me, what I can do is much more lethal than what your Katana can.”
Danica’s mouth clamps shut and she backs away, folding her arms again and facing the window.
“Killian and Rowan will keep an eye out as well, make sure no one leaves the castle grounds.” Maeve saunters toward the door as Juniper plops down on the sofa, crossing her legs and biting into the blackfruit. “I will have dinner sent down by our new house maiden in just a bit.”
“So, it did work out?” Juniper asks, elated.
“It did, yes! Makoto is a delight. He’ll be here soon, actually. He’s excited to meet everyone. By the way, Danica, do you prefer sourdough or ivory bread with your soups?”
Danica rolls her eyes, refusing to answer.
“Ivory bread it is.” And with that, Maeve is off, leaving the four of us in the guesthouse.
As soon as she’s gone, Danica whirls around and glares at me. “Just so we’re clear, as soon as Warren is awake, we’re getting the hell out of here.”
I try not to react to her outburst. She’s angry right now, and I get that. She’s full of emotion and not thinking clearly, so I say, “I haven’t seen my brother in two years. We’re twins. I highly doubt he’ll just up and leave when he sees me.”
Her good eye twitches, then she looks around, huffing. She picks up a bag she brought along with her (one that Caz had thoroughly inspected by Juniper) and slings it over her shoulder. “Whatever. Can you two at least get the hell out for ten minutes so I can take a shower?”
“Do you think we were born yesterday?” Juniper laughs. “You can take your clothes into the bathroom with you and change, which, by the way, have no windows. I’m not sure if you’ve figured it out or not yet, but we literally don’t trust you.”
“When I came here, it was only to save my mate. That’s it,” Danica declares.
“The fact that you dressed up as a caterer’s assistant, followed us inside the castle and made tea, and then snuck behind our backs to get to Willow was sneaky,” Juniper snorts. “Why couldn’t you be practical about it and just knock on the fucking door?”
“I considered that, but there were wolves guarding the castle.”
I smile at that. “Silvera and Cerberus.” Yeah, they’d probably have torn her to shreds.
“Whatever.” Danica moves across the room, stopping at the bathroom door. “Like I said, I did it for my mate. Plus, I had to see if Willow was actually his twin. I didn’t want to go to Caz until I knew for sure she was Warren’s sister. When I saw her, I knew. And I waited for a moment she was alone to speak to her.” She enters the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. My eyes slide to Juniper when I hear the shower start up, creating a noise barrier.
“What do you think?” I ask in a low voice.
Juniper shrugs. “I think it is true Warren is her mate, but I still don’t trust her. We have no idea what her background was like before bonding with him. There are so many bad people in Vakeeli, Willow. Liars. Thieves. Manipulators. Rapists. Herders, which are people who kidnap children and sell them to molesters. The bloody Rippies.” She finishes off her blackfruit, tossing the core into an empty trash bin. “Once Caz gets information on her and it’s solid, I’ll feel better.”
“She’s just one woman though,” I whisper.
“Yeah, one woman with a Katana sword who can vanish and has Regal power in her blood. We’ve not seen anything like her before. She’s dangerous.”
I sigh, sitting on the sofa next to her. “We can’t help who we mate with, can we?”
Juniper’s head shakes as she wraps an arm around me and focuses on Warren sleeping soundlessly on the bed. “No, we can’t. Your brother could be so in love with her without knowing a thing about her past. All he could know is what she presented to him when she met him.”