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)
“Got it.” Killian thumps down the foyer, and when his steps disappear, I pick up the sheet of paper with Danica’s information, rest an elbow on the desk, and rub my forehead as I read it again.
I frown a bit and stab out my bloom when I spot something familiar—a detail Killian forgot to read off next to Tuttle Lament. No wonder his name was so familiar.
“Shit,” I hiss. I push out of my chair, grab my gun, and flee the office.
Chapter 85
WILLOW
Danica walks out of the bathroom with damp, bone-straight hair, avoiding our eyes as she moves across the guesthouse and drops her bag in a corner. She then sits on the bed next to Warren and strokes his forehead with the pad of her thumb while studying his face.
I glance at Juniper who seems to be bored with all of this as she leans forward on the sofa, her chin propped in her hand. Danica begins to hum, collecting some of Warren’s locs and moving them away from his neck.
“He’s cute when he sleeps,” she laughs, and I think she’s talking more to herself than to us. She stares at him a little while longer, then pulls away, pointing her gaze in our direction. “I’d like to go to the beach,” she states.
“Sure.” Juniper stands. “Let’s go.”
Danica stands with a grimace. “Whatever.”
“I’ll come with you two.” I follow them out the door, but not without a glance back at my brother. He should be okay for a bit.
I’m surprised Danica finds her way to the beach without our help. There are several footpaths, and only one leads to the beach from the guesthouse. The others drift off to the forest or castle grounds.
When my feet touch the cool sand, I’m filled with a sense of calm. It washes over me as I stare ahead at the ocean. The full moon is large and pale white, the light of it reflecting off the dark rippling waters.
Danica trudges forward until she’s close to shore, then she sits and brings her legs to her chest. She stares at the ocean a while, her chin on her knees. And then, to my surprise, her forehead falls, and she breaks down in a sob.
“Oh.” Another shockwave hits me—the same one I felt when I first saw Danica. Everything in me wants to comfort her, be there for her. “She’s crying, Juniper,” I say as if that’ll help the matter.
“I see.” Juniper’s eyes are wide with surprise. “Perhaps we have been a bit mean to her.”
“We were just taking things seriously, that’s all. But, regardless, she’s human.” I sigh, shifting on my feet. “I’m gonna go talk to her.”
I leave Juniper, who marches toward a nearby boulder to sit on. When I near Danica, she looks at me through the corner of her eyes and swipes at her face.
“I don’t need your sentiment,” she grumbles. “I just wanted a moment alone.”
“There’s nothing wrong with crying,” I return with a soft voice.
She wipes under her eye with the pad of her forefinger, and I take in a deep breath before releasing it, claiming the spot next to her. I feel her suspicious glare on me as she sniffles.
“How long have you been with your mate?” she asks, and I meet her eyes. Her gray eye is murky, the brown one burning with curiosity.
“I think about three weeks now…maybe?” I shrug. “Feels like it’s been longer.”
“Only three weeks?” she balks. “How? I mean, you two seem to have known each other for much longer.”
I smile. “It does seem like it. But no, we literally just met. So much has happened since we met, though. I think all of it has sort of pushed us together.”
“I understand that. It was the same with Warren. I only knew him a few weeks before…” She clenches a fist. “Before Decius came for us.”
I study the profile of her face, how her mouth pouts, the dimple in her chin. Right now, she looks like a little girl. A sad, lonely, lost little girl.
I allow a few seconds of silence to pass before asking, “What were your nightmares like?”
She lifts her head, peering up at the star-splattered sky. “They were…dark. Cruel. Sometimes I’d be in total darkness but could feel myself running, like something was chasing me. I’d run forever, never finding a destination. But those weren’t as bad as Warren’s.”
“What were his like?”
“Oh, his were awful. He’d wake up in cold sweats, panicking. He’d tell me it felt like something was choking him while he slept or trying to strangle him. He described this…monster with red crescent eyes. It haunted him. Sometimes threatened him. He always had dreams that he was someone else…or at least he felt like he was. I did a lot of reading on what it was, sought a few Mythics before Decius came for us. I believe he felt like someone else because he was someone else then. Decius was showing him how he’d died in his previous life.”