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)
“What if you get pulled over? You don’t have any ID.”
“I’ll drive carefully,” I insist.
She considers that. “I guess…”
“You have very little trust in me,” I say, laughing.
“It’s not that. I just…I get nervous for you. Mostly because you don’t handle normal situations the way I would. You’re automatically defensive.”
“It’s just driving, Willow. We’ll be fine. I can drive and follow the arrow on your navigational thingy while you rest. We’ll be okay.”
She releases a breath. “You’re right. I’m just overthinking.”
“That you are.” I peer out the window at the passing trees and gray sky. My mind can’t help wandering to this Effie woman again. “This woman must’ve been banished. That, or she’s hopping back and forth from here to Vakeeli for fun, and if she can do that, she must be extremely powerful. You said it yourself that Beatrix seemed to be in pain just to send us here, and Beatrix is very old.”
“Yes, that’s true.” She twists her lips a split second. “Can guns stop Mythics?”
“This gun can.” I sit up in the seat, opening the revolver. “But there are only five bullets in the chamber. Better hope she’s not a vanisher.”
“A what?”
“A vanisher. The kind of Mythic who can vanish into thin air. It’s fucking odd, I won’t even lie. They disappear and pop up on another side of the room. I had to fight one once during a battle near Ripple Hills. It was not fun.”
She huffs a laugh. “Sounds freaky.”
I reach over to grab the hand resting on her lap. Her eyes flicker in my direction briefly before focusing on the road again.
“We’re in this together, you and I,” I tell her. “Remember that.”
She smiles, bringing my hand up to kiss the back of it. Her lips are soft, plush, and warm, and the mere grace of them sends a spiral of heat through me.
“Careful,” I murmur, grinning. “You’ll start something you’ll have to finish.”
She breaks out in laughter, pulling her hand away to swat at me playfully. “That is the last thing we have time for, Caspy.”
Chapter 32
WILLOW
“I’m running low on funds.” I stare at the number in my bank account. $254.32. With booking this rental, buying clothes for Caz, food, and even the withdrawal for my rent, I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. Ya girl is broke, and I won’t be working with Lou Ann for at least another week…and she doesn’t pay for time off.
Caz swings his eyes to me as he grips the steering wheel with one hand. “What are you talking about?”
“We don’t have rubies here, we have money, and when we run out of money, shit gets rough,” I explain.
“I have an unlimited supply of rubies,” he says. “Is there not an unlimited supply of currency for you here?”
“No. I work to make my money.”
He frowns. “Why? You’re above that. You shouldn’t have to work for it.”
I can’t help the laugh that escapes me. We all feel that way on Earth, but society thinks otherwise. I’ve always hated the ideation of working to live. Why can’t we just live to live?
“I’m not a monarch like you, and, unfortunately, I don’t belong to a monarch’s clan,” I inform him. “I have to work and pay for everything myself here.”
“Shit. No wonder you’re so stressed here.”
“It’s fine. I’ll use my credit card for the hotel room and food.”
Caz concentrates on the road with his brows drawn together.
“What? Why are you frowning?” I ask.
“You know, if you ever decided you wanted to make a life in Vakeeli, you’d never have to worry about these funds you speak of,” he says. “I’d take care of you.”
I can’t help my smile. “Well, that’s very kind of you.”
A brief pause. “Would you ever consider that?” he probes. “Staying in Vakeeli, I mean?” When I don’t answer right away, he backs it up with, “Never mind. I shouldn’t have asked. It’s far too soon for you to even consider it.”
“No, no, it’s not that.” I grab his free hand, clutching it. “I just…I guess I’m wondering if you would want that. Me staying there…”
“Without a doubt.” He replies with a voice drowning in certainty. “Say we do find a way to kill Decius. Say we do make it out of this Cold Tether alive. All that remains is a decision between us. Do we part ways—you in Earth and me in Vakeeli—or do we decide to be together in one universe?”
“Would you stay on Earth with me?” I ask in a joking manner.
He cracks a smile that makes him look younger, more vulnerable. “I could, but I don’t think I’d do well fitting in.”
“That’s how I feel about Vakeeli. I wouldn’t fit. I’m not built like you and your clan are. I barely know anything about guns. Hell, I can’t even hold one properly.”
“Ah, you don’t have to worry about that. I’ll teach you.”