Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Standing in the kitchen, so very thankful that all was well and we were all safe, I turned and looked out the kitchen window above the sink, not wanting anyone to see me cry.
Strong arms wrapped around my waist, hugging me tight to his solid chest, before Lorne rubbed his stubbled cheek over mine.
“You all right?”
“Simply relieved and happy.”
“Me too,” he murmured, and pressed a kiss under my ear.
I leaned in, loving that I could, loving that he was physically and emotionally strong enough to be my rock. “Boy, did I win the lottery with you or what?”
“I dunno, did you?” His tone was teasing, as was his hooded gaze, before he turned me in his arms to face him, tangling his fingers in my hair, then easing me close for a kiss.
A soft throat clearing stopped us, and we both turned to find Shelby standing there, smiling sheepishly.
I sighed. “Good shower?”
“Best one ever,” she said, then bit her bottom lip. “I’m really sorry for killing that very romantic moment, but I also need to tell you that separately you’re both gorgeous, but together it’s like…chef’s-kiss perfection.”
“Then I guess I’ll forgive you for interrupting,” I replied with a smile, taking hold of Lorne’s hand and tugging him to the table. We both sat, and Lorne propped up his chin on his closed fist.
“Are you awake enough for Xan to talk to you?” Lorne asked her. “Or should we wait until tomorrow morning since it’s nearly midnight now?”
She jolted and rushed over to the table. “No, I’m good right this second and would love to—I mean, I can tell from”—she gestured around her as she sat down—“everything in this cottage and everything I can feel that you’re a witch.”
I nodded.
“And there’s so much magic in here, like it’s in the walls, it’s everywhere, and even now, I can hear people walking in other rooms I know aren’t physically here. The rooms, I mean.”
“What?” Lorne asked, looking at me.
“The cottage is…” What should I say to him? “Vast,” I settled on. “You know that. In fact, you commented on it the first day you were here. You said the house—because that’s what you were calling it then—appeared small from the outside.”
“Yeah, but that’s because of the angle it sits on toward the road.”
“That’s some of it. But you know as well as I do that things appear and disappear that can’t actually be here.”
“I have no idea what you’re saying.”
“What I mean is, things in the cottage can’t just be here.”
“That wasn’t any better.” His scoff was warm and playful, which Shelby took as her cue to elaborate.
“You know, I can hear people dancing, laughing, and they’re in rooms that should be above us, but there’s no second floor here, so…what is that?”
“Yeah, what is that?” Lorne asked, then narrowed his eyes. “Or can you only guess?”
“My grandfather believed this cottage exists across planes and that everyone who’s ever lived here still does.”
“That’s amazing,” Shelby murmured.
“Which means that all that accumulated knowledge, as well as physical items, are here with us and can be accessed by the cottage at any given time.”
“Oh, that’s wild.” He grinned, his eyes glinting in the light. “And awesome.”
“Do you really think so? I maybe should have told you that before, but I wasn’t sure if you’d think it weird.”
“No, I think it’s wonderful. Truly. That’s how sometimes you can still smell in here things your grandmother used to bake, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Because she’s still here in the cottage.”
“In a version of it, yes. And that’s not to say that everyone is with us here, but that’s why my ancestors can come more easily through the veil than others, because if you lived here, then you always will.”
He took a deep breath. “That’s very comforting.”
“It is,” Shelby agreed, her eyes filling. “I can’t tell you how many places I walk into and I’m instantly cold or scared. Sometimes I hear screaming, crying, and even worse things…” She trailed off, glancing at Lorne, then back to me. “It can be overwhelming.”
“I’m sure it is,” Lorne soothed her.
She smiled suddenly. “But in here, it’s…and it sounds lame, but…” She stopped, shaking her head.
“G’head,” Lorne prodded her. “You can say.”
Quick breath. “It’s like a hug,” she admitted. “It’s so very safe.”
When Lorne grabbed hold of my hand, I turned to him. “Are you okay? Safe should be a good thing.”
“Yeah, but…if this home exists in different places, does that mean something dangerous, something evil, could be in here with us?”
I squeezed his hand back. “No,” I promised him. “And this I know for certain. The cottage was built on Corvus, and it’s where it lives in its sole physical form. The magic here with us is the only magic that matters.”
Shelby was nodding quickly. “I know we just met, but everything he said, I can feel that, like I can see you or the sun or the fireplace. Like it’s obvious that this cottage is a sanctuary. It feels like a fortress or a castle. No one that could hurt you could get in.”