Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 151630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 758(@200wpm)___ 607(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 758(@200wpm)___ 607(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Myrddin stopped, his head tilting up as though he was scenting the air. A long frown came over his face and then Devinshea sighed and smiled.
“I think that temple is going to come to life tonight, and it won’t be for your boy, asshole,” Dev said with a grin.
Myrddin cursed and was turning to the door when the guards prowled back in the room.
“Do you feel that?” Neil asked. “It’s faint because I’ve got a charm.”
Sasha watched the guards because he definitely felt it. Faintly. He had a tat on his body that protected him from Rhys’s unique magic. As one of Rhys’s foster fathers, he’d been forced to find a way to counteract the fact that sometimes a young fertility god’s power went a little weird. He’d been the lucky one. He could get a tat. Trent Wilcox was a werewolf and had to depend on charms and wards like Neil.
“I think I need to…” Bibi put a hand on her chest. “I cannot be here… I must get back behind the wards before I lose control.”
The troll ran back to the tunnels.
Because Rhys’s magic was thrumming through the air.
“If you let them hurt her, I’ll give you nothing,” Dev was saying.
That was the moment Sasha realized the guards were circling Ostara. They were under the influence of all that magic, and she was the only woman close to them.
“I have to find a way in.” He couldn’t leave her there. Couldn’t watch what they would put her through.
Myrddin’s gaze went greedy. “They’re so full of lust they can’t help themselves. They’ll fuck her over and over again.”
“It’s rape,” Dev pointed out.
“It doesn’t have to be,” Myrddin replied and held a hand up. The guards stopped, seemingly frozen in place. Myrddin turned to Dev. “I’ll make it easy. All you have to do is be here in the morning and we’ll negotiate the rest then. Let’s make this promise a simple one. I will not go and kill your wife if you promise to stay until morning when we negotiate further.”
He was putting Dev in a position where he could wiggle his way out of staying.
“I told you I would think about it and give you my answer in the morning.”
“Yes, that was before your son decided to screw everything up. I’m not a fool. Daniel will use this time to free you,” Myrddin countered.
Dev’s jaw went tight. “He won’t. He won’t save me because he knows it puts our wife in more danger. He won’t come for me until he’s freed her.”
One of the guards put a hand on Ostara’s shoulder.
Sasha felt a low growl start in the back of his throat.
“Myrddin will kill us all,” Neil said, holding him back. “I’ve watched him kill twenty wolves with a twist of his hand. Please wait. Dev is trying, and they are both feeding off this energy. She might surprise you.”
“Give me until tomorrow,” Myrddin offered. “I cannot simply leave you without guards, but no one I send here will be prepared for that magic your son is putting out. Even I feel the effects. A deal from a royal Fae. You will stay here until tomorrow and I will send them away.”
Devinshea nodded. “Until tomorrow, and then all bets are off.”
Myrddin turned toward the guards and twisted his hand, the guards stopping in an instant. “Find your satisfaction elsewhere.”
The guards ran out.
“I suppose you’ll feed on this magic,” Myrddin said, his gaze tight. “I have to get back to the palace and pray the wards hold. You should hope so, too, or it’s your wife who will bear the brunt of it. Think about what I said, Devinshea. We will make our true deal tomorrow. I want it properly witnessed.”
Sasha took a long breath and put a hand to the mirror. She was so small, seemingly frail. That body housed his soul’s mate.
“Are you okay?” Dev asked. “Take a deep breath and let the magic in. My son’s energy can help heal you.”
Ostara’s shoulders moved again and then her hands were free. She stood and her eyes were wholly emerald, with no hint of white. “Thank you, Green Man. And I will thank your son as well because he is giving me energy I haven’t felt in hundreds of years.” She turned toward the mirror. “Well, are you coming to save us or not, Oleg Federov?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Shy
I start to bring my hands up but something catches my wrists. Flowering vines. Purple buds seem to wink at me as they caress my skin. Those vines of night-blooming flowers hold my hands slightly out while another, thicker vine snakes it’s way to the top of my bodice. I see a wicked-looking thorn there.
“Rhys Donovan-Quinn, what am I supposed to wear tomorrow?” I ask even as I feel the delicate material begin to tear.