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)
He nods. “I love you. I will be okay. We will be okay.”
I feel Neil shift out of me, leaving my body like a whisper, a sweet but cool breeze. He stands in front of me, the proud Fae warrior he was in life. And I swear I can see a glow from a foot behind him. I can see the light.
I have never seen the light before.
There is only peace on Neil’s face now. “I know we’ve only just met, but honestly sharing space like that, you get to know a person. Would you like to know what I see in you, Shahidi? Bravery. Love. So much love. But also fear. You have no need to fear. Death is nothing to fear. You are nothing to fear. When you realize you are the light we are all looking for at the end of our days, you will see things as they truly are. Say his name when you’re ready. He will not ignore your call.”
He smiles and turns and walks into that light.
“He’s gone,” I tell Lee and wonder who he was talking about. Who will answer my call?
Lee shudders and nods, obviously trying to control himself. “To be with them again. Thank you.” He squeezes my hands. “Thank you. Anything I have is yours.”
“And we will aid you in any way we can,” Rhys says solemnly. “But first we need to regroup. My goddess needs rest, and we need to figure out how to get my parents back. Bris will keep my father alive for as long as he can. He is very strong. My dad will be working from wherever he is. Uncle Neil will find him. I am worried about Mother.”
“And Ostara.” For the first time since we came into the temple, Sasha speaks. He looks grim standing in the firelight. Like it cost him to leave the palace. “I must go to the dungeons and free her. I’ve told you about my wife.”
“I might have a way to get you out,” Lee explains. “I’ll try to make the arrangements.”
I remember how the goddess found the strength to point Sasha’s way and call him by another name. “Who is Oleg Federov?”
“That was his name when he was alive,” Rhys explains. “Before he became Sasha. He had a wife and a child.”
“Natasha.” I know that part. We keep up with her for him. We follow her socials and have some people in Dallas who watch in case she ever needs her father.
“I suppose I stopped talking so much by the time you came around,” Sasha admits. “I was a spy for my government. My government became corrupt, and I objected. I knew they might kill me, but what they did was worse. They sold me to a woman who was experimenting with drugs that took a person’s memories. She was trying to create small armies of men who had no loyalty to anyone but her. The drugs took my life but not my skills.”
“He could fight, remember how to shoot and do everyday things, but he couldn’t remember who he was,” Rhys says softly, and I wonder how many times they sat together and talked. Of all the kids, Sasha seems closest to Rhys.
Likely because Rhys was forced to mature so quickly. Because despite the fact that his powers were desired by many, they were also troublesome when he couldn’t control them. Sasha wasn’t affected by his fertility powers so he could stay close.
“I’m so sorry. How does Ostara know your name?” I realize we misunderstood her. “She asked about the vampire. We thought she was talking about Daniel. She was talking about you. She said she could feel something stirring in her host’s soul. Or something like that. Meadow has bad dreams about what happen in her prior life.”
Tears pool in the vampire’s eyes. I have never once seen this male cry. “Because she was murdered by the same people who sold me. I did not remember her for many years, though she was always in my soul. My wife. My love. I am not proud of who I became when she was no longer a strong voice in my head. When I did not remember her, I was not good. I wasn’t as terrible as your father, Lee, but I was selfish and mean at times. And then I remembered. Sometimes it would happen. A flash like someone briefly turned on a light. I would see a baby in my hands and feel…worthy and good. Like I was where I was supposed to be when I held this girl in my hands. I knew I loved her mother with all my heart. That feeling is why I jumped in front of a bullet to save my brother. It was the first time after I lost my memories that I heard her. I heard something telling me she would find me again.”