Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 122030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
At the time, it almost felt like a rescue. But looking back now, I don’t think the officer was saving me.
I think he was saving Myer.
“How did you not notice?”
I look to my left and there’s Paul. We’re shoulder to shoulder, staring into each other’s eyes as the purple haze slithers up the walls of the dorm room.
“Notice what?”
“That you were ostracized.” He almost laughs these words out.
I huff. “Ostracized? That’s a joke. I wasn’t ostracized. I just wasn’t one of them. I couldn’t take a lot of their classes. And I think most of them went out of their way to make sure I didn’t feel ostracized.”
“Or perhaps you went out of your way to remain ignorant.” He’s not laughing now. He’s completely serious.
“So? What’s your point?”
He turns his body to face me, then reaches up and places a hand on my cheek, touching me tenderly as I stare into those ice-blue eyes of his. “My point is, they’re not what you think, Syrsee.”
“And let me guess, you’re not what I think, either.”
“Oh, I’m exactly what you think. I’m not lying to you. And if you think I come to you in this beautiful body because I want to trick you, you’re wrong. You know what I really look like. I came to you like that first, so you’d know who I was. And there would be no pretenses between us for what comes next.”
I swallow hard, feeling a lot like the little fourteen-year-old girl with Myer’s hand between her legs. Ready to agree to something just because it’s exciting, and I’m turned on, and I haven’t learned how to say no yet.
“I came to Ryet that way as well. He knows. He’s always known. And he agreed, Syrsee.”
“So you’ll think I’ll agree too?”
“You fed him, didn’t you?”
I just… sigh.
“You agreed to that part, at least. But there’s much more coming your way.”
“Promises.”
“What?”
“My grandma.” I look away from him, staring at younger me as she and younger Zusi talk boys. “She warned me about you and your promises. She said you were going to promise me something I want very badly and that the man I gave my heart to would be my downfall.”
“And you think that’s Ryet, do you?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I saved him.” I look back over at Paul and meet his gaze with steady eyes. “But that doesn’t mean I’m sticking around.”
“So leave.”
“You’ll just follow me.”
“Of course I will. You’re mine.”
“So what’s the point? I like Ryet.”
Paul smiles. “He likes you too, I can tell. So stay.”
“If I stay, I wouldn’t be agreeing to anything.”
“Darling, this isn’t a trap. It’s not even an offer. Yet. But it will be. And you will have a choice. I do not need to trap souls.”
I scoff at him. “Wow. Did you just admit to wanting my soul?”
“Your soul is already mine, Syrsee. You’re a Black witch. You are damned. You are evil. You are going to Hell. That is a fact.” His face is stern as he says these words, but then it softens a little. “But it doesn’t have to stay that way.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll know soon. But for now, just…” He places his hand on my cheek again. “Enjoy my Ryet. He’s…” There’s a pause here, and Paul looks away for a moment, then meets my eyes to complete that thought. “He’s quite loyal. And attractive, of course. And honest, Syrsee. He’s not trapping you, either. I told him who you were.”
“What? When?”
“In the dream. But he’s not going to remember. That’s my gift to you right now. Some time. Just a little bit of time.”
“So I can tell him myself.”
“It would be better if it came from you. And once you tell him who you are, he’s not going to leave you.”
Leave me? Did I think he was going to leave me if he knew the truth?
Honestly, that thought never entered my mind. Not until those words came out of Paul’s mouth. But leave me? Will he?
“He won’t.” Paul is looking at me like he’s reading my mind. Which he is, I guess. That’s what he told me anyway.
“How do you know?”
“Because you remind him of something.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“His family.”
My brow furrows. “What family?”
“His wife, Syrsee. His children.”
“He’s married?”
“No. I killed them. Decades back.”
A sick, sick feeling creeps into my stomach. “You…”
“Killed them. I burned them alive in a church. He was never going to leave them for me. So I had to take them away.”
“And he…”
“No. He knows, but he forgot. And he won’t let himself remember. I’ve told him several dozen times, actually. It’s like he doesn’t hear my words. Like he’s under some kind of spell.” Paul looks at me funny. His eyes narrow down into slits and I get an uncomfortable feeling of scrutiny.
“What? Why are you looking at me that way?”