Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 67614 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67614 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“I’m going to touch the water,” Giles says. “If I suddenly act crazy, please, by all means, knock me the hell out.”
He gingerly reaches out to touch the water and then shakes his head. “It’s gone. There’s nothing here.”
“He’s right,” Lorelei says and lets out a whooshing breath as she and Giles scramble into the water and grab Xander, pulling him toward the shoreline.
Once he’s on the sand, Giles touches Xander’s neck, checking for a pulse. Suddenly, Xander wakes up, sitting and reaching for Lorelei, pulling her down onto his lap and then burying his face in her neck.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Giles
“Is it really gone?” my mother asks with wide eyes, holding my dad’s hand tightly. “Are we sure?”
“It’s gone,” Xander says as Lorelei untangles herself from his lap, allowing him to stand. I can see that he wants to reach out for her again, to hold her to him, but she’s already shut him out.
It’s painful to watch.
“Here,” Breena says as she wraps Lorelei in her cloak. “You have to be cold.”
“Bone-deep,” Lorelei confirms as she pulls the heavy fabric around her. “Thanks. It’s a good thing I’m not shy about my body, or I’d be pretty embarrassed right now.”
“I think we should get Lorelei inside,” Lucy says as she reaches for Jonas’s hand. “And get everyone settled.”
“We’re going to leave you be,” Percy says with a kind smile. “Since we’re finished here, we’ll let the eight of you go inside, and the rest of us will get this all cleaned up. We’ll see you at the Beltane celebration.”
“Thank you,” Xander says, looking at everyone with deep gratitude and emotion in his dark eyes. “I can’t express to you how grateful I am that you helped me.”
“We’re your family,” Hilda replies and walks into Xander’s arms for a hug. “Of course, we’d fight for you, sweet boy.”
“We love you,” someone else calls out.
“I love you all, too.”
I hang back as Breena and her cousins, their mothers, and Jonas and Xander go inside. I want a moment with my parents.
“Thank you,” I say to them. “You were both pretty badass.”
“Oh, darling, that thing didn’t know what it was up against.” Mom kisses my cheek. “Now, go. Be with your girl and your extended family. We’ll talk soon.”
I nod and walk into the house, seeing that Lorelei has already changed into sweats and an oversized sweatshirt, the hood pulled over her head. She’s sitting with a mug of tea in her hands, the spoon stirring without any human help.
Everyone seems to be talking at once, likely because of the adrenaline of the fight and the excitement of victory over something that’s been harassing us for so long.
“Your parents could have joined us,” Breena says as she comes to me and takes my hand. “They’re always welcome.”
“I think they wanted to spend some time with the others and then head home to rest. We’ll see them very soon.”
“Xander,” Astrid says, and the man looks her way. “I, for one, would like to hear your side of what happened over the last few days.”
“I would, too,” Lucy says.
Xander steps to the window and watches the water for a long moment. “I was foolish,” he begins and then turns back to us, looking at each of us with sorrow lining his face. “I owe all of you the biggest apology and my deepest gratitude, but I’ll start with what happened.”
“You can come sit,” Lorelei offers. Her voice is back to being a little cold toward him, but at least she’s being nice.
“I’d like to stand. I sat for a few days straight, so stretching my legs feels good.”
He pushes his fingers through his hair and blows out another breath. He looks so big in the small cottage. On any other day, it would be laughable.
“It started when I left Astrid and Hilda’s house to find my father. I had every intention of speaking with him, whether that be on the phone, or in person if he wouldn’t take my call. And, well, he didn’t take the call. But then I saw him. He’s dead.”
“So you saw his spirit?” I ask.
“Yes. I will need to have some conversations with him later because I don’t have all the details, but I know that he’s crossed over. He just said that the answers I needed were at the property by the old parsonage. That there were some papers and other stuff there I could use for research.”
“Wait a minute,” Breena says, holding up her hands. “That sounds like it took the form of your father and wanted to trap you.”
“I would have thought so, too,” Xander says, nodding his head, “but when I got to the house, it was true. I found a filing cabinet in the office on the ground floor that actually had a lot of information in it.”