Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 129912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
But as time passed, she was thankful for Yuri’s sacrifice because had it not happened, she never would’ve created the paradise for women and children that is Kessel.
And had it not been for his power to store energy in Vakeeli’s soil, she never would’ve been able to birth her twins.
As he’d promised, his presence would forever remain. She felt that presence swimming in her children’s veins. And she felt it more than ever now, activated and beating in the heart of a man too afraid to let Yuri take control.
Caspian Harlow of Blackwater doesn’t believe he’s the savior Yuri promised them. He allows his anger, sadness, pain, and grief to rule him.
Despite what his mind tells him, though, The Regals know his heart, and they will make him see that he’s worthy of being the strongest Regal that has ever lived.
FORTY-FOUR
WILLOW
When we’re drawn to the present, sharp gasps erupt in waves.
I blink as the past of Vakeeli fades, dripping away like paint from a canvas and returning us to the familiar gray kitchen in Blackwater Manor.
My first instinct is to look at Hassha, whose eyes are focused on Caz. Caz is staring right back at her, his jaw clenched and his cheeks flushed. Everyone else has released hands, but he still clings to mine with a tight grip.
“You’re telling me that I’m like one of you?” Caz asks, his brows dipping. “How? It—it doesn’t make any sense. Why would he choose me?” He finally releases my hand to push out of his chair.
Hassha rises with him, watching as he walks toward one of the floor-to-ceiling windows to peer out. She appears next to him, and I notice their reflections on the windowpanes.
Hassha looks her normal self, but Caz’s reflection is someone else. I gasp seeing this person’s dark skin, coarse white braids, and bold eyes that shimmer like embers of a fire.
Caz stares at it, the blood draining from his face.
Yuri.
“He lives inside you, Caspian,” Hassha takes a step closer to him. “We’ve waited millenniums for this moment—for the man who would be worthy enough to carry Yuri’s power and fulfill his prophecy. He chose you.”
“But he said the person had to be good in heart,” Caz says. “That isn’t me.”
“You don’t believe you are good in heart?” she asks, and he cuts his eyes to hers.
“I’m not an innocent person.”
“No one asked you to be innocent,” she retorts. “Innocence is frail. What Yuri wanted was someone willing to fight. Someone with no fear who is willing to honor and protect what belongs to him, just as we are willing to protect what belongs to us.
“We have all done bad things. I know your past weighs heavily on you. You let it trick you into thinking you’re wicked, depraved, unworthy of life and love. Those are simply the darker parts of you that Selah instilled when she planted that seed. But I see what’s really in your heart.
“We tried postponing this moment for so long to better prepare ourselves. We took Willow out of this world entirely, simply so you wouldn’t mate too soon. Mating was the trigger. But that was bound to happen eventually. And next was the use of your blood to awaken Selah. As much as we didn’t want it to be, that was meant to happen too.”
“So why did Korah try to stop me?” Caz asks.
“Because you weren’t ready take Selah on yet…and because we weren’t quite ready to let go of the lives we’ve built.”
Hassha caps Caz’s shoulder. He tenses. “But no matter what we feel, it is time. Now, my dear Caspian, you must use what has lain dormant within you to protect your mate, your family, your territory, and our world. If you don’t kill Selah, she will kill you, but not before killing everyone and everything you love first. She will make you watch as she destroys it all, and she will not stop until you’re dead because you’re the only one who can eradicate her. You could have had more time to prepare for this but The Council forced your fate.”
Caz says nothing. Instead, he stares at the floor.
“But if Caz kills her…won’t that kill him too?” I ask. “You’re all bonded. You said if one of you dies, all of you die, right?”
“Yuri was created separately, so he’s not tied to me and my sisters the same way,” Hassha answers. “Caspian will not die. As for me and Korah…yes, we will likely die when Selah does. But we’ve prepared ourselves for this fate. This is why Selah wants Caspian so badly. If she harnesses Yuri’s energy, she will be strong enough to separate herself from me and Korah. She’ll be able to kill us while she lives on. But we will not let that happen.”
“Oh. I’m sorry,” I murmur. “I didn’t realize.”