Total pages in book: 168
Estimated words: 160578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 642(@250wpm)___ 535(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 642(@250wpm)___ 535(@300wpm)
Nate’s arm brushes mine when he joins me on the patio. “I never talk about this, but I had another daughter once. She was the most perfect little girl I’d ever seen. Had a smile that could soften even you—” He pauses, side-eyeing me.
“How do you know she could do that?” He was probably right. There were rarely any times that he was wrong. Bastard.
He turns and when his eyes are back on mine, the world around me slows. “Trust me. I know.”
He shakes his head, staring off into the distance. “She was taken from me when she was barely a year old. Crushed both me and Tillie. We never recovered. Every day, we both think of her.” His eyes fall to the ground, sadness weighing at his shoulders. “She can barely look at Luna without seeing Micaela.”
My hand lands on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I am.”
“Beside the point.” He clears his throat. “I’ve seen you with Luna, and I’ve seen you with her.” He points to the house with a nudge of his head. “You need to fight for Luna, Priest. You may think that the version of her you see in there is the one you wanted, but it’s only because you conditioned yourself to feel that way over years of obsession.”
Again. The bastard is always right. “I need her back.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
priest
Isit beside her sleeping form as her chest rises and falls with every breath. The dinner party tonight was too much. She’s been back for less than twenty-four hours and has managed to cause enough chaos that I’ll be left cleaning it up years later.
Or Vaden. Vaden will be.
My thumb follows the line of her lips, desperate to grasp onto anything. Anything at all that will provoke that same starved animal that was obsessed with her enough to cause all of this.
“Get up.” I force her to her feet.
Her eyes open as she stumbles out of the covers, still drunk with sleep. “What’re you doing?”
I catch her around her waist, my eye twitching. “Why didn’t you run?”
She pales. “I, uh…” her body trembles against me as a sob leaves her chest. She brings her eyes up to mine, the softness returning.
My skin prickles and the tension in my neck is back. Did she just…
She flutters her lashes before a lopsided grin spreads over her mouth. “Why?” Her claws mark my chest as she circles her way up.
Shit. That was close. I need to do better. Change on plans…
“Answer.” I pluck her hand off me. “That day I found you after you went missing in Aspen, what happened?”
Her eyes fly to mine and the room caves in around me. Nothing matters. Not a single fucking thing matters. Not why she’s here or how she got here.
I step forward. “What were you doing before I found you hours after you went missing, Luna?”
“I was taken!” She exclaims, her arms flying up in the air.
“No.” Another step. “You weren’t.”
“Yes, Priest, I was! I woke up, and they had me tied to this—the bed, and—” She pauses. “—and we, there was a man who came down and opened the door. Wait—“ she blinks rapidly. “Where are we?”
Her eyes move around the room, as if not knowing where she is. It won’t work this time.
I’ve been waiting for this day for too long.
“Where do you think we are?” I can feel the vein in my neck pulsing with every passing second.
“You said Aspen, but—”
“Where am I?” Panic clouds her face.
I freeze. “What’s the last thing you remember?” Maybe…
With her face paling and her lip trembling, tears slip when her eyes meet mine. Fuck.
I catch her in my arms when her legs give way. “Hey!” My fingers weave through her hair before I force her face to mine by the back of her neck. “We’re gonna figure this out.”
Footsteps pound outside the door and I spin around, pushing her body behind mine. She’d created more than enough enemies this round.
“You—“my jaw snaps closed, all softness gone. Evaporated.
“Save me, Priest…” she whispers, eyes wide and her lip trembling. It almost worked. “Please.”
My hand flies to her throat, forcing her against the wall so hard her head bounces. Life drains from her as her pupils dilate and the corner of her mouth curves up in a smirk.
“Well hello, Rabbit.”
I snarl, teeth bared. “How fucking long?”
“Oh…I don’t know.” She flicks the blood from beneath her nails, shrugging. “Maybe a few minutes?”
I throw her to the side, the annoyance grating on my last nerve. She moves around me like one would an exhibitionist.
“Or have I?” She blinks. “Maybe it was days…months…maybe it’s even been years since Luna first came back into your life? Or maybe Luna isn’t real, and it’s all been an act on my part?”
She bats her lashes and tilts her head. “The tragedy of the Mad Prince falling in love with a girl who isn’t real.” Silence as she finally stands in front of me. “I think Slipknot wrote a song about that once. Ver…” She pretends to ponder before clicking her fingers. “Vermilion!”