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)
River climbs the final step up to me. “You do know Stella is going to kill you for pushing her into a rabbit hutch.”
I snicker, hitting the bottom keys until all screens push through the static. “I tried. My hands just—let go.”
I keep tapping the same key, refreshing after I’ve searched each one.
“You and I both know that she’s got a mean right hook.”
“Left,” I murmur, my head tilting to the side when one catches my eye. “She’s left-handed.”
River’s head swings between me and the screen I’m looking at. Her steps are careful when she draws closer, her long blonde hair pinned up in a high pony. You’d think War would be the one to take hold of this place since he was the one who had no issue playing butcher and River was always the soft, well-spoken of the two. Turns out, her control is unmatched.
“I thought you lost her in the forest?” River asks, turning back to me.
I stare back at the screen. “I did.”
River sighs, lowering herself onto the main chair. The Beehive is dead because we haven’t started the intake yet. Needing to wait out Vaden’s current issue with his demons, we can’t risk opening the doors until he’s back in control.
“This was what you wanted, Priest. Her like this.” She pauses, her lashes fanning out over her cheeks. I never considered how it felt for River to lose Luna. They were closer than close. “You know Dad let me train her. She was my first student.” River’s smile beams wide. “I mean, of course I thought I had her under control. We allowed Killian to come in often, when she needed her”—River twirls her hand above her head—“she was doing fine. I recognized her possible triggers.”
“Which were?” I ask, studying her closely.
River’s body stiffens. River is loyal to her core, a trait she gets from her mother, but I’m not mistaken. The two of them share a bond that I’m aware could very well be the reason why River would keep something from me.
“Uhm, snow. Small spaces—” All things I knew. “Oh, and a sound. It was…weird. As if she could hear.” Our eyes collide. “Anyway.” She shakes her head. “I don’t know.”
I tap at the keys, shutting off her camera. “Sorry. You lost her too.”
“She’s not lost, Priest. She’ll come back.” The main doors open once more and Vaden stands on the other side.
I don’t bother correcting River. “Level two?”
He holds my eyes. “I’m ready to take a look around.”
“Hmm.” I rock back on my heels, looking for any signs. Just one. Truth is, he’s about as far in as he’ll get with the curse. Every day is a battle for him.
I feel for the prisoners. Twenty-four cages spread through the tunnels on the second floor, every single one of them housing the worst of the worst, yet here I am. Worried for their safety, more than I am his.
“Yeah.” I’d smile if I didn’t feel so unsettled. “You’re ready.”
Built back in the whatever-hundreds, Perdita was built on top of tunnels. When the island was named Perdita, it was named for what happened beneath it.
“Do you think we could get away with keeping it in-house? That she could go on? We—I could train her! I’ve got some experience. Priest!” River’s words stop me as I’m about to exit.
I’ve seen what I needed to. She isn’t training shit.
Darkness swallows me whole as my fingers flex in the palm of my hand.
The muscles in her face aren’t strained, displaying a relaxed state of—“Luna?” I hate that it comes out. Like a storm rolling into a perfect day, the corners of her mouth curve upward, but the rest of her face remains frozen.
With ballooning pupils, all color is swallowed whole. “Aw, lover. Color me jealous.” Her bottom lip drops.
Before she can retreat, my hand is on her throat as I force her into my chest. Her pulse beneath my fingertips flutters, a lifeline of memories she’s keeping locked inside.
Her smirk remains, the spark in her eye only intensifying, but that’s always been her. Ever the igniter for chaos. It’s the one thing that drives her.
She flexes her throat, her mouth popping open and her eyes rolling to the back of her head. “You wouldn’t, lover. You wouldn’t because I am her, and without me, you don’t have her.”
Oh, how them tables fucking turn.
“What the fuck do you mean?” I seethe, annoyed once more that she’s not making a lot of sense. “I did this for you, because it was you that I fucking wanted, and what do you do?” My head tilts, her lips brushing mine. Wrath surges through my veins, but the beast in the cage doesn’t show any sign of life. “You remind me why pretty girls lie.”
“Tell me, pretty girl….” I trace her eyes. “Did you think she would be enough to save you?”