Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 137871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 689(@200wpm)___ 551(@250wpm)___ 460(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 689(@200wpm)___ 551(@250wpm)___ 460(@300wpm)
“Adriel, no!” Juniper yanked on her shoulders, and Adriel’s jaw opened wider as she turned and hissed at the witch. She ducked and held up her hands in defense. “Are you crazy?”
Seeing how appalled she appeared, Adriel covered her mouth. “ I wasn’t hurting him. I was feeding. He’ll be fine, just a little lethargic and dizzy. “
“He’s bleeding!”
Adriel looked back at Danny. “Oops.” She yanked him forward and quickly licked the wound. “All fixed.”
Danny drooped against the door, eyes glazed and confused.
Juniper cowered in the far corner of the kitchen, her eyes lit with a mixture of fear and disgust.
“You’re the one who suggested I change my thinking. I needed to feed. He’s food.”
Her face twisted in horror. “That’s way different than glamouring someone for a place to sleep.”
Adriel’s jaw locked. She’d endured centuries of censorship and was finally free to choose for herself. “You were fully aware of what I was when you asked to come with me.”
The potent human blood flooded her system—so much more intoxicating than that of a small woodland creature. She felt drunk on a mixture of elation and freedom. Such newfound autonomy flooded her like a drug.
What did it matter how she fed? She hadn’t killed anyone. With only days, maybe hours left, it seemed fair that she at least enjoyed a decent meal.
After losing everything, she had nothing left to lose. Her home, her community, her family, and her friends—they were all gone, left behind in a place she could never return. There was no reason she should also have to starve.
Looking into Danny’s eyes, she ordered, “Come back tomorrow.”
“Are you insane?” Juniper rounded the counter. “He’s a complication.”
“No, he’s a solution. I have to keep my strength up. Leaving the house opens us up to danger. Unless you plan on offering your vein, we need him.”
Juniper scoffed. “I’m not a fucking blood bag.”
“Which is exactly why you should be grateful we have Danny.” Adriel returned her gaze to Danny. “Tomorrow. Same time. Tell no one of our presence, and don’t be late.” She opened the door and nudged him across the threshold. “Go home and contemplate the ways you’ve wronged others.” She shut the door and sighed. “Don’t look at me like that. I was hungry, and he deserved it.”
“No one deserves that.”
Adriel scoffed at such hypocrisy. “How do you act so high and mighty when you personally played a part in the near murder of Jonas Hartzler?”
“We were never going to kill him.”
“And I was never going to kill Danny. Who do you think is better off, him or Jonas?”
“Jonas burned down my house and murdered my aunt!”
Adriel frowned. “I heard it was Grace Hartzler who killed her.”
“That bitch killed my other aunt, Venus. Aunt Mabel died in the fire Jonas purposely started because she wouldn’t help him.”
“Is that true?”
“Why would I lie?”
“You could have told The Council—”
“Fuck The Council.” The scent of her grief filled the kitchen. But there was also the delicate fragrance of truth and innocence behind her words.
Realizing there was much Adriel did not know about Juniper’s story, she abandoned her point for the sake of their friendship. “I’m sorry, Juniper. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
The room silenced.
“Please don’t look at me like I’m some sort of a monster. I also lost my home, and I may never see my son again.” Adriel looked away as the truth became impossible to bear once she said it out loud. “He’s all I’ve ever had, and I may never have the chance to tell him how much I love him again.”
“I knew a different side of your son. That council was cruel.”
Adriel instinctively defended her son. “Christian never ordered the things they did to you. I’m sure of it. I was listening.”
“Well, he also never did anything to stop them or save me.” Tension charged the air as Juniper’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “Why do you protect them?”
She wanted to argue that The Council was made up only of honorable males, but Juniper knew that wasn’t true, and Adriel would not minimize her pain or discredit her suffering by speaking lies. One of the elders had done despicable things to her, she could tell by the bruises on her neck and the faint scent of male sweat on her skin.
“My son was not the dishonorable male who hurt you. You cannot blame an entire population for one individual's crimes. Despite what happened to you, there is still good in The Order. If you told the bishop what was happening, he would have—”
“Seriously?” She flung out her hands. “What does it take for you to stop defending them, Adriel? If they’re so great, why aren’t they helping you?”
“They did help me! Without them, I never would have escaped the first time.”
“Well, times sure have changed. Look around. They abandoned you. You’re all alone. I’m all you’ve got. So please don’t preach to me about their honor. Your son might not have hurt me but he also never protected me. They’re only honorable when it suits them. You know what they’re capable of. You knew they wouldn’t risk their peace to protect you from your psycho ex, that’s why you ran away.”