Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91809 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91809 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
“So I will too.”
A log mansion broke through the trees, its glittering perimeter lights piercing the forest’s smothering gloom. The place was truly gorgeous—a wooden mansion fitting for the wealthy community of Regalia.
A river stone path led up to a wraparound porch, complete with warm patio furniture and purple hanging plants. The blue-painted roof set it apart as unique as well as expensive. But none of that interested me. The one thing I cared about was that it was one story.
I crept through the trees, keeping an eye out for... anything.
Cameras, dogs, trip wires, loose dirt over land mines. I didn’t put anything past Everleigh.
Someone’s there.
Lights flicked on and off from window to window, indicating someone was moving through the mansion. The curtains were drawn on all the windows I could see, stopping me from knowing who.
I had to chance it and get closer. There were three more cabins to check, and it took me hours to get this far. If my trek was finally over, I needed to know.
It has to be Everleigh. I slowly crossed the lawn, cringing under the bright spotlight of the perimeter lights. Who else would be awake at two in the morning? Everyone knows witches don’t sleep.
Twenty feet.
Ten feet.
Five.
Closer I got to the front steps and no alarms went off. No curtains flung open. No doors banged against the opposite wall.
Maybe I was wrong to think Everleigh outfitted the place like a bunker. It’s been years and not even her friends know where the cabin is. Why wouldn’t she think she was safe here? She’d let down her guard. Relax. And it’d be the worst mistake she ever made.
My left foot hit the bottom step, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I was right. No insane defenses. All I had to do then was prove this was the right place.
The trail of inside lights led to a big room that I assumed was the living room. I followed them, glancing at the curtains lighting up with multicolor. Everleigh was watching television.
I clenched my jaw—rough pants leaking through my teeth. How nice of the rotted bitch to sit in front of the big screen with popcorn and hot cocoa, having herself a good ole time. Meanwhile, I was forced to say the cruelest things to my father—all to protect him from her.
Again, she’s fucked with my family and did damage that may never repair, but why should that bother her? Why should that get in the way of movie night? My plan was just beginning and it already went off track. So far, everything was turning up Everleigh.
I went to the windowsill and strained to see through the slight space between curtains. Is that...?
The glow from the television fell over half a foot. It was hard to be certain, but it looked like that foot was encased in a fuzzy white slipper.
A woman. Living in a one-story log mansion. By the river. Where Everleigh and her father used to fish.
What else did I need? This was the place.
I bounced from foot to foot, fists opening and closing. I hadn’t been thinking when I fished the list out of my pocket and ran into the woods. The only thing on my mind was making Everleigh pay for destroying my family.
Now I was there. Six feet from the bitch and I had nothing. No weapon. No backup. No clear shot.
I whipped back and forth, looking for something. Anything! I wasn’t leaving without taking pieces of her with me. Fuck carefully laid plans. Fuck police captains that sat on their asses. Fuck scheming hackers and their twisted deals.
I was ending this tonight.
Twisting around, I landed on exactly what I needed. I darted off the porch and snatched up one of the riverbed stones. Charging the window, I smashed the windowpanes—roaring my fury.
“Ahhhh!”
“Surprise, bitch!” I reached through and yanked back the curtain. “It’s your turn to burn—”
I choked, eyes blowing up at the couple screaming in the living room who were not Everleigh and Wolf. I’d never seen them before in my life.
“No! No,” the slipper-footed woman wailed. “Don’t hurt us!”
The man raced to the fireplace and grabbed a poker. “Argh!”
He charged the window. I spun and bolted.
“Ah!” My feet tangled, pitching me off the porch. I crashed on the river stone path and jarred every bone in my body. I must’ve blacked out because the next thing I knew, light from their front hallway fell over me.
The man ran out of the house, poker held high. “You messed with the wrong people! How do you like this, bitch!”
He struck—bringing the poker down on my head.
I twisted at the last moment. Snapping to the side, the metal hit the spot my skull had just been in.
He lifted the poker for another try.
Reacting fast, I kicked out and smashed my foot between his legs. He doubled over and dropped the weapon, grabbing his crotch as he went down.