Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
“I’m not going to risk my consort for your amusement,” Ren growled, glaring at his cousin.
Aura flung her arm around my shoulders. “So much for thinking that Ren might’ve escaped the overprotectiveness that the rest of the Bancroft men have when it comes to their women. With how hard he was having you train, I figured he might actually admit how valuable you’d be during a battle.”
Ren’s ire turned on Aura as he stomped toward us to pull me from her hold. After tucking me against his side, he muttered, “I know better than anyone how talented Celeste is. I’m the one who’s been training with her day in and day out for weeks. But I’m also the one who would be ruined if anything happened to her. She’s the light of my life, and I refuse to put her at risk except for when it’s necessary.”
Before his cousins could push his buttons any more, I added, “For now, we need to focus on making sure we’re ready to face off against my coven. My masking spell will only work for a little while longer. Once it falls, they will know where I am, and they’ll come for me. The coven is depending on me to give Arthur’s magic a boost. The leaders consider he and I to be the pairing that will move us to the next level in the hierarchy of covens. And their time is running out as we get closer to the winter solstice.”
“Them,” Ren grumbled.
My brows drew together as I turned to him. “Them what?”
“Move them to the next level, not us. The leaders of your former coven are worried about climbing the rungs of power, but it’s no longer your problem. You’re a Bancroft now, and soon you won’t just be a witch…you’ll be a daywalker too,” he explained.
“And nobody is going to take you away from our cousin,” Cian vowed, his siblings moving to stand on either side of him and nodding in agreement.
They were a formidable trio, and I was happy to have them, and the rest of the family, at our backs. But Ren had been right about us needing to learn each other’s strengths, weaknesses, and abilities before we went into battle together.
“Now let me show you what I can do with water.”
That was all the warning I gave before I drew the water particles from the air and created a wall between Ren’s cousins and us. He chuckled as Cian, Abel, and Aura got drenched while trying to break through the watery barrier. Lucky for them, I was also able to pull the water from their clothes and hair when I turned it into steam, sending it back into the air.
“That is seriously cool.” Aura shook her head with a whistle, lifting a lock of her now-dry hair. “You’re better than a trip to the salon to have a blowout.”
“You should see what I can do with fire.” I wagged my brows. “And earth, except that would just leave you dirty.”
“Let’s just hope we have enough time for them to become better acquainted with all the magic you possess,” Ren muttered.
“If not, we’ve learned enough for me to have no doubt we’ll be victorious,” Cian assured us.
“Damn straight,” Abel agreed.
From their mouths to the goddess’s ears…because I couldn’t imagine ever going back to my old life again.
8
REN
Perhaps it shouldn’t have surprised me that it wasn’t until the morning of Yule—the winter solstice—that Celeste’s coven made their move. The first day of winter was supposed to be the day she married the High Priestess’s son.
We knew they’d been searching for her, but her masking spell had given us plenty of time to train. Vampire magic was incredibly powerful—especially daywalkers’ abilities—but it was different from what you would face when battling with witches. Our offensive power was geared toward taking down other vampires, not protecting from spells, incantations, and other skills like manipulating the elements.
Celeste’s abilities constantly awed me and made me hard as fuck. When any of the others with us left, our training sessions often ended up with a different and much more enjoyable type of acrobatics.
As we worked together, Celeste grew more confident, and her control over her power made her a force to be reckoned with.
Training Celeste had been valuable for us as well, giving us insight into how her coven would fight, the magic possessed by each member, and other useful knowledge. And we learned how to work together so that we’d stand opposite the coven as one powerful, deadly unit.
There were several mystical events during the year that boosted witch magic. Yule was a perfect day for the pairing of two powerful witches. I could only imagine what her coven had planned for the festivities. Some of Celeste’s random comments made me wonder if it all culminated with the consummation of the marriage bed. I tried not to think about it because I usually broke shit to keep myself from tracking down that asshole and putting him in the ground.