Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 111898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
“To save you, I will do anything.” Infinitely tender, he kissed her lips. “I’m sure.”
That was...wow. Maybe the world’s most romantic gesture. Maybe he was forever. She softened against him. “I’ve changed the future, Rathbone.” But was it for better or worse?
“That’s good. Tell me why we can’t destroy the orb,” he insisted.
Right. “We can’t prevent Azar from winning his blessing task. Before you rage about it, don’t. I promised Taliyah. That’s how I earned the antidote for your spear-to-eyes poisoning. Which happened before Azar threatened to kill you if I didn’t hand over the orb, so there might be some wiggle room for causing a few injuries.”
“You promised to help the Astra. I did not. Trust me, love, I’m happy to do the dirty work for us.”
Whoa. Hold up. Had he just called her...love?
“Um. Great!” she squeaked. Get your head in the game, girl. “We’re about to have our first fight after halfway making up. If you’re going to keep me, and I’m not saying you get to, my debts are your debts. That’s nonnegotiable.”
Would he pull away from her now?
He tightened his grip. “If your debt is my debt, my son is your son, and that is nonnegotiable.”
Ridiculous tears welled. Neeka the Wanted...a stepmother...to a maddening eternal teenager? Talk about a bucket list item she hadn’t known she longed to experience.
“You plan to find Maximus and take him from Hera?” she asked.
“I do. And I will. I’ll figure out how to reverse whatever she’s done to him, too.”
“Oh, Wrath Boned, that’s wonderful,” Neeka said, hugging him. “With you at his side, he’ll become a well-adjusted menace to society in no time.”
Rathbone returned the hug. A weary sigh escaped him. “Very well. If you devise a plan to bring Lore to life and save the Astra without endangering your life, I’ll aid you in your quest. But if you can’t, I’ll take care of matters my way. Do you agree?”
“Yes!”
“Good. Now, let’s get back to relaxing you...”
27
Rathbone kept a sleeping Neeka nestled against his side, both intoxicated with satisfaction and somehow stone-cold sober. For the first time in centuries, perhaps his entire life, he truly lived. A bright future awaited him. Or a nightmare.
His chest constricted. Why did his oracle continue to fight their connection? Did a part of her sense their doom? Were they doomed?
He no longer put any stock in Erebus’s warning that Neeka must die for Rathbone to survive. As if he had a life without her.
Protective instincts pitched at even the thought of her harm, and he tightened his hold on her. He believed the god had lied. According to Neeka, Erebus partnered with Lore, a world-class deceiver, and the two sought the destruction of the Astra. They must have known Rathbone was past the point of being swayed, so why attempt to plant such a nefarious seed? They must have a purpose.
Once again, Lore was multiple steps ahead of him.
He huffed. Such prolonged stupidity. So many eyes, yet he’d failed to see the truth. He’d let pride blind him to the goddess’s trickery, exactly as Hades once prophesied.
Now, he must defeat her without endangering the Astra, who’d done him a favor when he’d killed her all those centuries ago. Rathbone scrubbed a hand over his face. See! A habit. But what was he supposed to do?
His oracle had received no new visions of the final bones before she’d passed out from pleasure, and he couldn’t say he was sorry by the lack. He wasn’t ready to leave this room, much less let her go.
I am hers, and she is mine.
With what felt like a feline grin, he reached for his nightstand drawer. While he savored this delightful perk of being mated, he’d munch on a few cookies, watch a season of soaps. His go-to. Maybe he’d fetch Daisy from the Realm of the Forgotten and surprise Neeka with “sister” time. Even though the harpy had forgotten said sister. Speaking of, he should tattoo Neeka with a key to the realm. To all realms he accessed.
A yawn cracked his jaw, and he paused. A yawn? He was tired? No way. He hadn’t slept since his childhood. He—
“Hades,” Neeka muttered, stirring in his arms. “Yesss.”
His brow furrowed. Was his female having a sex dream about his uncle? Because there would be hell to pay!
“Hades,” she said with a bit more force. “Hades, Hades, Hades.”
A growl brewed. “Neeka. Carrot. I need you to wake up.”
Her eyelids popped open, and she rocketed into a sitting potion, shouting, “Hades!”
Rathbone rolled her to her back, not letting himself get distracted by the tousled black curls framing a delicate face with glittering amber irises, flushed cheeks, and kiss-puffed lips. “What about Hades?”
“I need to speak with him,” she said, panting and agitated. “Now.”
“Why?”
“Because he—I.” She turned pensive and grimaced. “I’m not sure. I just know I need to speak with him as soon as possible. I think he knows something about the missing bones. What if he has them? What if he betrayed you?”