Total pages in book: 218
Estimated words: 209489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1047(@200wpm)___ 838(@250wpm)___ 698(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 209489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1047(@200wpm)___ 838(@250wpm)___ 698(@300wpm)
He narrowed his eyes, fully aware of my bullshit.
I guess we both knew each other too well at this point.
The door creaked open.
I held my breath as I took in the figure there.
“Grandmother,” Alex greeted the woman standing at the doorframe, her fingers wrapped around a cane that looked…
Was that a huge emerald on the top of it?
The amount of power she managed to pack in her body, it electrified my cells. It was a rough buzz beneath my skin. For some reason though, this time it made me a little less nauseous and more… awake?
“Is there something we can do for you, Grandmother?” Alex asked, still not moving from where he was.
She raised her chin. “You can leave the room. I want to speak with your Gracie.”
I had a feeling about that “your Gracie” thing.
“Alone, Alexander. You can wait outside,” the older woman said. She obviously knew a door and some drywall wasn’t going to block out our voices, but all right.
I felt his gaze shift back toward me, and I met it, giving him a nod that was 98 percent reluctant.
Did I want to be alone with her? Hell no. But I wasn’t going to be the one to tell her no either.
Plus, maybe she wanted to tell me about my grandpa, not that she really knew him, but it seemed like she might have known his parents. Who were also family. I knew his mom had passed away right after I’d been born.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. You made her faint earlier,” he said in that same funny voice he’d pulled out of nowhere before.
Was he telling her no?
The woman tipped her chin up even higher. “There’s hope for you yet, child. Fine, yes. She’ll be safe in my presence,” she almost seemed to concede.
But I was still too stuck on what the hell else had happened.
He was trying to care for me.
My heart… my little fucking heart gave a thump that both of them had to hear.
Alex set his hand on mine. I nodded before he rolled off the bed, giving me a long, long look as he walked out and closed the door behind him.
She held the cane with the maybe apple-sized emerald loosely and landed her bright purple gaze on me before saying abruptly, “This family grew too large in the last generation.”
“Ma’am?”
She set her free hand on top of the other holding the cane. “I had one brother, and he lacked any motivation to marry. We kept our families small to protect our identities. It might be my fault for allowing my daughter to have so many children, but I don’t appreciate the concept of blaming myself.”
I barely held in the cough that rose in my throat. Whatever she was, she was a predator. You didn’t tell a predator you were injured or sick, especially when I had no idea where the hell she was going with this.
“These children rarely trust, and I blame technology and the times that we live in.” She aimed that intense gaze at me that made it seem like stars had been born in her pupils in the span of a second.
My mouth went dry.
She was ancient and eternal. At least some part of her was. Maybe every part of her.
I could totally see why Agatha would have said she saw her life and death in the woman’s eyes.
My hands were starting to sweat.
“Humans are more complicated than they look. People aren’t just good or just bad. Nothing is as black and white as it seems. The boy, Alexander, is a perfect example. His heart isn’t as pure as his sister’s or his brother’s, but it’s a strong, ferocious heart that wants to protect those it sees as weaker. He reminds me of my father in that way.”
I still had no clue where she was going with this, and I didn’t have the balls to ask. She could rant all night about mathematical theories, and I would force myself to listen and pretend like I knew exactly what she was talking about.
“Your brain isn’t weak, but your body is compared to ours.” Those eyes that suddenly seemed even more clear than Alex’s zeroed in on me. “I’ve seen what you are, and I’ve seen who you will become. You wondered if it was fate that your life has brought you into ours, and it isn’t. I had a dream of you the night you were born, and I’ve followed you loosely over the years, child.”
My leg started shaking.
“I’ve had visions of my children and their children’s mates.”
Did she say the word “mates”?
I had thought she’d wanted to meet me because of my great-grandmother.
Her fingers curled over the giant rock on her cane, and I’d swear her eyes glowed pure fucking white for a moment. “This is my one offer,” she went on. “You are under my protection, blood of Ximena and granddaughter of Felipe. My mother once owed your great-grandmother a debt, and it’s my responsibility to repay it. If you need me, say my name and I will be there,” she finished, like I knew what in the hell was happening.