Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Afanasiv was proud of Vasilisa. She didn’t give away where she was. Xavier couldn’t detect her, how close or how far from him she was. There was no energy spilling from or around her. He was helping with that, but still, she could have done it on her own. She had extremely good skills. The more he was with her, the more he admired her. How hard it must have been to say her aunt meant nothing to her and to go ahead and kill her, but she spoke in a disinterested, almost bored tone.
Afanasiv watched the mage carefully and saw that he was loosening his hold on his victim and bending closer to whisper to her. Leaving Vasilisa, Afanasiv floated closer to hear what the mage’s orders to her were, and then he invaded Olga’s mind. She might be Lycan, but he was ancient Carpathian, and few could stop him when he was determined.
She wanted the power of the royal family to be hers alone. She wanted to rule and have the people bow down to her. She felt she didn’t get the respect she deserved. Those feelings had started when a young lover had rejected her, wanting to go to Vasilisa without the stain of taking what Olga offered him first. Afanasiv shared those memories with his lifemate as they unfolded.
Olga let out a terrified wail and then pleaded for her life as the mage loosened his hold enough to allow her to talk. “He forced me, Vasilisa. Forced me. Do you think I would betray my beloved nephews? Or you? Our people? Why would I do such a thing?”
Olga was a superb actress. Her voice trembled. She sounded and looked tragically frightened and remorseful. Siv had no idea whether or not Vasilisa would hesitate even though she knew her aunt was lying.
You are a fighter of demons. Xavier does not belong in this realm. How do we return him to the underworld and seal him there? He sought to keep his lifemate focused on the reality of their situation. He could send demons back to the underworld, but sealing them there was beyond his capabilities. Demons were a specialized field, and his partner certainly had an expertise in that particular realm.
He is mage, and therefore his spells are very difficult to figure out. I have to know them to counter them.
The spells are reinforced by Lilith in the underworld. I can see a tether attached to him, Afanasiv told her.
That’s all to the good. The tether will draw him back if I succeed.
If she needed the spell that had brought Xavier to her territory, then he would get it for her. Stall for time. Draw him out. Flattery generally works on his kind.
“Who forced you, Aunt Olga? Who could possibly force you to do anything? You’ve always been the strongest among us.”
Invading the mind of a Lycan was extremely hazardous, but invading the mind of a high mage was suicidal. He was going to attempt it anyway. If Vasilisa could send Xavier back and seal him in the underworld, that would be one less enemy they faced. And Xavier was a dangerous opponent.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to attempt getting into his mind, Afanasiv.
Call me Siv. And maybe not, but you need the information. Stay connected to me but in the background. That way, you can pull me out if needed, and you can see the spell firsthand without me repeating it. It will require you to keep talking to Olga and Xavier simultaneously.
I won’t have any trouble unless Xavier becomes aware of you.
Afanasiv doubted if anyone had ever had the audacity to slip inside the high mage’s mind. He did so slowly, barely using any energy. It was a quiet invasion, only the slightest disturbance, a small bite of cold that had the mage shaking his head while Afanasiv quickly adjusted the temperature.
He began to sift through the mage’s memories as fast as possible, going through them at an alarming rate of speed. He needed to find the moment when Xavier had first entered the human world again and where the portal was located. He saw the rituals the demons carried out under the lashes of their mistress, Lilith. She’d taught them the low humming notes that would cause a shift in the earth’s plates. In turn, cracks would form, large enough to release her spies.
She promised Xavier she would send him back to the Carpathian Mountains with Xaviero if he proved worthy by collecting the blood of the royals for her. She wanted them under her control. She would send him to the surface in a limited capacity in order to achieve his goal. If he failed her, he would know torment for thousands of years.
Xavier had no intention of failing. He immediately recruited Barnabas, Xaverio’s son, as well as the third triplet, Xayvion, to aid him. Barnabas was a ladies’ man, and he set out to seduce Olga, taking the image of a slightly older Lycan, a member of the Sacred Circle. He intrigued Olga, took her down a dark path sexually and began to whisper to her about how she should have been the one to rule, not the others. He kept her from sleeping, all the while taking her blood and reinforcing their dark bond with sex.