Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 137871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 689(@200wpm)___ 551(@250wpm)___ 460(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 689(@200wpm)___ 551(@250wpm)___ 460(@300wpm)
Her body jerked as a woman with long auburn hair appeared. She carried a basket of linens. Her eyes were green as emeralds, and her skin as pale as a fresh lily bloom. There was no doubt in Juniper’s mind that this beauty was Lilias, Adriel’s mom. Their loveliness appeared almost identical, save the length of her hair and the fullness of her hips.
The vision faded and Juniper gasped as her body jolted back to the present. Her eyes snapped open. “They're in city called Argos in Greece. I saw their house—it's beautiful, secluded, surrounded by olive trees and flowers. We need to get there right away.”
“What about passports?”
“Leave that to me. You load the car while I finish packing and say goodbye to Ruth. We’re leaving in ten minutes.”
“June, they aren’t going to let us past the first gate without the proper documentation.”
“Dane, I’m working on it,” she said, plucking a strand of hair from his head.
“Ouch!”
“You want a passport?”
He scoffed. “You’re so bitchy when you’re witchy.”
She smiled, hearing the affection masked in his voice and trusting him to have her back through whatever came next. Grabbing his arm, she said, “You know I’d still be in the cell if it wasn’t for you. Whatever happens next, Dane, I want you to know that I love you like a brother. We might not be family, but—”
His chest slammed into her as he gripped her up in a bear hug. “I’ll be your pseudo-brother, June. Right now, you’re the only family I’ve got.”
“Same.”
He let her go and rubbed his head where she’d yanked out his hair. “Let’s go save our girl.”
As soon as Dane went to gather the bags, Juniper’s fingers flew over the pages of the old grimoire. It was a simple masking spell that started with a carbon base that would act as a carrier. She used tree bark since it held the energy of the elements and the vitality of the sun.
Once she had the needed tools set on the altar, she muttered incantations. Her hands wove through the air as if conducting an orchestra, and the sky filled with a faint, shimmering light as particles gathered around the bark, transforming it into a rather convincing document.
She placed a piece of her own hair next to Dane’s. Moments later, the passports were complete, photos and personal details authentically printed inside.
Juniper stuffed the grimoire and documents into a worn leather satchel alongside the vials of potions and bundles of some powerful herbs.
“That’s it,” she said, her voice tight with urgency. “I feel completely unprepared, and we need to be ready for anything.”
“We’ve got this.” Dane slung the heavy satchel over his shoulder, his expression resolute. “We'll save her, June. He doesn’t get to win this time.”
She thought of all the others. Her evening visitor. The monster that took Dane’s sister. Jonas. All of her vengeance pulled from those past atrocities and worked into one clear target. Save Adriel. Kill Cerberus.
She met Dane’s stare. Their bond had been forged through shared traumas of very different battles that somehow formed a sense of unwavering loyalty in both of them. “If we actually do this, it will be our first kill. Are you ready for that?”
He hoisted the last of their bags over his shoulders. “The world needs less monsters. If I get to kill one, good. I couldn’t pick a better primal kill.”
As they stepped into the cold night, the weight of their mission shrouded them from distraction. The journey ahead would be perilous, fraught with danger, uncertainty, and the stress of getting through customs with a shit-ton of witch paraphernalia. Two half-breed hybrids off into the great wild yonder to confront two ancient vampires and kill a monster. What could go wrong?
Everything.
But together, they would face whatever horrors awaited in the shadows. And they would risk all that they owned in this world, including their lives. For Adriel, for love, for family, and for the promise of a brighter future.
The doors of their little stolen rental car slammed, and they both drew in a deep breath and let it out in slowly. Juniper smiled nervously. “Let’s rock and roll.”
Dane turned the key, and the engine purred to life. “Let’s go fuck some shit up.”
CHAPTER 29
There was not a spell in the world that could get her onto the back of that mule. “No.” Juniper stood, stubbornly holding her bags and wearing twenty-four hours of collective travel dirt from weird taxi cabs, train stations, airports, and public restrooms. Donkeys were where she drew the line.
Dane looked at the stack of their luggage. “Do you see that hill? I’m not carrying this shit anymore.”
His patience ended at the Kalamata airport. “It’s not necessarily uphill.”
“It’s a hill all the same. Get on the mule, June.” They were both tired, hungry, and devoid of wanderlust.