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)
“Maybe they’re just gone because they’re a bunch of selfish assholes,” Juniper mumbled. “And fuck them anyway. He’s not your destiny.”
Adriel sighed. “Your disdain for the elders can’t alter my fate—”
“Because you won’t let it! If you want a better life, Adriel, you have to fight for it. You can’t just passively wish things will change.”
“Okay, okay.” Dane stepped between them. “Let’s all take a breath. We’re on the same side.”
Adriel scowled, and she wouldn’t meet her eyes. Juniper understood confrontation wasn’t her forte, but doing nothing wasn’t an option. She continued to brainstorm possible soft spots in Cerberus’s defenses. Even Achilles had a heel that left him unprotected.
“What about his DNA?” she asked. “There was something different about his fangs.”
“I saw that, too.” Dane nodded. “They weren’t like ours. They reminded me of a python.”
Adriel frowned. “We all have different teeth. Dane’s fangs are shorter than mine. And June’s are thinner when they extend. What does it matter?”
“Ours are different because we’re half-breeds.”
Juniper frowned. “We’re certain he’s a purebred, right?”
“Only purebred immortals can be called.”
She hated every reminder that this psycho was Adriel’s mate and somehow part of her soul.
“We could test his blood,” Dane suggested. “That’s how the bishop found out what was in my DNA.”
“What are we supposed to do, roll up with a Red Cross bus in the middle of a fucking war? Come on, Dane. You saw what he’s like. We can’t get near him.”
“Gandalf could do it,” Dane mumbled as he paced to the bookcase. Cocking his head, he examined the numerous spines.
“Are you looking for something?”
He grunted and moved to the small desk tucked in the corner, where he rifled through old bills and papers stashed in the drawers.
Juniper frowned and looked at Adriel. “I know you’re scared, but I believe in us. We can do this.”
Dane moved to the window.
Juniper ignored him and focused on convincing Adriel. “I’m working on some new spells with fire.” The curtains opened, bathing the study in a distractingly bright light. “Dane, what are you doing?”
Rather than answer, he just stared out the window.
“Dane?” Juniper went to his side but saw nothing out of the ordinary. “Hey, earth to Dane.” She snapped her fingers in his face, and he jolted.
“Huh?”
“What are you doing? You were just staring like a zombie.”
“I…I don’t know. I was looking for something.”
“Landmarks,” Adriel whispered, and the hairs on Juniper’s neck stood up. “That’s how he must have found us before. He’s getting into our heads.”
A wave of panic rushed through Juniper. “There must be a tear in the protection spell.”
Adriel rushed to the bow window and yanked the curtains shut. “I found myself doing the same thing the other day.” She clutched her throat and paled. “He’s going to find us.”
Juniper mentally checked the spell and frowned. “It has to be something else. Everything’s intact. There’s no breach.”
“He already did it once with me when you were unconscious,” Adriel argued, her body tense and her voice high-pitched with panic. “He must have found a loophole.”
“No, I checked. It’s like Fort Knox up here.” Juniper pointed to her skull.
“How do you hold the spell while you sleep?” Dane shaded his eyes and focused only on the floor.
Juniper shrugged. “I sort of set it like a watch. But I can tell when someone breaks through.”
“Some immortals are travelers.” Adriel’s voice fell quiet. “They latch on to a host and can co-exist inside of their mind for decades undetected.”
Dane curled his lip. “Like a parasite?”
“Exactly.” Adriel shook her head. “He was always private about his disciplines. He could have hidden such a thing from me. I was young and knew very little back then.”
A sense of paranoia drifted through the room like a draft of noxious gas. “Everyone stay away from the windows until we figure this out.” Juniper paged through the grimoires, searching for any reference to such things.
“How do they get in?” Dane asked.
“I’m not sure. It’s a very rare discipline.”
“Ugh, I feel so…violated.” Dane scrubbed his head as if it were infested with lice. “What if he’s inside of me right now? How do I get him out?”
“I’m looking. Let me concentrate!” Juniper blocked out their questions and focused on finding some actual answers. “I found something.”
She turned the book because the page had more hand-drawn illustrations than words. It depicted a physical body entering the mind of another.
“What’s that say?” Dane pointed to the inscription at the top of the page.
“Fantasi theid. It means thief of imagination. They commandeer other people’s visions and can even alter their thoughts. I think he was doing it to me on the mountain. I was completely paranoid with crippling anxiety, but it wasn’t me thinking those things. As soon as I realized it was him, I pushed him out.”
“How?”
Juniper shrugged. “I don’t know. I just…did.” She hunched over the book, her finger dragging down the inscription as she mumbled through the spell written in tongues. “Okay, both of you sit down and shut your eyes. Try to clear your minds.”