 by Kristen Proby.jpg)
Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Despite Lora pushing him away, Xander has never stopped loving her. But now that the stakes are higher with evil threatening them more than ever, he is done giving her time and space. With the curse that Jonas put into place long ago creating havoc with the innocent residents of Salem, the core six, their coven, and the witches from Hallows End need to work together to overcome true wickedness.
Will Xander and Lora find themselves once again amidst these stormy seas and their recent separation? Or will evil reign, throwing the core six, Salem and Hallows End into unimaginable peril?
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Prologue
Katrina Harwood
September 1692
* * *
“We must make haste.” I have never written so quickly, and I pray to all the gods and goddesses that the special ink I’m using will work how it should.
“There are no words on the page, my love.”
I do not spare my sweet husband a look as I keep going.
“I have cast a spell on the ink, Thomas,” I reply. “I must finish writing this before he casts the curse.”
“Of whom are you speaking?”
I can hear the frustration in his voice, but there is simply no time to explain. I know, down to the marrow of my bones, that Jonas will cast the curse of the blood moon this night, despite all the begging and warning I have done.
My brother believes it is the only way to protect his coven.
“Jonas,” I mutter, still writing. “I must get this down.”
Line by line, I write the words I have memorized over the past weeks, knowing this may be the only way to break the curse once Jonas casts it.
However, once it is done, no one, not even I, will remember what has transpired.
Tears fall unchecked down my cheeks, and I rush on. I despise the few precious seconds it takes to dip my quill into the special ink so I may continue.
Please, Jonas. Please, do not do it yet.
I do not know if Jonas can hear my plea, but I send it out anyway and continue my quest.
Once I’ve written the spell, I continue with the instructions. I must get it all down and trust that it will not all be in vain.
“Darling, we must go.”
“I know. I just need one more moment.”
“Katrina—”
“There. ‘Tis done.”
I sit back in the chair and blow out a long, relieved breath. More than anything, I wish I could see my dear brother and embrace him, pull him close and reassure us both that everything will be as it should be in the end.
But this must do for now.
“I do not think I forgot anything.”
“What will he do, Katrina?”
Finally, I raise my eyes to my beloved and see worry and fear on his handsome face.
“What he believes is right.”
“And is it?”
I close my eyes and feel the hot tears running down my cheeks. “My dreams are full of despair, Thomas. The premonitions do not end well.”
“Will they die?”
I find his gaze with mine once more. “’Tis a fate worse than death. They will not remember, and they will never die.”
His brow furrows in confusion, and then he blinks and stares down at my Book of Shadows. “What are you doing there?”
It has begun.
There is but a moment of pain in my heart, but then it’s as though I am waking from a long slumber. I look down at my book with a frown. “I must have run out of ink.”
But I notice a notation in my handwriting, telling me not to write or mark on the blank pages.
Odd. I don’t remember why.
“We must make haste,” Thomas says, gathering the last of his things to stow in the wagon. “It is not safe for us here, my love.”
Sorrow fills me. I love my home in Salem so much, but I know he is right.
We must go.
“I am ready. This is the last of my things.”
“Come, then. We leave tonight.”
I nod and follow my love out of our small home on Chestnut Street, then turn to look back inside. With a wave of my hand, all the candles extinguish, and the fire dies. Our cabin is empty.
As much as I do not want to go, it is the only way to ensure our survival.
Chapter One
Lorelei
“We’re supposed to be fishing here, Xander.”
My comment doesn’t deter his hands—or his mouth—from moving over my body in that delicious way he does that never fails to set my heart and every nerve ending in my body on fire. I’ve known for as long as I can remember that Xander would be my forever. That he would be the one I loved, cherished, and committed myself to for all time.
I believe we’ve been linked for many lifetimes.
“That’s what I wanted you to think,” he mumbles against the soft skin of my neck, sending shivers down my arms. “I just wanted to get you alone.”
“You have a house.”
“On the water,” he clarifies, and I look up into those dark, fathomless eyes of his. They’re the color of black tourmaline, and I’ve never felt safer than when I’m looking into his eyes. “I want you on the water, Lorelei.”
That’s not a surprise. He always wants me on the water. As a sea witch, and with water being my most powerful element, the sex out here is out of this fucking world.
The winds are calm, the bay around us hardly rocking us at all as I reach back to unzip my dress and let it fall away from my arms, pooling at my feet.