Page 140 of The Book Reader
I fist my hands slowly, testing my strength. I haven’t felt Trelor since my Rose went missing. I have no idea if he is even awake, but I could really do with his help right now. Macy turns back to the window and shimmers a glass to her hand and begins to drink from it. I slowly sit up in bed and then move quickly to shimmer behind her, wrapping my hand around her neck, my lips closer to her ear. “If I could fucking kill you right now, I would, I’d rip your head off and feed it to the hounds, come near me or my Rose again and I will do everything in my power to fucking kill you.” I squeeze her neck tighter before I shove her hard forward, pushing her through the open window. I rush forward on my unsteady legs and watch as she falls. A few seconds later, she shimmers from mid-air and appears behind me, her face twisted in anger.
“You threaten me,” she lifts her hand, which now has a dagger in it, and throws it toward my head, but before it reaches me, I shimmer fast back to my bedroom, safe in my castle.
“My lord?”Mark calls my name, pulling me out of the memory as I suck in an unsteady breath.
“Yes, Mark?”
“I just thought you would like to know that the rose garden looks lovely right now,” he says, making me frown.
I turn my head to look out of my window. “I don’t need to see the rose garden, Mark.”
He clears his throat. “My lord, you must. Go.Now.” His urgency spurs me to my feet. My eyes scan the grounds leading up to the garden and land on the first set of benches. Sitting there, just staring into space, is Ari. Not even waiting a second, I shimmer from my office to just a few steps behind her. “Rose?”
She stiffens at my greeting. After a moment, she exhales deeply. “Mark told you, didn’t he?” She asks, and I can’t help the slight grin on my face. I often wonder what I would do without that man in my life.
“He told me that the rose garden looks lovely; he was not wrong.” I move to stand in front of her. She looks up at me; her eyes are red and puffy with her tears from earlier, the heartbreak I never wanted to see on her face.
“I am sorry, my Rose,” I whisper. She looks away.
“Why did you lie to me?” Her saddened amber eyes shift back to mine. That one look is like a punch to my gut, and I never want to see her look at me this way again.
“It’s not what you think it is. I didn’t tell you because—” I look away now, not wanting to say the words. I’ve never spoken about this to anyone; it was centuries ago. I had time to mend my body and mind, to overcome and get over it, all before she was reborn again. “I didn’t know what to say.”
“You just say it, Gaelan. When I asked you, it was because I was falling for you… You can trust me!”
“She drugged me and then fucked me,” I cut her off and watched the shock and horror wash over her face.
“What? When?” she shouts, angry now.
I move to sit next to her on the bench and take her hand. “It was a long time ago, after I found you dead. I went to her to make a deal. I just wanted her to leave you alone, to give you the time to master your powers so you could kill her.. When I got toher palace, she cuffed me. At the time I didn’t know, but the cuffs had some kind of contact-drug on them, then she gave me some liquid lust and—” I stop when I feel her squeezing my hand, I look down at it, my voice low. “I was unconscious for most of it; I woke up when she was almost finished.” I glance at her; I don’t want to tell her all the details. It’s hard for me to share that much with her. I know I should have told her all this when she asked.
She is my mate.
I just didn’t want to come across weak.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers, then moves fast to climb onto my lap and hug me tight. I wrap my arms around her and lower my head to her neck and breathe her in. “That bitch has so much to answer for. I want her dead, Gaelan. I want her gone from our lives, so we don’t have to deal with her anymore.” She looks me in the eyes, amber flashing gold fury, swirling around her iris like a storm.
“She will soon be my Rose. Together we will be rid of her, for good,” My voice dark with my need to see Macy pay for everything she has done to us. “Tell me what happened at Westery,” I ask, tucking hair behind her ear.
She bites her lower lip, and I have a feeling I’m not going to like what she is about to say.
“She appeared out of nowhere. The dome I had placed for the protection of the book was still up, so she couldn’t get close, but…” she stops speaking, making me frown.
“But what?” My arms tighten around her.
“We fought, well, I did, she just had to take what I was giving her,” she whispers, but I just laugh and stand up with her still in my arms and spin us around. She laughs and shakes her head, “Gaelan?”
“You are stronger, my Rose. You had a one-on-one with Macy, and yousurvivedit! Forgive me for being so happy aboutthat.” She really has no idea what that means; she has never lasted this long after meeting Macy.
“We need a plan, Gaelan,” she breaks into my thoughts.
“Yes, my Rose, and we will make one.” I grasp her chin. “But first, I need to see you come.”
Chapter 50
ARIANNA
“Ari, when can I open my eyes?” The intrigue in Gaelan’s voice makes me smile.
