Page 143 of The Book Reader
He takes my face in both hands. “It means I love you with everything in me.” He kisses my lips deeply, making me moan. When he pulls back, he rests his forehead on mine. “Fine, you can come. I want Lexus to understand what we are doing, to be ready.”
“She was ready the second she found out about Macy; she wants her head, too. What happens after we map out the palace?”
“We invade, keeping all guards and reapers away from her so we have a chance to kill her.” His voice has a dark edge to it, one I know is only saved for battles.
“The book knows how to be rid of her.” I twist my body slightly, showing him the spell of scroll writing running along my side. “This is a power absorber; it will make her mortal so we can kill her. Her powers will become mine…” My voice comes across as worried, as it should. I don’t know what her powers are, or how long I will have them for.
Gaelan runs his hands down my back, soothing me. “Do you know if you will keep them?” he asks.
“I don’t know. I’ve not read too much into it. I noticed it on my body after I faced her. It’s like the book knows what I need…When I run my hands over the spells, I know what they are.” I look up at him, steering the conversation back to the matter at hand. “When do we leave?
“In two moons, it will give us enough time to prepare and for you to do some reading,” he says, grinning at me.
“What’s the smile for?” I ask him
“What do you think about staying here for those days? We can see what it’s like to live in Westery after all these years, plus the book is here, so it will be easier for you.”
“That sounds amazing, our first little romantic getaway!” I lean forward and kiss his lips softly.”
Gaelan laughs as he lifts his hand and shimmers in a bottle of black and two glasses. I raise an eyebrow at him.
“Are you going to get me drunk and do bad things to me?” I tease and wiggle my eyebrows.
“I don’t need to get you drunk to do bad things to you, my Rose. Being your mate allows me that privilege,” he hands me the glasses, then opens the bottle and pours us two large shots. “This is just for fun,” he says, taking a glass and clinking it with mine. “To our plan and finally being able to live.” His words make my heart beat faster.To be able to live. To not be taken out of this happiness and feel all the pain that we both have over the centuries. I clink his glass and we both down the shot, the black coating my throat before it sparks my blood, making me a little lightheaded.
“To our plan.”
Chapter 51
ARIANNA
My stomach is full of nerves. I’ve gone over my spell book about a hundred times while Gaelan and I stayed in Westery. Being there with him, in our own little bubble of happiness, makes me want to get rid of Macy even more. Gaelan and I have never had a chance of a happy, long life together, and I want that so much.
We stayed in Westery for two moons, and when we got back to the castle, Gaelan wanted to leave right away.
Now, Leah is by Gaelan’s side as we creep into Evilie. I’m so grateful for her and her never-wavering loyalty.
“My lord, the gates to the left are open and the guards have been taken out,” Leah says. We abandoned the hell-horses a few miles back and headed closer on foot. The palace is heavily guarded, so Gaelan set Leah off to free up a gate for us.
“Thank you, Leah. We will head that way and enter through the left wing.” Gaelan takes my hand and leads me to the left. The land is all black; there are volcanoes in the distance that make this whole place scorching hot. The lava flowing from the volcano seeps into the land, giving it a sinister appearance. Ishudder at the thought of all the bad things that go on here—all the death and evil.
A strange feeling hits my chest, making me stop and pull my hands from Gaelan’s as we grow closer to the palace. My chest grows tight, like something has sucked all the air out, and if I take a breath, it’s going to set my lungs on fire.
Gaelan and Leah turn to face me, “Rose? We must keep moving.” He tries to retake my hand.
I shake my head at him. “We can’t go that way, it’s not safe.”
“My lady, I cleared the way; it is more than safe,” Leah smiles. I shake my head again, then turn and scan over the grounds. Something doesn’t feel right.
“It’s hiding—watching us…” My voice comes out as a whisper, more talking to myself than to them. Turning, I step past both Gaelan and Leah.
“My lady,” Leah starts, but I hold my hand up. My eyes focus on the black stones, the way the heat seethes from them, in waves that curl up into the air, almost like a shimmer of dread waiting to consume us.
Lifting my eyes, I follow the blackened heat waves I can see, some of them going straight up, others curving into a shape, my eyes narrow. The power from my book courses over my body, a light sting on my skin from another spell appearing on my forearm, the gold glowing in the black night. The spell doesn’t fall from my lips; it doesn’t need to, it gives me a new sight, a new way to look at the evil in this world. I close my eyes and let the feeling rush over me before I open them. In seconds, a tall black form looms over me, no body, just a cloak of black smoke and blood red glowing eyes, no legs, it’s floating.
Stepping back, Gaelan and Leah appear at my sides, weapons drawn.
“It’s a Reaper, Ari. Step back,slowly,” I hear Gaelan’s whisper as he takes my hand and slowly steps back with me.Leah moves in front of us a little, her sword drawn, ready to attack. The Reaper watches us, floating but not moving to attack us. Gaelan told me Reapers are the purest form of evil. They feed on souls, regardless of whether the soul is good or evil. Tate has some control over them, but they operate under their own rules. They can’t be killed, and they won’t stop an attack once started until one’s soul is consumed in totality.
