Page 148 of The Book Reader
Ican’t breathe. It’s as if all the air has been pulled out of my lungs, leaving me empty. My heart is still beating, but it hurts so much.
Leah left me here a little while ago; she and Gaelan must have made some kind of pact to get me out if anything bad were to happen.
Standing up, I walk out of the living room and head straight to Gaelan’s office, pushing the door open. All eyes turn to me. Mark stands behind Gaelan’s desk, looking down at a map with Leah and Brax. Mark lifts his head and smiles sadly at me; he moves around the desk and over to me.
“My lady, why don’t you go and lie down for a little while?” His voice full of sympathy, makes me feel sick. I shake my head at him.
“Are you going after him?” I ask. The map is from the underworld, which I can see from the door.
Leah walks over and wraps her arms around me, hugging me tight.. “We are planning too; you can rest until we bring him back.” She pulls back and looks me in the eyes. “He would want you to be here and safe, my lady.”
I nod my head slowly at her; they have no idea what I am capable of. Maybe it’s time I show them all.
I smile softly, “Bring him home safe,” I try to sound as weak as possible. “I will be in my bedroom.” I turn and leave them to make their plans. Rushing upstairs to the room, I close the door behind me and pull in a breath. “We’re going after him.”
“Me knows,”Lexus echoes.She’s ready to kill anyone who so much as comes near us.
Rex comes over to me and whines. I reach down to pat his head. “You’re coming with us, boy. I can’t do this without either of you.” His red eyes have fire in them, and I know he will be ready.
I walk over to Gaelan’s weapon room and pull the door open. Over the course of our training, he has started designating a section of the room for my weapons, but that won’t be enough for what I need to do tonight. I walk straight past mine and stand in front of his. I run my fingers over his twin daggers before picking them up along with a sword and the black duffle next to it. Quickly, I move back to the room and place everything on the bed.
The dark blue and gold tunic stares back at me. It features a dragon wrapped around a rose, similar to our mating mark. I pull it out, slip my arms into it, and fasten the buttons up the front. The fabric hugs my body like a second skin. My head turns, and I look in the mirror; my reflection stares back at me, making me sad that I am wearing this alone. Gaelan had matching battle suits made for us, so everyone would know we’re the lord and lady of Illis—that we are mates. It breaks my heart that he isn’t here with me, helping me into it. I laugh sadly. He would be telling me to be careful in his possessive tone as he buttoned me up..
“We gets him back, Ari. She will pay.”Lexus in my head breaks me out of my thoughts. My eyes shift to lock with myreflection, and Lexus flashes into full view for a second, making it clear both of us are ready for this fight.
I place the daggers and sword into their scabbards and shimmer to Evilie.
My eyes scan over the same black and barren lands as last time; the fear I had before has been replaced with something much more dangerous.
Lifting my head, I see Reapers flying around in the air above me. I can feel the darkness emanating from them; they are still waiting for their king. I wonder what kind of evil it will bring to our world. What kind of daemon is going to oversee something so dark and deadly?
I feel a surge of power and a tingling rush over my body. My markings flash gold, and Lexus appears in front of me. Her gold eyes flick up, and she giggles. “Why do they feel so evil?” she asks me, then spins around in a circle. Almost skipping with joy. I know why she is happy, why I’m happy.
We are going to kill and show no mercy to whoever tries to come at us. I’m done with these fucking daemons and their need to take anything and everything they want.
This world or next doesn’t belong to them.
Looking up again, I watch as the Reapers slowly begin to turn and look down at us. “It’s because they are,” I state, knowing that I’m right; they wouldn’t feel any other way. I walk past her and head toward the palace, Rex following close behind us. He stands at his full height, nearly the size of a compact car. It amazes me how he adapts to fit any environment he is in. I need him to be deadly, so he is giving me just that.
I follow the same path we took before, heading toward the palace. Lexus takes her time catching up to me; I can feel her taking in everything, as if it’s through her eyes. It feels like I’m seeing all of this for the first time. She is inside of me, the otherhalf. But I now realize that she is me. An innocent and dangerous version of me.
As we approach the first set of large black gates, I see a group of daemons chatting and guarding the entrance. I know that I may come across some on my way in. I was hoping it would be less than what I can see now. Rex growls low beside me and then vanishes from sight. He must have sensed something and left to take care of it, ensuring our safety. Lexus comes over to me and grins. “My turn,” a slow, sneaky smile spreads over her face, making me laugh a little and nod my head. She moves back into my body before I feel the shift, my skin fading to white, my height growing, and the markings on my body flashing gold light into the darkness.
Lexus
I can still feelAri shimmering just inches from my skin. I know she wants to be close in case I need her, but I won’t. The new outfit Gaelan got us fits me perfectly; the material shape-shifts with us, so it can accommodate both Ari and me whenever we need it to.
Both Gaelan and Trelor didn’t like me being naked when I shifted, even if my markings did cover most of me.
I hope Trelor likes how I look in it.
Shutting that thought off, I walk closer to the gate and grin innocently at the daemons as they each turn to me.
“Well, beautiful, what are you doing here?” one of them says as he stands up and starts to walk over to me, his eyes travel over my body as if he is assigning prey, little does he know that my blood will not be spilt tonight.
I smile at him and swish my tail on the ground. None of these are lords; they are low-level daemons from the looks of it.
“What kind of daemon are you?” he barks at me.
