Page 55 of The Book Reader
For a moment, we just stare at each other, his eyes flashing so many emotions I can’t look away. He reaches for a photo from the floor and looks down at it, laughing slightly.
It’s a photo of a woman in a long purple ball gown; her eyes are the same as mine, but her hair is bright orange.
“You hated this dress, you would tell me that the lace tickled your neck, and the bodice was too tight.” Gaelan looks up at me, his eyes turning sad. “I had to watch as they took you from me; they took you and hanged you in the town square.” A tear rolls down his cheek, making me frown.
“Gaelan, what are you talking about?” I stand up, confused. I try to walk past him, but he grabs my arm. “If you’re going to lie, then I’m not going to listen.”
“Just sit down and I’ll explain,” he says, his eyes flash again, and I pull in a frustrated breath before sitting back down again.
“You sound crazy right now; you know that, right?”
He chuckles lightly. “I know.”
I cross my arms over my chest and lean back into the chair, and wait for him to speak.
“See this?” He moves his hand to his chest to touch the tattoo of a dragon with roses and vines wrapped around it—the tattoo that looks to be surrounded by tribal markings. “Many think it’sa tattoo, but it is not, it’s my mating mark.” I open my mouth to speak, but he stops me. “Let me finish.” I inhale deeply and then nod for him to continue.
“It’s not the same as other mating marks that you see on daemons; this is a soul mate bond. That type of bond never goes away, even if the soul mate dies.”
I keep my mouth shut. I know very little about the daemon world.
He continues. “You’re my soulmate, Arianna.”
I can’t help but laugh at his words. “Gaelan, you already had sex with me, you don’t have to make up shit to make me do it again. I would be more than willing to.” I lower my voice, “Maybe not now, though, you seem slightly crazy.”
“Please, just listen to me, Ari,” he pleads. I gesture for him to carry on. I frown a little, feeling like I’ve heard this before, I know that’s impossible, but the way he’s sitting looking at me and the tone of his voice—it’s like a recurring dream I’ve had.
“It was so long ago now I can’t even remember the date. There was some fighting and unrest in a part of the underworld—this was back when supernaturals didn’t walk the earth, even coven witches had a place in the dark. Tate, the ruler, decided to attempt to conquer the various realms, beginning with the witches. I was called in by my father to assist with their defense. He told me I had a critical job to do.” He grins over at me. “And I did, I didn’t know it at the time. I remember fighting and being cornered next to a cave; the daemons I fought started to overpower me. I was a young daemon at the time; I was strong, but still had a lot to learn.
“One of them stabbed me in the arm—I wasn’t fast enough—just when I thought it was close to the end, this gold light filled the space and dissolved the daemons into nothing. It shocked me because I had never seen anything like it. When I got to my feet, I saw her—she was the most beautiful woman I had everseen, with glowing amber eyes, an Orion’s belt marking on her left cheek, and the sweetest smile. She asked if I was okay before running off to fight again. I didn’t see her for the rest of the fight, not until later that evening at dinner. She sat with the head of the coven, whom they referred to as the Book Reader.
“My father made the introductions, and when your eyes locked with mine, something clicked into place. I can’t explain it, I justknewit was you. I felt the need to protect you, to possess you, to love you so fucking much. You already knew, though,” he chuckles. “That night you told me about the voices in your head—your guides—had told you to wait for me, that our love is one from the powers that be, and that we were always meant to be.”
Gaelan’s eyes lock with mine, and I know that they must be showing my shock. I have never told anyone outside of my family about the voices I hear; my grandfather would always tell me that they were my guides, but I never believed him. But as I grew older, they became my friends in the darkest of times. Sitting forward, I shake my head. “I still don’t understand.”
“Let me finish, Ari.” He takes my hands in his, and the comfort I feel from that touch settles over me.
“That night we sat at dinner and talked, the next day I couldn’t wait to see you, it was like you were made to be the perfect person for me.” He lifts my hands and kisses the back of them. “You still are.” He grins at me. “We spent the next few months together before we completed the mating bond. We didn’t just mate as lovers, we mated as soul mates, we both received this mark because of it.” He touches the dragon again.
“We moved to a little house in the village, but we didn’t have much time together after that. Tate came back and caught you alone.” Gaelan’s eyes turned sad as he sat there with me, and as he was telling me this, it made it feel real, like I’d lived it. “He poisoned you, an arrow in the heart, it was covered in Reaper blood, which is deadly to anyone. You managed to come back toour home, but it was too late. I wasn’t there to save you, and I had to watch the life drain out of you.”
He kisses my hand again. “You died in my arms.” The emotion is thick in his voice as he stands up to look out of the window. “I waited for my mating mark to fade; I didn’t want it to. Everyone told me that if it faded, I would be free of the bond, and I could find another mate. I was so scared that it would vanish, I didn’t want that, and I didn’t want another mate—you were it for me.
“It never did fade. Then a century later, there were whispers of a great power being born into the world, one to save us all.” He turns to me. “They told me that you had been reborn, but I didn’t believe them, not until I saw your eyes.” He faces the window again and is silent for a moment.
His voice is softer now. “Every time you’re reborn into this world, you always have the same beautiful amber eyes.”
I stand up slowly and frown at him. “This can’t be real,” I whisper in disbelief. Looking down at the stack of photos, the one on top is of a lady—me—smiling. Her long brown hair is wavy, her eyes—myeyes—stare back at me. “Tell me about this one.” I pick it up and hold it for him to see. “Who is she?”
Gaelan walks over to me and smiles. “Maria, but you liked to be called ‘Ria.’ I took this photo; we had just finished dinner. You wanted chocolate, so we walked along the river to get some. The sun was setting perfectly, so I took this.” He pulls in a sharp breath before his eyes lift to meet mine. “She took you from me this time, she made me beg for your life, but she killed you anyway.”
“Who did Gaelan?”
“Macy.”
I frown at his words. “The woman who kidnapped you? Who almost killed you?”
“Yes,” he answers.
