Page 63 of The Book Reader
“Shesent them to the house this time. I was in a meeting, so I didn’t know. By the time I came home, you were already gone. Macy took you, killed you, and left your body for me to find a few days later.” He looks up at me. “She left you in the middle of town, tied to a fountain in the village square. The police called it a murder, saying that they were going to catch whoever did this. But I knew they never would.” The pain in his voice is breaking my heart. This man has loved me and lost me so many times. Iwalk over to him and move to stand between his legs. He looks up at me, his eyes flashing brighter.
“I won’t lose you again, Ari. She won’t take you from me this time.”
I nod my head slowly. “She won’t. Not again.” Leaning down, I kiss his lips softly. I love my life even though I know it’s changing. Ever since Aunt May died, I’ve felt that things were different, and they have been. I just need to find this book.
“Gaelan? Where did Kenzie hide the book?”
“She never had the book.” He declares softly
I frown at his words, “What do you mean?”
“Some of your lives you had powers, and you found the book; others you were just human, it was almost as if someone was trying to hide you.” He says.
“Hidemefrom what?”
He leans his head on my stomach. “I don’t know, Ari. I’ve tried to find the answer to this, but there was never any.”
I run my fingers through his hair, wanting to give him comfort but also to comfort myself. The more I learn about what Macy has done to him, to me, the more worried I get. I just hope that this time I can make a difference, and she won’t kill me.
“Gaelan? Are we safe here?”
“For the most part, yes, she can’t come here without me knowing.” He pulls back and looks up at me. “I have my men guarding the village and the surrounding lands.”
My eyes move to the window, and I can see the silver swirls in the sky. It looks so peaceful, like nothing’s wrong in the world. But I feel like something big is coming,
I just don’t know what. “Your villagers? I can’t have them risking their lives for me.”
“This won’t be the first time, Ari. They will fight for their lord and lady,” he says, making me feel even worse about being here.
“I think I should go,” I whisper, not wanting to really leave, but if it means no one must die. Then I’ll do what I need to.
Gaelan shakes his head and stands up. “You’re not leaving Ari, I’ve only just got you back.”
“But Gaelan, I can’t have people dying for me, not if Macy comes for me here.”
He strides over to the fireplace, waving his hand, which causes flames to erupt and light the logs. “You are not leaving, Ari.” He turns to look at me, his eyes blazing. “I asked you to come here for a reason. I can protect you more here than I can topside. We can protect you more.”
“But—”
“No, Ari.” He cuts me off. “You’re not leaving, not yet. You need answers, find them here.”
I sigh, knowing that I’m never going to win this one. This man has spent his life protecting me; he’s not going to suddenly stop now. “Okay. I’ll stay, but if Macy comes, you have to promise me that you will take me away from here, so we can try to protect the village.” He just stares at me, his eyes showing me that my words have hit a wall, that he won’t move on this. I walk over to him and look up into his eyes. “Gaelan, I willnothave others die for me.”
“And I willnotlose you again.” That’s all he says before he shimmers from the room.
Sighing and flopping down onto the sofa. I can understand his hurt, I get it, but I also can’t let others die for me; this is not what this is about. I need to find that book; maybe that will make me strong enough to fight off Macy? I know it hasn’t been the case in the past, but perhaps I can try to be better this time.
I need to find him, but I need to find my clothes first, so I stand up to go searching for them.
There are three other doors; in this room,I’m betting he put them in his wardrobe. I walk to the door on the other side ofthe fireplace, and as if by magic, it swings open on its own. The torch on the wall lights up as I step further in. My eyes cast over the room in awe of what I’m seeing. It’s some kind of weapon storage—it’s enormous. Swords, daggers, odd-looking whips, chains, any type of weapon you could think of is in here.
Walking around in astonishment that one daemon has all of this in one room, I walk over to one sword and run my hand over it, feeling drawn to it. The feel of the cool metal and the sharp edge of the blade excites me a little. I’ve never held one before—I’ve never had the need—I wonder what it would feel like in my hands. Reaching for it, I notice that it has a blue handle with a dragon on it. Lifting it up off its stand and holding it with both of my hands—it’s lighter than I thought it would be. Making some swinging movements, I have no clue as to what I’m doing, but it feels good. It feels like this would be easy to fight with.
Putting it down, I walk further into the room; it seems much longer and larger than I thought it was. At the back is another door. I try the handle, but it’s locked, frowning. I turn around and jump, seeing Gaelan standing there, wearing nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants, his blue eyes glowing brighter as he smirks at me.
“Nosey?” he chuckles as he walks into the room.
“Where did you go?” I ask him. “You kind of left me with no clothes or an explanation.” He shifts a little and reaches for my hand, pulling me close.
