Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 448(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 448(@300wpm)
Ripper sipped from his cup. ‘Not evil, ruthless,’ he said more to himself than to her.
‘Hmm?’
‘Millicent once told me that you weren’t evil, just ruthless.’ He tilted his head. ‘Yesterday, you spoke to Reena of a time when her niece tried punching her way into your mind. I never heard about it.’
‘There’s a lot that isn’t talked about.’
‘What happened exactly?’
‘Sera turned up at my apartment one day, wanting to apologize for the part she – along with Tyra, Ames and their friends – had played in trying to make me miserable when I was a kid. But it wasn’t hard to sense that she wanted something from me. I eventually cut off her fake apology and told her to be upfront with me about why she was really there or to leave. She admitted that she wanted me to teach her a certain type of magick. I said no.’
‘What kind of magick?’
‘The kind that would enable her to invoke dark beings from other realms.’ Even those within the coven who sneered at Emberlyn still sought her out, looking for the kind of aid or advice that Reena would never grant.
He blinked. ‘You could do that?’
‘It’s not as fun as it sounds.’
His brow knitted. ‘It doesn’t actually sound fun at all.’
To each their own. ‘Millicent made it so. It was her way of teaching. She made everything seem light and adventurous. Like we were walking around a zoo while I learned about animals. She was a good mentor. And one thing she taught me was that only a witch who was very grounded should be given . . . darker lessons, shall we say? Sera isn’t grounded. And, unhappy that I wouldn’t oblige her, she tried taking the knowledge from my mind.’
‘Did Reena punish her for what she did to you?’
‘No. I did that. I turned Sera’s braid into a snake.’ The memory plucked at one corner of Emberlyn’s lips. ‘It didn’t last longer than an hour, but it scared the piss out of her.’
A glint of what she could have sworn was humor briefly appeared in his eyes.
‘I’ll bet,’ he muttered, before taking another sip of his coffee.
‘Have you mentioned the curse jar to Reena yet?’
‘No. I’m keeping the knowledge of it in my back pocket for now. I want to see if I can catch someone in the act of planting another. They won’t dare if they’re aware that I know about the jar you dug up.’
‘I haven’t mentioned it to anyone, and I won’t.’
‘I know,’ he said with total certainty.
He should be sure, but his certainty surprised her. ‘Do you?’
‘Call it a gut feeling. Not saying I trust you. Don’t know you well enough for that. But my instincts tell me I can trust your word on this.’
‘What else do they tell you?’
‘That you’re even more powerful than the coven thinks you are.’
Definitely not all brawn. Emberlyn only said, ‘Hmm.’ She pushed away from the island. ‘I’d better head home. I appreciate you giving me a heads-up about what my delightful family is up to now.’ He’d made a point of ensuring that she couldn’t be taken off-guard with it, which he hadn’t had to do. ‘You know, Ripper . . . you’re okay. For a werewolf.’
His mouth twitched. ‘You’re okay. For a witch.’
Her insides squeezed as he absently edged forward, again sipping from his cup. He stood a little too close, smelled a little too good, and she felt unbearably conscious of him. Of where he stood, how he held himself, the look in his eyes, the muscles in his body, the . . . gah, this needed to stop. Because while she was tempted to make a move, try her luck, it didn’t seem wise.
If he wasn’t on board, things might then be awkward between them. Just because they were now allies and slowly becoming comfortable with each other didn’t automatically mean that he’d be receptive to any advances she made, did it? He was evidently still wary of her to some degree.
If he made his own advances, well, she couldn’t say she’d rebuff them. But – and call her a coward, she didn’t care – she wasn’t going to try to instigate anything. It was Ripper’s issues in the way, not hers. At the very least, he needed to be given time to power past them . . . if he could or even cared to.
‘Later,’ Emberlyn said stiffly, her smile a little too wide. She saw herself out and, without allowing herself to peek in the rearview mirror to see if he’d followed her to the door, she drove off. During the journey home, she gave her lady bits a huge lecture on how they needed to pull their shit together.
By the time she’d parked outside the manor, dusk had officially fallen. Orange, purple and pink smudged the darkening sky. Silhouettes of the house and trees stretched out like fingers.