Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Still, I refuse to give up. “Don’t hurt her. She can’t help you.”
“But you can. I know you, Bram, and that ridiculous Duke are hiding the Untouchable somewhere. Give her to me, and I’ll leave your sweet Tabitha alone.”
Duke will never allow that. He’s given up virtually everything to keep the woman safe. Besides, surrendering such a weapon to Mathias… I might as well hand all of magickind to him on a silver platter.
I shake my head. “You’d never turn Tabitha loose unharmed. You’d kill her for the mere sport.”
Mathias raises a brow. “It pays to know your opponent. Clearly, you do. Bravo!”
While Mathias verbally jousts, I catch sight of Caden and Ice quietly creeping up behind the wizard, slowly drawing their wands. Both are covered in black blood, indicating they’ve killed more than a few Anarki.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Bram and Ronan approach Mathias’s blind flank, wands in hand. God, will we finally catch the bastard and vanquish him once and for all? Could it be that simple?
Caden points his wand at Mathias’s head, fury and hate all over his face, then takes a step closer.
He bounces against Mathias’s invisible wall. And our surprise is blown.
Suddenly, the chilling bastard whirls to growl at us all and, arms raised, sends a massive wall of water crashing in every direction. Water gushes everywhere with ear-splitting power, dousing everything in sight. The force isn’t natural—too cold, too heavy, like the water itself carries his malice. We stagger back. The strong current sweeps my feet out from under me and rolls above my head. Ahead, I can see Tabitha wriggling, a tangle of legs and skirts in the thick water as she fights Mathias.
Then another wave slams into me like a fist and drags me under, cold and crushing. It feels sentient, hateful, as if Mathias himself has wrapped his hands around my throat.
Gasping for air, I fight my way to the surface, following the trail of bubbles. When I emerge, I suck in a deep breath—and see Tabby swimming across the surface toward me. Surprise jolts me like a live wire—so sharp it borders on pain. For one terrible moment I thought the water had swallowed her whole…but she’s alive. And free!
Greedily, I clutch her against my chest with one hand, wand in the other, while I scour the room for Mathias. She grabs me tightly, buries her face in my neck, and sobs.
As the water floods out the open window and dissipates, I realize Mathias is nowhere in sight.
“Damn it!” Caden shoves his wand back into his jacket.
Bram pockets his wand and glares at me. “We could have cornered the bastard, but we didn’t have a bloody plan. You jumped in without thought.”
With a glance, I tell the group’s leader that he can fuck himself. Yes, I want Mathias dead...but I need Tabby alive even more.
Ronan claps me on the shoulder. “She’s safe. I’m glad for you. Maybe you’ll stop biting everyone’s heads off now?”
“Not bloody likely,” Ice quips. “Besides, we don’t actually know how to kill a wizard who’s already risen from the dead. There’s nothing to say that even with a plan, we would have succeeded tonight.”
In fact, we’ve all wondered before if killing Mathias is a mere fantasy. Incarcerating him is nearly impossible, which leaves us wondering how the devil we can vanquish him once and for all. I only know we won’t stop trying.
In my arms, Tabby pulls back and sends a terrified hazel gaze my way. “He’s gone?”
“Yes. I’m here, love. How do you feel? How did you get free?”
“I’m fine. When he slapped me, I pretended to pass out, hoping he’d drop me or think me useless as a hostage.”
Wishful thinking.
“When Mathias blasted the water through the room, I-I felt him dissolving himself into the water,” she continues. “The way he grabbed me, I knew he meant to take me with him. And if he did, he’d kill me. So I surprised him by kneeing him in the groin and shoving away just as he dissipated.”
If Mathias hadn’t already been in the midst of breaking down his form to float away with Tabitha, he would likely have remained behind and killed her just for spite.
I clutch her tighter. I didn’t save her, damn it. She saved herself. The thought guts me, but I’m equal parts terrified and proud that she was cunning and brave and stayed strong.
“You amaze me, Tabby.”
She clings softly. “Please don’t leave me again.”
I don’t know what to do. But I can’t give her back to Blackbourne, if the other wizard still lives. That, I know.
“You haven’t mated yet,” I observe by studying her signature.
“I—I told Sean I needed time to mourn, that I couldn’t pile what should be the happiest time of my life on top of the saddest.”