Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
The house was quiet, the kind of quiet that made every small sound stand out, like the tick of cooling pipes or the faint creak of wood settling. It left her alone with her thoughts, and they kept circling back to Dax. He’d seemed decent. Polite. He’d stood there breathing and talking, and now he was gone.
Her laptop sat on her legs, the heat from it barely noticeable. She stared at the screen, then her phone buzzed. She answered it. “Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Emily. I’m checking on you.”
Nadia’s gaze stayed on the scrolling text. Lines of symbols and half-deciphered words crept down the screen as she typed another command, muscle memory doing most of the work. The bedspread was twisted beneath her knees. “I’m fine. How are you?”
“You can’t be fine. Come on, Nadia. I know you better than that.”
Nadia exhaled slowly, trying to find the right words to reassure her sister when she couldn’t find them for herself. “Things are weird. There’s no denying it.” Her fingers hovered over the keys and then moved again. “Dax died.”
Emily inhaled sharply. “He died?”
“Yeah. Somebody poisoned the tea we had for the ritual.” Nadia leaned back against the headboard, and the solid wood pressed into her shoulders. She shifted her weight to release some of the pressure. The room felt smaller at night with the shadows filling the corners.
Emily coughed. “Do you think one of the other challengers did it?”
“I don’t know.” Nadia couldn’t figure out why anybody would sink so low. “What do you think?”
“Well,” Emily said slowly, “the Ravencall Pack has poisoned other packs before. Exotic spices are their thing.”
Nadia rubbed at her eye, careful not to smear the tired ache behind it into something worse. The headache had been waiting all evening, sharp enough to be distracting but not bad enough to stop her. “Luca Cross didn’t drink the tea. Didn’t he say he has ties to the Ravencalls?”
“Yes. The guy said that. They’re masters with spices as well as poison.”
Nadia chewed on her inner cheek. “I find it too much of a coincidence that he didn’t drink any of the tea.”
“That is suspicious,” Emily muttered. “Just say the word and I’ll come get you out of there.”
Nadia glanced back at the code, at the way the ancient text resisted being neat or cooperative. Oh, she didn’t have the actual words from the grimoire, but she’d gathered enough of the old words from just speaking with pack members who remembered a sentence or two that she had a big enough sample. Unfortunately, most of the words or phrases the folks remembered were either expletives or dirty limericks, but that was life. “I appreciate it, but we’re locked in. Once the trials start, there’s no backing out. Anyone who tries gets hunted.”
“And then what?” Emily demanded.
Who the heck knew. “They’re ostracized and maybe killed.” Her stomach rolled, and she paused long enough to steady herself. “I’m trying to translate the grimoire myself.”
Emily went quiet. “You don’t trust Solomon?”
“I think I do,” Nadia said. “But I want to see it with my own eyes. He reads things straight down the middle. There’s got to be room for interpretation.”
“That’s fair,” Emily said. “Solomon’s always been by the book. That’s why he became the librarian.”
Nadia snorted softly. “Figures. Okay. Lighter topic. How are the wedding plans?” She needed to think of something happy, even if just for a few minutes.
“Good. I picked the dress this morning. It’s hand-sewn and beautiful.” Emily hesitated. “You’ll be my maid of honor, right?”
Nadia smiled, happiness spreading through her. “Of course.”
Emily sighed. “We’ll get you safe. I promise.”
Nadia’s gaze stayed on the screen as she watched the code fill in the blanks. “I don’t want any of those males to die.”
“If you want to run,” Emily said gently, “Jackson’s pack will protect you.”
“I know,” Nadia replied. “But then the packs will go to war.” She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again and went back to the screen. Some things cost too much.
Suddenly the window blew open and cold air rushed in. Caidrik jumped inside, shoulders wide, face pale, eyes lit with that unnatural glow. Snow scattered across the sill and the floor, melting into dark specks on the wood.
Nadia’s hand jerked off the laptop keys. “Um, Em? I have to go.” Her body warmed up head to toe in a heated flush.
“What’s going on?” Emily gasped.
“Nothing. Everything is fine, and I’ll call you tomorrow. Trust me.” Nadia ended the call with her thumb tight around her phone. “Caidrik, what are you doing?”
He reached back and shut the window, checking the latch with a rough push as if he didn’t trust it to hold. The chill lingered anyway, creeping over the room and settling against her skin. His breathing sounded thick. “Checking in to make sure you’re okay,” he said, his voice so low it sounded like he’d been chewing on pinecones all night.