Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 144277 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 721(@200wpm)___ 577(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144277 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 721(@200wpm)___ 577(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
The fabric is sand-colored, warm and natural. But along the lapels and cuffs there are some gold details. Embroidered swirls in designs that remind me of the stars for some reason.
Beneath the jacket, he’s wearing a deep sapphire blue tunic with an open neckline, hinting at his body underneath. Gold clasps shaped like desert leaves, hold the fabric together in places. And the trousers are different too—still loose and practical, but now made from a fine silky fabric and fresh in style, reminding me that we’re not in Tau City, but Xi.
His boots are a dark chestnut leather, polished but sturdy, and laced with golden thread. A wide belt cinches around his waist, its etched metal buckle glinting softly underneath a long scarf of rich copper, which is draped over his right shoulder.
It’s all very elegant and expensive looking, but it fits Finn’s Tau City style so perfectly, I have a wave of homesickness. A sudden longing for hot and windy desert days and cold nights looking down at the bright blue canal that was outside everyone’s neighborhood, regardless if you were up city or down.
I can honestly say, as a down-city girl, I had never really thought about Finn Scott. Three months ago, I would’ve called him a quiet snob—too clean, too untouched by hardship, a man who walked through the city like he wasn’t really there, but too soft to survive outside of it.
Tonight, Finn Scott looks like a runaway prince in disguise. Regal, capable, and strong. Like he just stepped out of a story and has decided to rewrite it.
I swallow hard, realizing that I haven’t spoken. That I haven’t even breathed.
"Jasina," he says again, this time stepping towards me as Xi and I reach the bottom of the stairs. And damn. The way he says my name makes the spark butterflies inside me do more than flutter, they feel like a swirling cyclone.
When we reach him, I let go of Xi’s arm and allow Finn to pull me close. He kisses me on the cheek, sliding his lips against my neck until he’s whispering in my ear. “You look absolutely stunning. Delicious enough to eat.” Another quick cheek kiss, like he didn’t just promise to eat me, and then he steps back, sliding his arm around my waist and pulling me into his chest.
I swell with a feeling of being cherished. He loves me. Not in a deep, we’ve-been-together-for-a-decade kind of love. But not the, we-barely-know-each-other kind of love either.
It’s something new and it comes with a sense of belonging.
“You two can find your way to the God’s Tower door?” Xi asks, his smile one of delight. His eyebrows hiked way up into his forehead. Like he’s enjoying our reunion even more than we are.
“Is that how we get through?” Finn ask.
Xi opens his arms wide. “How else?”
“It’s just… it was pretty regulated in our city.”
“It’s regulated here too. But we’re…” Xi’s eyes dart past us, to the disheveled city outside, “between things at the moment.”
“Right,” Finn says. Getting Xi’s obvious nod to the disaster of a city outside. “We’ll meet you up there, then, right? In the other world?”
“You’ll have an escort when you arrive. Have a nice night. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
Finn takes a breath, like he’s about to say something, but Xi simply fades away, like he was never here.
I chuckle. “The world is so weird, isn’t it?”
Finn turns, looking down at me as he nods. Jasina, you have no idea. I’ve got so much to tell you. But I’m starving, and I bet you are too. Let’s go. I want to see this upper dimension so bad, I can barely stand it.”
“Me too,” I say, excited and laughing now as he takes my hand as we make our way out the door of the Maiden Tower and turn, looking left, to the God’s Tower.
“Did you ever think,” Finn says, “in a million years, that you would be walking through that door?”
“Absolutely not. I didn’t Pledge so I could win, obviously.”
Finn looks at me, frowning now. “Do you think any of them wanted to win?”
Now I frown too. “Well… no. Why would they?”
“Then why did they play, Jasina? It’s so dangerous. I don’t think number one has anything to do with being the best at spark magic. Because it wasn’t going to matter to me. I was going to choose my favorites and… probably one I didn’t like at all.”
“And make her number one?”
He nods. “It’s sick, right?”
I shrug up one shoulder. “Yes. But… if I were you, I’d have done the same thing. Choose all my friends so they could get all the rewards. Then choose a girl I didn’t like and make her the ‘winner’.”
He sighs. “I don’t wanna mess up our good mood—”
“No,” I put a hand up. “You’re not going to. It’s something that needs to be said, anyway.”