Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“I don’t know who came up with the idea of a trade, and honestly, I don’t want to know.”
“Would it make you think of him differently?”
“No,” I say with no hesitation. “I know who Xavier is. I’m not going to lie and say he’s been misunderstood and he’s secretly a non-violent vampire who only drinks donated blood or something like that.”
“Yet you still love him.”
“I do.” I turn and look at my brother. “Does that make you think of me differently?”
“It should,” he admits honestly. “But it doesn’t. The whole world has turned upside down. I don’t really know what to think.” He walks a few paces down the garden path before coming to a sudden halt. “They left me for dead,” he scoffs and it takes me a second to realize he’s talking about Marco and Vivian. “They used Gia as bait. We don’t know if she’s safe.”
“I think she—”
“Wren,” he interrupts. “We. Don’t. Know.”
I swallow back my emotion. “You’re right. We don’t know. And until I get something of hers, I can’t even do a locator spell. And even then, what are we going to do? The Order has a demon at its command.” I throw my hands up, feeling desperation burn inside of me. “And right now, I’m feeling sorry for this demon!” I shake my head at myself. “Because I can relate.”
“What do you mean?” He gives me an incredulous look. “How the hell do you relate to a demon?”
“I was used and manipulated by the Order, too. They kept me on a leash, scared of my powers. And I followed orders. I did exactly what they wanted me to do. Did you know that Vivian and Marco—our parents—were drugging me in my sleep and taking my blood? The Order wanted to replicate my powers and make their own little army. I thought it was so they could have super soldiers to hunt demons but now, now I’m wondering if it was something else.”
“I…I had no idea.”
“You didn’t. Because they lied to you, too. The Order is evil and needs to be stopped.”
“Not everyone in the Order is evil, Wren,” Antonio tries to reason. “I’m not. Leo and Larissa—”
“Don’t get me started on her,” I snap, tone shrill. Energy burns around my fingers. “She’s always hated me and went out of her way to make sure I knew I wasn’t part of the family. Look at how many lives the Order has destroyed and I’m not talking about the people that died because of them. Look at us! Raised like warriors. Expected to perform like murderous robots. Gia should be in school worried about boys and makeup and making cringy videos on social media. Her biggest threat should be bullies, not demons.”
“Someone has to hunt the bad things, Wren.”
“Do they?”
“Yes, Wren,” Antonio says, voice calm. “The heroes do. You’re a hero.”
“You sound so brainwashed,” I go on, unable to help myself. “You died, Toni! Died! Like bled-to-death died. And here you are, still spitting their bullshit propaganda!”
His face darkens. “I’m not spitting bullshit propaganda,” he repeats, obviously offended. “There are good people in this world, Wren. People who want to make a difference. I’m not just talking about hunters. What about firefighters? Social workers? Special ed teachers? People who work with the elderly or disabled? None of those jobs are necessarily easy, yet people do them because they want to make a difference.”
I look at the koi pond, tears blurring my eyes. “Nothing makes sense.”
“I don’t think life is supposed to make sense.” Antonio comes over next to me, leaning on the railing and looking down at the fish. “Hell, this garden doesn’t make sense. Neither does the big-ass kitchen. Vampires live here.”
I can’t help but laugh. “The garden is all lit up at night. It’s pretty. The kitchen though, I agree. Especially considering this house was built for vampires.”
“Resale value?”
“Maybe,” I reply with another snort of laughter. We both stare into the pond for a moment. “I think I know a way we can contact Leo.”
“A spell?”
“That’s an option, but I don’t want to wait until tonight to do a dream spell, and if he thinks we’re all dead, he might not be in the right state of mind to receive a message.”
“Good point.”
“I made a friend. Shocking, I know. She’s a werewolf, and she would be willing to help. I can’t send her into enemy territory, though,” I say, doubting my plan to ask Delphi to find Leo and deliver a message for us. “Okay,” I say, thinking out loud. “Where was Leo when you came to get me?”
“He went out with a few other hunters to look for Gia.” He raises his eyebrows. “Mom sent him in the opposite direction.”
“She kept you guys apart on purpose.”
His jaw tenses, and I can only guess what he’s thinking. Did they know Marcus Henry was going to use his blood to draw the sigil? Were they okay with him dying if it meant they got unlimited power? I know how it feels to be discarded by your family.