Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
I closed the distance and got comfortable on a rock next to the boy. “Hi. I’m Moriah Shaker. Your friend from the future.”
He rocked back on his heels, bracing for impact. “Not my friend.”
“Hurt her and suffer,” Jasher called, cleaning the worst of his wounds.
“Why? Don’t you want to kiss her better?” Jashy snapped back.
I clapped a hand over my mouth.
With a disgusted huff, Jashy sheathed his daggers. “Guardian says water maidens must be killed on sight. Especially green ones.”
“Oh, he does, does he?” I leaned back on my palms, unafraid. “That’s because I’m dangerous to Ian. But not to you.”
That little chest puffed up. “Wrong. If you’re dangerous to him, you’re dangerous to me. I am he, and he is me.”
Ugh. The propaganda started early for the monstra. “Well, in twenty years, you abandon Ian’s training to save me from a beheading, and we go on a quest together. You make me laugh. Ian makes me furious. You value truth, he prefers lies. Your smile is rare but genuine. His is practiced and comes often.” I swallowed, chest clenching. “You care. He pretends to. You are not Ian.”
Thick silence stretched. I felt Jasher’s stare like a hot brand across every inch of my skin.
Jashy crossed his arms, curious, defensive, and wishful all at once. “Do you fall in love with me?”
Yikes! Diving into the deep end. My gaze flew to the adult, who didn’t pretend to be uninterested.
He arched an eyebrow. “Yes, princess,” he drawled out, tying off a bandage. “Tell the boy all about your feelings for me.”
You know what? I would. In mere days, we’d be entering the Ring. Might as well get a jump on the truth bombs. “I fell in love with him during our first adventure,” I told the kid. “When he protected me while hating me, I fell harder. When he chose me over everything else, I shattered.” I squared my shoulders and faced Jasher fully. “In lost oaths, vows endure. You’re only undoing.”
He understood, molten tenderness dominating his features. A flash, there and gone. “You love me,” he said.
“She talks in monstra code,” Jashy said, impressed.
Longing pulled me a step closer to Jasher. “I do. I love you. With all that I was. All that I am. All that I will be.”
His gaze narrowed and remained on me for a heartbeat before sliding to the boy. “Go home, boy. Now.”
Hold up. “You can’t just send him away—”
“I’ve already lived this life. Ian won’t find him,” Jasher explained. “Besides, he intended to sneak out, anyway.”
“It’s true,” Jashy said with a shrug. “Anders and Reese are waiting for me.”
I threw my hands up. “You’re both impossible. How did you even get together?”
“After I left you in the forest, I went to him. Passed on a message.” Jasher shrugged. “He followed me here. I didn’t learn about Ian’s attack against you until the next morning. And don’t ask me what mess—”
“What message?” I inquired with an unrepentant smile.
He huffed and pursed his lips.
“This feels important,” Kevin said. “Should I leave? Ha ha ha. Ha ha ha.”
Working his jaw, Jasher turned the toy to face the wall. “I told him one day an otherworlder with wounded eyes, an enchanting smile and a sharp wit, would step onto his chopping block,” he admitted. “And that, if he harmed her, he would forever regret it.”
A brilliant light beamed through the corridors of my being. He loved me back. He must.
Jashy pretended to gag, and the two males shared a brief grin, both identical and devastating. Then Jashy ran, diving into the open air.
What in the world? I raced after him, grinding to a halt when wings burst from his back, carrying him into the darkening clouds.
Should have realized. Shaking my head at my unnecessary fright, I turned back—
—and forgot every thought in my head.
Jasher stalked toward me, sunrise irises ablaze. “You love me,” he said again, the words less a question than a fragile truth he needed echoed back.
I searched for words, but only found two. “I do.”
A breath away, he settled his hands on my waist and paused a beat as we searched each other’s eyes. Then he lifted me gently, reverently, as though he feared I might vanish if he moved too fast. He carried me to the blanket and laid me down. When he bent his face to my neck, his breath shook. With hunger, yes, but mostly with awe, as if he were committing me to memory in case fate ever tried to steal me away. Again.
“And you?” I whispered, my voice barely holding together. “Is there anything you want to tell me?”
He stared at me, features softer than I’d ever seen them. “In lonely outlands, voids echo. You’re our universe.” Slowly, he lowered his head. “To others, ominous.”
The corners of my mouth lifted. I love you, too.