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)
Jasher made contact, and there was no stopping him. But he cupped my throat, more tender than ever before. “Seems you don’t know yourself as well as you thought you did, princess. And I—” His Adam’s apple bobbed. Voice dipping with reverence, he said, “I know you better than I thought. I see you. Know that you love with the whole of your being. And when you look at me as if I’m everything you’ve been waiting for…you mean it. Now and forever, I am undone.”
His confession washed over me like a fine wine: heady, dark, and dangerously sweet. I almost melted against him as I waited, certain his downfall had come but hoping it hadn’t. Seconds passed, and still no shackles appeared on him.
The Ring must be broken. Do not cave. “History shows what becomes of me when we’re together.” Only ever ruin. “You yourself even told me never to trust you.”
His grip tightened. “You alone can trust me.” He combed his claws gently stroking my hair. “In every life, I saw you as the instrument destined to slay my brothers. Even though I fell in love with you, I knew if I saved you, I would lose them. So I picked them.”
This. This was the fear that had been hiding in his heart. That I would destroy everyone he loved. Then I’d fed him the elixir, forcing the seed of this to grow in the light, and there’d been no more hiding.
Now, a new weight settled on my shoulders. “That’s the problem, Jasher.” I offered the words with quiet assurance. “I am the instrument destined to slay them.” The very reason I was born. “You and me? We’re doomed.” And deep down, we’d known it.
“I don’t believe that anymore.” He shook his head, a lock of hair falling over his brow. “From the start, you’ve believed we can sever my tie to Ian. If me, then the others too. Let’s do that together, you and me. Give me another chance,” he pleaded, nearly ripping me in two. “I choose you. Only you.”
His conviction shouldn’t be a temptation, battering at my resolve. I’d meant what I’d said. I’d learned my lesson. I was impenetrable. Or not. Because what if…
The flames around us exploded. He stumbled back, a thin silver band appearing around his left wrist.
The truth slapped me. He’d lied.
The Ember within me might not have ignited, but I did. Fury blazed white hot, the urge to grab him, to shake him, to scream, overwhelming me. And yet, power rippled through my muscles, my strength returning in a rush.
The Ring fed me the truth it had stripped from Jasher, turning his lie into my power.
Aaah. I understood better now.
Eyes wide, he peered at me. “I told the truth, Moriah,” he repeated. “I swear to you. I love you. I choose you.”
Though a second band didn’t appear on him, hotter fury licked at my bones. “Your new accessory says otherwise.”
“It’s because of Ian. I’m not severed from him yet. That must be the reason the chain appeared. Because he will betray you, and I am not…him.”
“But you are him,” I corrected, my tone flat. “Exactly what everyone, including you, have tried to warn me about from the very beginning.”
He flinched. It was the first time I’d ever agreed that he wasn’t different from the others, but my enemy, through and through.
“Do you love me, Moriah?” He took my hands in his, his thumb stroking my racing pulse. “Me, Jasher. Still?”
I almost denied it, despite the consequences. Part of me wanted to hurt him as he’d hurt me so many times. “Yes, I love you. But it doesn’t matter.” I wouldn’t let it matter. Elowen claimed the Ember demanded my everything. If true, that would leave nothing for Jasher, my personal downfall.
In that moment, revelation came. I didn’t need to die for the Ember. I needed to live for it, putting its will above my own.
Sparks flared from the Ring. A second band appeared, this one on my right wrist and colder than the first. It didn’t just drain the strength I’d gained—it stole far more. I staggered beneath the onslaught, crying out.
But I hadn’t lied. I’d meant it; I wouldn’t let my feelings for Jasher matter.
Would I?
Hope reignited in his expression, and I bit the inside of my cheek, tasting blood. With a single flap of his wings, he was behind me. My back pressed against his chest, his hand cool and possessive on my chin, tilting my head, exposing my ear to the heat of his breath.
“It matters to you,” he said with joy and wonder I did not expect. “I matter. Despite everything.”
Shivers rained over my spine. “Okay, yes, my love for you matters,” I spat, ripping from his hold and whirling to face him. “So what. Now, I’m the one who gets to choose. Hmm. Let’s see. The man who betrayed me or the parents who die for me? The so-called friend who lied to me or my sister who trained me? The monstra who killed me or a future of peace.”