Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 130761 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 654(@200wpm)___ 523(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130761 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 654(@200wpm)___ 523(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
And fuck, bitch was right.
She’d hooked me in, I’d taken the bait, but unlike the other unlucky bastards, she was never leaving me . . . because I’d hooked her in too.
For good.
Chapter Seventeen
Phebe
One week later . . .
“Sapphira?” My feet ran over the hard ground, propelled by the racing of my heart. The man pulled her into a big building. I ran, breath stolen as I followed them inside.
I choked on the smell. Then saw the man touching her leg as he pinned her down on a bed and pushed potion into her arm. Sapphira’s head fell to the side, and her brown eyes stared lifelessly at me. Her big brown eyes, with that notable freckle to the side of the left.
“Sapphira!” I ran forward and took her hand. All I felt was bones and coldness. I pushed it against my cheek, trying to wake her from her stupor, but her eyes just stared.
“Sapphira?” I cried, feeling my heart rip on seeing her in such a state of disarray. Her legs were bruised. Her face was bloodied. My beautiful baby was in pain. Forced into this hell too.
Her head turned, and I stilled. “Save me,” she said, her voice broken and sorrowful, devoid of life. “Save me, Mother . . . remember . . .”
“Remember what?” I asked, squeezing her hand, but her head lolled to the side once more and her eyes closed. I leaped forward and shook her too-thin shoulders. “Sapphira! Remember what?”
But there was nothing, nothing but the echo of her whispered words . . . “Save me, Mother . . . remember . . .”
My eyes flew open, but my body was paralyzed on the bed. “Phebe?” AK’s panicked voice reached my ears. I concentrated on breathing, but all I could hear was the residual echo of Sapphira’s dream voice begging me to help her. To remember.
“Remember what?” I croaked in confusion, my dry throat capturing my words.
AK’s face came over mine, his eyebrows pulled down. “Phebe, you were having a nightmare.”
I blinked his face into focus and concentrated on his words. A nightmare. It was a nightmare? It felt so real. My heart reacted as though my daughter were speaking to me in real life. Sometimes my dreams felt like memories. Sometimes my memories felt like dreams. It was impossible to know which was real and which was false.
I lifted my hand and stared at the palm, at the fingers. I clenched it into a fist. Because I could feel Sapphira’s small, bony hand in my own. Feel her cold, dry skin as if it were still clutched in mine.
“Phebe?” AK said again, then pressed his lips against mine. My eyes closed the minute I felt his comforting warmth seep into my mouth. His kiss was gentle, coaxing, and eventually my body relaxed and I slipped my arms around his neck.
It was a nightmare. It was only a nightmare.
AK ran his finger down my face. “You okay?”
I inhaled deeply, then nodded. “I . . .” I swallowed. “I dreamed of Sapphira. She was in trouble.” My eyes shimmered as I recalled her pleading words. “She called me ‘Mother,’” I whispered, my throat catching with emotion.
AK’s worried expression softened. “We’ll find her,” he said. I looked at him in confusion. He shrugged. “I already got someone looking.”
“You do?” I asked, barely able to believe he was speaking the truth.
“Yeah.” He glanced away, then said, “We’ll find her. Wherever she is, we’ll get her back for you.”
I studied this man, this man with the kindest eyes there ever were, and launched myself up and wrapped my arms around him. “Thank you.” I held him as tightly as I could. When I pulled back, I looked about the room. For a moment I was confused as to where we were, but then I remembered we had driven home from the lodge last night.
As if reading my mind, AK said, “You fell asleep. I brought you in and put you to bed.” He paused. “It was an intense couple of weeks.”
I smiled, remembering the blissful time we had spent at the lodge. The waterfall, the music, the fire . . . the lovemaking. Then it hit me that we had returned. “I must visit Lilah,” I said.
AK nodded. “She knows you’re back. She wanted to come see you this morning, but I told her to wait until you were ready.”
“I am ready.” I got out of bed. “I . . .” I steadied myself. “I will tell her why I was drinking.” I straightened my back. “I will tell her it all. She deserves to know.” I kissed AK’s cheek and made my way to the shower. After I had cleaned and dressed, I went through to the kitchen.
AK sat at the table with Asher. I started momentarily when I remembered that he lived here too. “Phebe, you remember Asher?” AK said, and Asher gave me a tight nod.