Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
She pulls back from the hug, and by the wary way she’s eyeing me, I can tell I won’t like whatever she’s going to say next. “I made a deal with your grandfather.”
I feel my legs drop out from underneath me. “No!” It barely comes out as a whisper. Layden catches me from behind, and Sabra’s eyes finally land on him.
“Who’s he?”
“Sabra,” I cry, “tell me you didn’t!”
“I didn’t,” she says hurriedly, leaning down to help me back up. “I didn’t make a blood oath. I’m not stupid enough to make the same mistake my mom did. Come on, who do you think I am?” She rolls her eyes, and finally, I’m able to take a breath.
“Then what—?”
“He knows I’m powerful, and I decided I didn’t want to be on the run for the rest of my life. And this has always been my home. So I contacted him and told him I’d work for him but only on my terms this time.”
“Sabra. . .” My head tilts to the side. She can’t be that naïve. “You know what he’s like. If you give an inch, he’ll steal your whole soul.”
But she shakes her head. “This way, I’ll be able to study with other powerful mages around the world like I always wanted to. Which I’ll have a much better chance of being able to do being bankrolled by Vlad’s resources than as a runaway.” Her eyes go hard. “He owes me. I’m just finally demanding what I deserve out of the bargain.”
I can’t help the despair in my gut. She knows my grandfather Vlad almost as well as I do. She knows how conniving and evil he is. “In return for what?” And then it clicks. I stiffen. “Dragging me back?”
Her eyes soften, and I see our long, shared sisterhood of brokenness being raised in the house of Vlad Dracul. “We both know you’ll have to go back eventually. It was only a matter of time before his minions tracked me down.”
I shake my head vehemently. “He never found my parents.”
“But unlike them, I don’t plan on hiding in some hole and keeping my head down for the rest of time.” She grasps my hands. “I’m a mage. One of the most powerful of my age. I’m meant to do important work. I can’t do that if I’m always afraid the ripples of magic I make in the world will be detected by him. Better a long leash than to live my life in a hole.”
Her hands squeeze mine. “Come with me? We’re always better together.”
My whole chest seizes so tight I’m not sure I can breathe.
“Who the hell is Vlad?” Layden’s powerful voice suddenly startles us apart, reminding me that he’s standing right behind me. “Is he your grandfather? He sounds like a real asshole.”
My eyes fall shut for a long moment, our closeness and what I almost let happen between us before Sabra showed up flashing through my eyes. I breathe out and open my eyes as Sabra asks, “Again, who the hell is this?”
“No one,” I say at the same time he says, “Someone who’s good at dealing with assholes.”
A laugh barks out of me at that as I turn to him. “Not this one. Look, we knew we’d both have to go back to our real lives at some point. Well, my real life just showed up on the doorstep. This is where I leave you.”
“What?” He immediately looks alarmed. “You saved my life. And it sounds dangerous wherever you’re going back to. I can’t let you—”
“You don’t let me do anything,” I hiss. “This isn’t where you’re from, and I assure you, chivalry is long dead.”
“I’m hungry,” Sabra suddenly says. “Is anybody else hungry?” She bypasses me to the kitchen, where she starts pulling open covers.
Layden’s eyes narrow on me. “Then what about your debt to me?”
“What?” I ask, bewildered.
“You drag me out of the forest where I was perfectly happy to molder, forgotten forever, and bring me back to life, for what? To bring back humanity’s most ancient nightmare?” He gestures to Sabra. I watch as her eyes light up as she reaches for the end of a loaf of bread, but as soon as her fingers touch it, it turns black and moldy in her hands. She drops it and steps back.
“Whoa. Weird. Did you guys see that?”
“You should’ve left me alone in the forest if you were just going to leave me the second I got accustomed to company again. I’m a curse upon this earth.” He points to the bread.
My mouth has dropped open, both at seeing his particular power in effect and at the logic of what he’s saying. Dammit, I never thought about—
“What about your brothers?”
He barks out a bitter laugh. “The ones who buried me alive?”
I wince.
“You did that?” Sabra asks from the kitchen counter, nudging at the bread with a knife. It turns to dust in front of her eyes. “Whoa.”