Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
And she turned and left her aunt’s suite to go back to her own, where she could be miserable in peace.
Throwing herself on the bed where she and Wraith had loved each other for such a short time, she began crying. She’d wept so much already that her lids were red and sore—the tears felt like acid etching their way down her cheeks, and yet she welcomed the pain. It was surely not even a tiny fraction of what Wraith was enduring on her behalf…
And then she felt a hand on her head, stroking her hair gently.
“Little one, don’t cry,” murmured a deep voice. “Please don’t cry for me.”
Hanna jerked her head up, staring wildly around. There, sitting on the side of the bed, was Wraith!
“Wraith! Oh my God—Wraith!” she gasped and pounced on him.
25
HANNA
Wraith caught her and held her tight in his arms, stroking her hair and murmuring that he loved her.
Hanna wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist and sobbed for joy.
“You’re back! You came back! You’re all right!”
Wraith let her cry but when her sobs trailed off to sniffles, he pulled her gently away and looked into her eyes.
“It’s true, little one—I’m back. But only for a little while—only to say goodbye.”
“What?” Hanna shook her head. “But that can’t be right, can it?”
“I’m afraid it is,” Wraith rumbled. “I can’t stay long.”
“But…but what happened? How did you come back at all and why can’t you stay?” she demanded, still keeping her legs wrapped firmly around his waist because she wasn’t about to let him go. “Tell me everything.”
Wraith sighed.
“I struggled against the Demon for a long, long time—we fell into the Pit together, fighting. He wrapped himself around me and tried to take me but he couldn’t. I fought to free myself, but I wasn’t able.”
“So you were fighting for two weeks?” Hanna asked, her eyes wide.
“Was that how long it was here in the Land of the Living? Time has no meaning in the Pit,” Wraith said.
“It was the longest two weeks of my life,” Hanna assured him. “But how did you get out and come back?”
Wraith frowned.
“I had help. I was determined to never give in, but I could feel myself weakening as the demon tried to take me…then I saw a brilliant beam of light from above. The light became a rope—a glowing rope that reached down into the depths of the Pit.”
“A rope? What was it?” Hanna asked shaking her head.
“It was the Goddess—the Mother of All Life—she threw me a lifeline,” Wraith said gravely. “And then I heard her calling me—calling me by name.” He got a faraway look in his eyes. “Just hearing her voice seemed to give me new strength. I fought my way free at last and grasped the rope. Hand over hand, I pulled myself up and out of the Pit. As long as I held the Goddess’s rope in my hands, the demon couldn’t lay hold of me again.”
“So the Kindred Goddess helped you out of the Pit?” Hanna asked, her eyes wide.
Wraith nodded.
“And when I finally reached the lip and pulled myself over the edge, I found her standing there in all her shining glory. ‘Warrior,’ she said to me. ‘By your courage and honor you have earned your final rest.’ Then she pointed and I saw a vast golden tunnel filled with light. And standing in it was everyone I had ever loved when I was alive. I saw my parents…my brothers…even Mara, my lost love, waving at me. All of them were beckoning and calling my name.”
“Oh…” Hanna whispered, feeling deflated. “So…you have to go join them now?”
“Not immediately, but soon,” Wraith told her. “I begged the Goddess for an hour to say goodbye to you and to let you know that I am not writhing in torment. I will be going to stay in the afterlife instead—I thought that knowing that would help give you peace.”
“I can’t even tell you how horrible I’ve been feeling,” Hanna said, searching his eyes with her own. “I’m so glad you’re all right and so grateful that you came to tell me so!”
“Good. Then I must leave.” And Wraith began to grow insubstantial—so much so that Hanna could see her own hands through his body as he began to fade.
“Wait!” she exclaimed desperately. “Wait—don’t go so soon! Kiss me first—kiss me one more time, Wraith. Please!”
He grew solid again, his mismatched eyes filled with love for her.
“Of course I will, little one. How could I refuse the sweetness of your kisses one last time?”
Hanna took his face in her hands and kissed him—there was hunger and desperation in her kiss. His lips were soft and when he parted them, he still tasted like cinnamon. She pressed herself against him as she deepened the kiss…slipping her tongue into his mouth to explore as if she owned him.