Total pages in book: 401
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
I drew my knees to my chest again and rested my chin on them. Their conversation became nothing more than a hum as I started to sway. He was right. I…I wasn’t myself.
There was something wrong with me.
Something wrong with those whispers.
I thought it had been my instincts at first, but I no longer believed that to be true. The whispers weren’t mine, and it didn’t like how I’d come to realize that.
And those whispers…they weren’t many. It was only one. Him.
The one who wanted in.
Death.
He didn’t like that I knew that.
He whispered for me to take out the male at the door and escape. He wanted me to do that and then find the other who made me think of wolves so I could end him, too. And he didn’t want me to stop there. He wanted me to lay waste to all who crossed my path, be they mortal, god, wolven, or draken.
There will be no more pain, he whispered. No more hunger. No more fear. You won’t be weak.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Don’t you want that? Need that? I can do that for you, he whispered. You just need to give in. That’s all.
Then what?
Then you will come to me. We will be one, flesh and bone. You just need to give in to me, he lured. Enticed. Called. Sang. Give in to me. Give in.
His whispers sounded like a beautifully haunting song of mourning then, a beckoning that filled my mind with images. Blood-soaked ground and broken bones. Crimson skies and lakes of fire. The masses on their knees in worship. What I saw was terrible. What I saw felt…
Inevitable.
CASTEEL
I sat on the floor, watching Poppy. Less than an hour had passed since Tawny finally left the hall outside the chamber.
She would be back.
Rubbing a hand over my face, I had a feeling it would be harder to convince her to leave next time. The female gave off a weird aura. I couldn’t deny that. But man had she been pissed when I wouldn’t go into detail about Poppy’s current state. She also hadn’t been happy about me refusing to allow her into the cell. I could tell she was worried about Poppy. That was apparent in her voice.
But I didn’t entirely trust her.
Like I said, her aura was fucking weird. Off. And I couldn’t pick up any emotion from her when I tried to get a read on her. There was nothing there but emptiness.
Which wasn’t right.
I closed my eyes and tipped my head back against the wall. Even if I did trust her, I couldn’t let her in. If Poppy attacked her, she would never forgive herself once she returned to herself.
A whole damn day had passed since I’d brought her down here, meaning Reaver should be returning soon. I kept telling myself that, refusing to let doubt creep in. Reaver would be successful. He would find someone who could help.
Lowering my hand, I opened my eyes to find Poppy as she had been, her knees drawn up to her chest and arms wrapped tightly around them. She’d been like that for hours. The only time she had moved was when she first woke and made a mad dash for the door. When I caught her, she’d screamed as if my touch burned. She screamed so loud, Delano had shifted into his wolven form to scratch at the door. And she didn’t stop screaming until I let her go. That’s when she retreated to her spot along the wall, where she stayed. She hadn’t drunk anything. Hadn’t eaten. Hadn’t used the privy. She hadn’t moved until Tawny was at the door. But by the time I turned around, she was pressed against that damn wall again.
Using the eather earlier had taken its toll on her, so I’d thought she had fallen asleep a few times. But every so often, I felt the pain of her hunger piercing my flesh like a thousand tiny, burning daggers. And then she would begin rocking from side to side.
I swallowed the knot in my throat, the silence of the room punctuated by her shallow, erratic breathing. “Poppy,” I called softly, careful not to startle her. “Can you look at me?”
Nothing indicated she registered my presence in the chamber let alone heard me.
My gaze moved over her, landing on her hands. She clutched the sides of her robe where it covered her legs so tightly that her knuckles turned white. I let my senses stretch out to get a read on her. A bitter taste gathered in my throat. It felt like anguish but…something more.
Drawing in a deep breath to steady my movements, I quietly placed a hand on the floor and slowly rocked forward.
She ceased her swaying, and her head snapped up. I froze. Her face was nearly leached of all color, and the smudges under her eyes had grown into dark shadows. When she stared back at me, I noticed that the streaks of crimson had faded from her irises. That should’ve been a good sign, but what I saw in her eyes—what I now knew I was picking up from her—stopped me in my tracks.