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 knew at once that she wasn’t looking back at me.
Tension gathered in my muscles. “Is that you?”
Her head tilted.
“Kolis.”
One side of her lips curled up slowly. “I told you once before.” The voice that came out of her was a poisonous whisper, slithering through the air toward me like a venomous viper. The hairs on my arms stood on end. “She has always been mine.”
Instantly, it was as if all my muscles had turned to stone. I saw Duke Teerman in my mind, saying almost the same words. Saw a glint of light in his dark eyes, like dying sunlight flickering in the darkness.
And suddenly I knew.
Somehow, Kolis had been in Teerman. My hand fisted against my thigh as I tried to keep my voice level. “And I told you that she has never been yours.”
The laugh fell against my skin like frozen rain. “Fool.”
I pushed down the rising eather, using what I’d learned while being held captive. I shut down any and all feelings until I was as cold as the thing staring back at me through her eyes. Getting Kolis to talk was far more productive than losing my shit. “How long were you in Teerman?”
Her head tilted to the other side, the movement disturbingly fluid and serpentine. “Whenever I chose to be.”
I didn’t look away. “How?”
That smirk kicked up a notch. “I’m going to kill you.”
The curve of my lips matched hers. “Is that so?”
“But first?” The tip of her tongue swiped over her dry lower lip. “I’m going to take everyone you care about and break them.”
I forced a yawn. “Doubtful.”
He stared back at me through her eyes. “You remind me of someone I once knew.” The other side of the lips tipped up. “He, too, loved her.”
I could feel my fingertips beginning to prickle as my nails lengthened. “Who are you talking about?”
“He was also a fool.”
“Who?”
The eyes flickered over me, then narrowed. “Doesn’t matter.”
I actually agreed with the sick fuck. “You killed those Ascended, didn’t you? Fed from them.”
He continued to smile with her lips. And, fuck, it was a grotesque mockery.
“Why am I not surprised that a piece of shit like you can gain strength from blood that is useless to everyone else?”
The crimson bands in her eyes pulsed.
I smirked. “What do you want?”
“What I deserve.”
“And what does that mean? Domination of the realms or some lame shit like that?”
“You’ll see.” That dry-as-bones laugh came once more.
“Why don’t we see now? Have a real chat, face to…well, whatever form you have. I’ll be good. Promise.” I paused, letting the moment drag out. “Unless you’re too afraid.”
“Afraid?” The hiss that parted those lips caused the air to crackle. “You are powerless against me. You’re finite, while I am infinite. You’re nothing.”
“Remember what I did to Teerman?” My upper lip rose, baring a fang. “I’m going to do that to you.”
The smirk faded as Poppy became incredibly still. She winced, a soft whimper escaping as her eyes closed tightly. A shudder racked her body.
Instinct took over, and I moved toward her.
“Don’t,” she uttered hoarsely, pressing her back against the wall. “If you…get too close, he…he may take over again.”
Heart pounding, I forced myself to hold back, even though everything in me screamed to go to her. It fucking hurt not to, but this wasn’t about me and my needs.
I settled back down. “I’m sorry.”
Poppy eyed me for a long, tense moment and then lowered her cheek to her knee. Her lips were slightly parted, her once lush and soft skin now chafed and dry.
Rubbing my hand over my chest, I considered what had just happened while working to keep my temper in check. “Can you…can you feel him?”
She gave a short nod.
My jaw clenched. “Do you know how he’s able to do this?”
Her eyes opened and then closed. “He wanted in, and I…I didn’t have a choice.”
Pressure clamped down on my chest, my heart bleeding. “How did Kolis get in?”
Her features twisted as she inhaled, the pain evident. She turned sideways again and pressed into the wall.
The pain had come on when I said Kolis’s name. I filed that piece of information away as I wet my lower lip. “Do you know who got in?”
“Death,” she rasped.
I exhaled slowly, my thoughts racing. She hadn’t said Kolis. Sure, he was Death, but if he was causing her pain when his name was spoken, there had to be a reason for that.
There must be a reason behind the bizarre shit the fuck had said, too. She’s always been his? I thought about Reaver and his reluctance to say what Kolis could want with her. But how could he believe she was his? The fuck had been entombed for hundreds of years. Possibly even over a thousand for all we knew. But he’d been in Teerman, which could explain the sick fuck’s twisted interest in Poppy. But who the fuck was this other he spoke of? None of that answered what Kolis wanted from Poppy, but I had learned something.