Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
“Father,” Ben calls out and rushes to wrap his arms around my neck as I raise my head.
“Aw, how touching. You have done well, Benjamin. I knew you wouldn’t disappoint me.
“I can sense the others. I now know where their help comes from. This place reeks of so many we thought we could trust,” the bishop says as I look at him over Ben’s head.
He shrugs and wipes the back of his hand across his mouth. “Let’s go. It’s time to finish this. You will see how we deal with covens and abominations. Your wish is about to come true.”
“I don’t think we should be here. Ben and I will just go.”
“Get. Up. Now,” he growls at me. Then, when I stand, he barks at me as he rips Ben from my hold. “Move.”
Betrayal
From the moment Hero lands, I get a feeling that I’m not going to like what I find when I get inside. I pick up right away on Venus and her sisters’ essence.
They should not be this far out. Nor should they have been able to get this close to our sanctuary and temple. Because this is the place we chose to rest in and allow ourselves to be our most vulnerable, we’ve made it impossible for anyone other than our true mates and those who created this place to find or enter.
However, I can feel the seal has been broken. I don’t have time to reseal the entrance as I need to get to my brothers as well as find out why I sense my woman here when I’ve never told her how to find this place.
“What are you women doing?” I mutter as I rush through the chambers.
The flow of the lava, the rush of water, the scent of fresh greenery, and the peace of the cravens leading to the temple all tell me my brothers have awakened and are recharging.
My pulse begins to race when I feel that the temple is in use. The magic flowing through the walls is unmistakable. However, other than my brothers or the ones who gifted this place to us, there shouldn’t be a single being outside of our true mates who can use this kind of magic here.
I don’t have time to process how this could be happening. I know Venus isn’t my mate. If she were, I would have known from the first moment I was in her presence.
Yet, as I get to the mouth of the temple, I cannot believe the sight before my eyes. Venus and her sister Yanique stand in the center of our crest, surrounded by a beam of light. Zandra and Annaniah are on the borders of the crest on the north and west sides.
The beam of light surrounding Venus and Yanique changes from a blue to a golden color that’s blinding. I’m frozen in shock as Zandra and Annaniah stretch their arms out beside them and begin to chant. A beam of orange light seems to tether the two as if they are holding hands on the outer circle.
Then, two other figures appear in the south and east positions. They give off a stranger power of their own. I can’t name it right away. They are not goddesses, but they are not queens, either.
“Venus, what have you done?” I seethe.
The sting of betrayal sets in. The woman I loved betrayed me for power. I was a fool and she somehow used me for this. To steal from the source of our essence.
I roar with anger, shaking everything around me. The sisters are so engrossed in their treachery they don’t seem to notice. I feel my brothers awakening to their full strength, although they are not there yet.
Suddenly, Venus and Yanique begin to levitate in the air. I can sense something is wrong. Venus’s head falls back and she begins to scream. Yanique releases her hands and falls to her knees.
I can’t tear my eyes away from the one who’s betrayed me. Venus tears at her clothes and rips her blouse open. Before I can think to stop this, she bursts into flames.
“No,” I roar.
Even as my heart burns with betrayal, I feel the loss of my love. I drop to my knees as a fire sparks and quickly surrounds the crest and the remaining sisters within.
I’m so engulfed in my grief I don’t sense the presence that appears out of thin air as if cloaked until this very moment. I look down at the blade piercing my chest. It is nearly impossible to kill me and my brothers, but there are few who know blessed iron can pierce our hearts and incapacitate our power long enough to deliver a fatal blow.
A blade through the heart is enough to cause us pain and leave permanent damage. This is why I grab the blade and fight to keep it from touching my heart. All it takes is the tip and my powers begin to lock down on me.