Total pages in book: 197
Estimated words: 186911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 935(@200wpm)___ 748(@250wpm)___ 623(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 186911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 935(@200wpm)___ 748(@250wpm)___ 623(@300wpm)
That truth didn’t sting. Alisdair had told me as much when he made me his mate.
“That being the case, I had to protect you,” he said. “By making sure you couldn’t leave.”
“How did that protect me? I could’ve ended this horror so much sooner.” My heart twisted. “We could’ve been together in a true and honest way much sooner. Why did you do this?”
“We’re here.” Alisdair skidded to a stop before a door I didn’t recognize. Kicking it in, he tugged me over the threshold into a weapon room.
Weapons of all types, sizes, and lethality covered every inch of wall—from manmade to magic. An entire case to my right was filled with coudarian crystals.
“You’ll need this,” he said, taking down a bow and arrow.
“Alisdair?”
“I wish I had more time to teach you close combat. The bow seemed the right choice at the time, but now you need a weapon you can both handle and hide.” Alisdair crossed to a display loaded with daggers. “Oh well, we’ll have to make do.”
“Alisdair!” I shot to his side. “Why didn’t you free me sooner!”
He spun on me. “How was I to do that before we were in love with each other? I told you, it’s a curse, Calli. It leaves no one with any good choices.”
The hot ball of rage and betrayal burning in my chest shrunk, allowing me to breathe again. Of course, he couldn’t free me before he loved me. The imposter they shoved at him was a stranger in every way, and love took its own time. He was bound by the limits of the curse as much as I.
“All right, but why wouldn’t you let me leave?” I asked his back.
Alisdair was a whirlwind sweeping through the room, gathering every weapon I might need. “Because I knew what you would do. You’d go looking for Emiana to force her to break the curse, and that couldn’t happen.” A fist-size coudarian crystal thudded on the small table between us. “Crossing paths with yourself would’ve snapped your mind in half. No one could reconcile the contradiction of your mind being in your body, but your body isn’t your body, because your body is looking back at you.”
My mind spun simply trying to follow that sentence.
“I’ve lived a long life, my queen. Of the few I’ve witnessed who survived the spell, they spent the rest of their days in an asylum, because one or the other tracked the body thief down—and it was the last thing they ever did.”
Alisdair went to the door and stuck his head out. “Foalan! With me, now!”
“But that still doesn’t explain why you didn’t simply tell me all of this? Or how you knew I was Calli?”
“Everything I told you about yourself would’ve faded along with everything else when Emiana claimed you.” He finally stopped rushing about and came to me, grasping my shoulders. “And most importantly, I had to be careful with you. I’ve never known a soul to successfully break this curse with their mind, body, and soul still intact. Me continually telling you you’re Calli while your mind is shouting that you’re Emiana could’ve caused more harm than good.”
As angry as I wanted to be with him... what he said made sense. Curses didn’t play fair. Their sole purpose was to cause misery and pain, and they didn’t want to be lifted, or they wouldn’t silence our tongues when we tried.
“But you knew I was Calli,” I whispered, cupping his cheek. “Not any of a twenty million women, but Callidora. How?”
“It was rather easy to figure out when you looted my coffers and gave the spoils to that Riordan boy to give to your family.”
My brows popped, face heating. “You knew that I—?”
“Was stealing from me? Yes. Pretty much immediately.” He grinned lopsidedly. “A natural thief, you are not.”
Of all things, why did this embarrass me most of all?
“I ordered him to tell me who my jewels were going to, and then I had my spies track down Olene, Meliora, Jaclan, Gisela, and Savia.” He stroked my cheek, catching a stray tear. “I wasn’t surprised they were a family. I was even less surprised that they were missing their oldest daughter, Callidora, who walked into the Crystal Palace one day, and never came back.”
“Oh, Alisdair.” I fell against his chest, hugging him tight. “What am I going to do? Riordan said their execution is tomorrow. It takes a fortnight to get to Lyrica. I’ll never make it!”
“I will get you there on time, Calli, I promise.”
“Me?” I dropped my head back, gazing up at him. “Aren’t you coming with me?”
“I’m sorry.” He truly sounded it. “I can’t leave Lumenfell right now. Meallan is still out there—waiting.”
“Right, of course,” I sighed. “How could I forget about that bastard? I’ve been so happy the last few days, I almost convinced myself all was right in our world.”