AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hecate fills the pause with a scrutinizing stare around at the stylish furniture. “I hope you’ll be comfortable here for the duration.”
“Duration of…?” I say it with careful calm but don’t disguise my questioning undertone.
“Kara’s enlightenment, of course.”
I tighten my gaze. “You make it sound like training.”
“Enlightenmentis the word, Professor.”
I sense this is just an issue of semantics, but there’s something in her tone, an insinuation of sorts, that rattles my patience.
“For the record, Kara is already rather enlightened. She’s one of the brightest students at Alameda. On top of that, she’s grown up with grace and humility in an unforgivable spotlight. But she’s hardly just a piece of red-carpet candy. None of the Valaris are. They’re strong and smart and—”
“Part demons,” Hecate finishes. “An aspect they have, remarkably, kept hidden from every member of the Hollywood media. That’s extraordinary in and of itself.” She pulls in a long breath, gaining an inch of height with the regal shoring of her spine. “But none of them areyou, Kara. None of them will be able to share your journey now. But here, after our guidance and tests, you’ll be so much better prepared.”
“Prepared,” Kara echoes, her palpable exhaustion and tension matching my own. “And tested. For what? A journey to where?”
“I know it’s confusing.” The goddess loops her fingers with her others, linking them at her middle like a new-age abbess. The comparison isn’t my favorite, right up there with triggers like creaky pews and votive candles, but I can’t escape the calming influence of her overall impression. “But you’re safe here. Both of you. Things will become clearer, I promise. Deep inside, I think you know that. Once you’ve had some rest, we can begin.”
“Beginwhat?” Though Kara visibly reins herself back, her eyes are desperate and pleading. “Hecate, it’s not that I don’t trust this…process. Or whatever it is. But—”
“Maybe Hecate’s right.” I can’t believe that’s just spilled out, but I quickly latch on to the underlying logic. “We’ve been through the wringer, Kara. The last twenty-four hours…”
She cuts in with a rueful laugh. “You mean the lastweek?”
“That too.” I smirk, but even that’s painful. “It’s been a lot. Almost too much.” I swing my head up, arching a brow toward Hecate, hoping it looks more jovial than skeptical. “I’m hoping those double doors lead to a bedroom?”
Before I’m done, she’s sweeping fingertips through the air and waving the portals back.
“Perfect,” I mutter with a relieved sigh.
Kara groans. “You can say that again, but please don’t. Let’s just get in.”
I’m aware of Hecate’s indulgent laugh but nothing else. At some point and in some way, I’m sure the goddess has let herself out of the cottage, because as soon as I strip off my clothes and climb between the cool sheets with Kara, I’m lulled to sleep by a night filled with nothing but crickets chirping around a peaceful stream.
CHAPTER THREE
KARA
When I wake up, it’s not willingly. Even with Maximus’s heartbeat under my ear and his solid muscles beneath my flung thigh, my mind craves nothing but several days’ worth of dreamless nothingness. Sleep won’t prevent my soul from continuing to know he’s here. In some ways, my body will know it too. He’s holding me like his own dreams have taken him back a couple of decades and he’s gripping his favorite monster-fighting toy.
Sunlight slants sideways through the bedroom’s shutters, leading me to believe it’s midmorning or midafternoon, but my sense of direction has been turned off since we got here, so I’m unsure which. But more pressing than that is the glare frominsidemy head. The thoughts that clank each other like bricks turned to dominoes.
I’m not just a demon.
I’m a witch.
Somehow, that means something. Well, something beyond the basics.
Something that requiresenlightenment.
So what doesthatmean?
And why does contemplating it feel so scary? My heartbeat is pounding in my ears and throbbing in my throat.
“Checkered flag for those racing thoughts, speedy?” His sleepy husk has me blushing before I can help it.
“Sorry.” I turn my head and press a kiss to the base of his neck. “Didn’t know the Kara Grand Prix was roaring that loud.”
