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Chapter 29
Chapter 28 “Anne made a good point. I need to understand the reasons for the choice you made, Dante.” “She was the reason for the journey I made to Glimmerbrook. The dreams of her… they gave me a reason to keep going, Celeste, after what happened with my parents.” “I don’t know much of the story.” “Maybe it’s better that way. What really matters is getting Anne away from Titus.” “To you that’s what matters, but it’s not going to be as simple as you seem to think, due to the soulbond. Although I wouldn’t say I know Titus I am certain this was part of a plan, potentially from…
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Chapter 28
Chapter 27 Leonora warned them, and she was right. There was no doubt the bond was affecting Dante more. Anne felt it. It existed. With time it could be as strong as the bond with Titus, logically. Unfortunately that was exactly what they didn’t have, and with Titus knowing… had there always been a plan? It was Titus. Of course there was always a plan, but the problem was not knowing what it might be. He knew Dante would be part of their lives at some point, without knowing exactly when, due to the limitations of whatever their father was able to share with him. Working round it was still…
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Chapter 27
Chapter 26 Standing in Dante’s hallway, Anne wrapped her arms around herself, focusing on what they needed to talk about. “I didn’t think I was going to see you today, after what happened, but I’m glad you’re here. You’re right. There shouldn’t have been any expectations, and I’m sorry for how I acted.” From the way Anne was choosing not to look at him Dante didn’t think she’d accept the apology. “Honestly, I understand.” She breathed in deeply. “We’re here to talk about souls, mates, and bonds. This is Celeste Ember.” Dante glanced at Celeste. She was attractive, her eyes different to Anne’s. “Pleasure to meet you.” “Celly, this is…
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Chapter 1
Anne was predictable, spending her morning in the same place she often did, and Seward watched her, the woman he’d once believed he was going to marry. Had it been up to Reuben it would have happened, but he was dead, Titus in his place. Titus had other plans, if Leonora was right about him. Leonora wasn’t often wrong, but the Council wouldn’t go against their leader. If she was right… he studied Anne. She’d know, because it wasn’t as though Titus would keep anything from her. The two of them were too close for that, which might mean she knew more, and Seward wanted answers. The bigger problem was…
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Chapter 26
Chapter 25 “There are more. I just don’t have space for all of them.” Anne studied the piles of books. “How many more?” “Enough for us to be here for the entire time we have.” Celeste sighed. “Soul bonds have fascinated the Embers for lifetimes, but we are missing more than I thought we would, possibly because your bond was created.” “Missing?” “Books aren’t here from some generations, mostly the early ones, which I think would actually be the most useful.” “From when one of the Embers was Titus’s ally.” “When I was talking to Mother she said she thought there might be a missing Ember. One not mentioned by…
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Chapter 25
Chapter 24 “Titus, can we talk?” “I’m not ready.” “You’re never going to be ready.” Anne studied her brother, the way he was looking at the books in front of him, and knew he was planning something. “This is about Mateo.” Even though he didn’t look at her some of the tension dissipated. “What about him?” A thought Titus had, one he believed couldn’t possibly be, linked to Dante to Mateo. Look closely enough, and there were some similarities, especially to Gabriel. Fortunately Anne knew better than to bring him up, although it was Mateo who’d been the reason for the two of them leaving Glimmerbrook. “You never said anything…
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Chapter 24
Chapter 23 Dante sat on the bench, his eyes on hers, and Anne tried to find the right words, although she wasn’t certain they existed. It wasn’t as though the two of them did have any kind of relationship. He might see things differently, the dreams affecting his decisions, but he could walk away. “Anne…” She breathed in deeply. “I’m sorry, but this… when I last saw you this wasn’t a conversation I could have imagined having. To be honest with you I thought I might even be bringing up the possibility of removing Titus as a problem entirely, which now doesn’t seem viable.” “You want to kill your brother?”…
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Chapter 23
Chapter 22 “I’m sorry for just turning up like this.” “Mother remembers when we were friends, Anne. This is strange, but she’ll work through it.” Celeste studied Anne. “What happened?” “Dante convince Cornelius to talk to me about the ritual, which was complicated enough, and then he kissed me.” “He what?” Anne shook her head. “From the way he spoke it’s something he’s thought about before. With the ritual so close he saw it as his last chance.” “Obviously he doesn’t know about Jonathan.” “Would it have stopped him if he did?” “You think he’d still have done it?” “Possibly. It was surreal.” “Cornelius knows about your soulmate?” “Yes, he…
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Chapter 22
Chapter 21 The room was normally Leonora’s safe space, with it being unusual for anyone else to enter, but if Celeste was going to learn anything useful it was where she needed to be. Books written by the Embers who came before filled the shelves. A couple might even have been written by Leonora herself. Finding what she needed would take time they didn’t have. It might have been easier to ask, rather than go searching alone, but bringing up Anne didn’t seem like the most logical thing to do. Titus’s decisions weren’t hers, and yet there were still those who blamed her for what he chose to do. Including,…
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Chapter 21
Chapter 20 Footsteps came down the stairs. There weren’t Titus’s, which was for the best as he wouldn’t be pleased she was looking through his research, but she didn’t know exactly who they belonged to. It was probably Cornelius. He was the one most likely to be looking for her brother. “Can we talk?” Anne turned. “You want to talk to me?” “Dante said I should.” For a few seconds all she could do was stare at Cornelius. “About what, exactly?” “You don’t need to ask that question. There’s only one thing I could need to talk to you about.” “Why now?” “I need to know if they’re both right.”…