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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.”…
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Chapter 20
Chapter 19 Make it up. Dante studied himself. In order to learn what happened he needed to See specific points in time, something he would have been able to do had he grown up in Glimmerbrook, but he hadn’t. Instead they lived in Brindleton Bay, somewhere with no magic at all. He’d never even know it existed. Then it changed his life for good. His father probably wouldn’t have even believed it was possible to have magic. If they’d learnt about Dante’s power… at least he’d have had his mother. She’d have accepted him for who she was, but his father… maybe he’d have opened his mind for his son.…
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Chapter 19
Chapter 18 After Anne’s visit everything became much more complicated. Loud arguments happened more often, Celeste’s parents unable to agree on what to do next, Titus an ongoing problem. He was working with dark magics, his soul scarred, and willing to use them on the Embers, his hatred burning deep. “Celeste, can we talk?” “You here to warn me about Titus?” “I’m certain you already know, and I have tried. He’s not willing to listen.” “Was he ever?” “No, he wasn’t, but this…” “Anne, don’t.” Their eyes met for a moment. “I remember the girl who was once my friend.” “Sometimes I don’t.” “How about you tell me what you…
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Chapter 18
Chapter 17 “Dante, we need to talk.” Cornelius’ voice was the last thing Dante wanted to hear, but it wasn’t a surprise. After how they left things it was an inevitability, because Titus would want Cornelius to fix things, knowing they couldn’t deal with Dante the easy way. “I don’t want to talk to you.” “Please. Five minutes.” “Do you really want to have this conversation in public? Isn’t that going to cause more problems?” “With how close the ritual is I doubt it.” Even if someone did find out it was unlikely they’d go against Titus. He probably wouldn’t be happy, but it was the only option. “Nothing you…
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Chapter 17
Chapter 16 Anne didn’t often visit the graveyard. She knelt in front of Reuben’s grave, thinking of the man who’d become her father, and tried to find a way for her to have normality. Even if he didn’t entirely believe Leonora there were signs he knew Titus was different, arguing often about the future. Sometimes it happened, and when it did they were simply another problem for Titus to deal with. Unlike her he didn’t connect with their new families. Reuben meant nothing to him, so it was easy for him to do what he believed needed to be done, choosing the same path once more. He never changed. Had…
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Chapter 16
Chapter 15 Footsteps came down the stairs. Anne wanting to have the conversation early, because she didn’t trust him. Titus kept his eyes on the books in front of him. Working out the right way to word everything wasn’t an easy task, to keep her where she was meant to be, by his side. If it wasn’t for Dante… “Are you ready to talk to me?” “When I said tomorrow I didn’t mean at dawn, little sister.” “This is important. Every day that passes is one closer to the ritual, and that…” She tapped her thumbs. “Putting it off complicates my decision.” “You’re truly going to stay, no matter what…