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Chapter 8
Chapter 7 It was early, a time when Natalie should still be sleeping, although Cornelius couldn’t be certain. They hadn’t shared a bed since Jonathan left. Leonora looked at him. “Has anything changed?” “Unfortunately not, but then I don’t believe either of us thought it would. All the Council members I spoke to made the same decision – to protect their families.” It was always the most likely scenario. Hope wasn’t the same as truly thinking something would change. Cornelius was their best chance, as he’d been Titus’s ally, until Julian helped him see the truth. “Who did you talk to?” “Beatrice, Wolfgang, and Marion.” None of the three were likely to change their minds,…
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Chapter 7
Chapter 6 Beatrice breathed in deeply, eyes on the nearest tree, as her thoughts returned to the ritual. It happened more often as the days passed. Most believed Leonora, and yet still planned on being there the night of the ritual, because Titus wasn’t someone they were willing to cross. She’d made her decision, trying to convince the others to do the same, in the belief it would be enough to stop the ritual. Cornelius looked down. Keeping his word was important, if he stood a chance of convincing Leonora to work with him, and that was their best chance of actually stopping the ritual. There was no possible way…
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Chapter 35
Chapter 34 “This could end without anyone getting hurt, Julian. All you need to do is make the right choice.” “It’s the right choice for you, Titus.” Eyes meeting, Julian shook his head, feeling the determination of the man he shared a body with. “How can I let twelve more people die, when I could finally kill you?” “For that to be possible you also need to kill Anne.” “No, I don’t, because I understand the bond between you better than you ever could. One thing I’m certain of is Father shouldn’t have created it in the first place. Anne was never truly able to make her own choices. Her…
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Chapter 33
Chapter 32 There he was, exactly as Julian hoped. One of Titus’ closest allies, the darkness slowly transforming him every visit, until the time came when he was strong enough. From the emotions it seemed as though something had happened within, and it might end up being the reason to accept an offer of help. “Good evening.” The man looked at Julian, eyebrows raised. “Unless it wasn’t. Good, that is. Your emotions make it seem as though it may not have been.” “What are you?” “One of Glimmerbrook’s dead, Julian Ember.” “I’ve never heard of you.” “Titus didn’t want anyone to hear of me. So they didn’t.” “How long have…
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Chapter 32
Chapter 31 “Let Anne see to Natalie. Natalie has nothing to do with this, and Anne…” “I care very little about Natalie. Anne is staying right where she is.” “Cornelius…” Eyebrow raised, Cornelius shook his head. “You’re really going to pretend, Titus?” Titus looked at Anne, who hadn’t yet moved. “Julian.” “At least you haven’t entirely forgotten me.” “How could I?” “No one else knows anything about my existence, thanks to you.” There was a fury in Julian’s voice which was to be expected. “Cornelius is more interesting than you think, but then it’s not as though you actually care. Only Anne matters.” “You took him to make use of…
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Chapter 30
Chapter 29 “This is going to be much easier if we’re both looking, Anne.” Cornelius sounded more amused than anything. “You’re the one who knows what you need.” Anne breathed in deeply. She wasn’t safe. There was no doubt about that. It was easier to feel how much he’d changed when they were in his home. “Cornelius…” “Please don’t act like you’re scared of me.” All he needed to do was get her further into the basement. If she went over to the other bookcase it would be so much easier. Only she wasn’t herself, and he felt her fear, in a way he’d never been able to before. Something…
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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 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 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 10
Chapter 9 “We may have a problem.” “Dante?” Cornelius breathed in deeply. “I went to talk to him about the ritual, and he does know more than he should.” “He’s a Seer. It’s to be expected. You knew this when you brought him here, Cornelius, and I thought you understood what it meant.” “As he can’t See you…” “There’s enough he can See.” “Yes, and he said after the ritual there won’t be a Council.” “From the beginning you knew what would happen.” “Obviously I didn’t want to tell him that, Titus. I thought it would cause more problems. We need…” “We?” “Between the two of us…” “Cornelius, you were…