Toxic Part One (Celestra Series Book 7) Read Free Page A

to town. Gage spoon fed me lies right from the beginning. 
    I land my cheek back on the pillow. Just thinking about Gage sends me reeling with resentment and sorrow as wide as the sea.
    “I hate caramel,” I announce.
    “Nobody hates caramel, Skyla,” Logan teases, dropping his hands down my back.
    “ I do. I also can’t stand humming or whistling. It’s annoying as hell. It grates on me like nails on a chalkboard. In fact, I’d rather listen to a chalkboard being clawed than someone’s oral cavity spinning a tune.”
    A sharp knock erupts at the door and startles us to attention.
    I bounce into Logan’s arms and cover myself in his protective shelter.
    It’s happening. They’re here, and now everything is going to change.
    Soon we’ll wish we were on fire—dead—anything but alive and in the Counts incapable hands.
    The door creaks open. The shadowed figure of a man fills the interim of light. He takes a step inside and brims with a wicked smile.
    It’s him.
    Knew it.
     

Chapter 3
    Elysian
     
     
    Demetri Edinger is not a handsome man by modern day standards, nor ancient standards for that matter.
    His smile diminishes as he glowers at the two of us before shutting the door.
    A thick wave of hair swoops neatly to the side, his large hooked nose lies prominent over his face, and yet he still manages to hold a debonair charm reserved for vampires and super villains alike. I can see how my mother might be swayed by his illicit advances, especially since her husband, Tad the moron seems incapable of giving her the attention she yearns for, like fire craves oxygen. 
    “I see you’re comfortable,” he says through a false smile. Demetri hasn’t quite honed the fine art of acting human. He walks over to the bookshelf and taps the globe that houses the tiny worm behind a buffer of glass.
    “You’ve met Isis,” he says, running his finger over the sphere in one smooth stroke. 
    I decide to ignore his amphibious introduction. “How is my mother faring without me?” I say the word mother extra slow, trying to needle him with the guilt of my captivity. “I bet she hired you to scour the island clean, looking for the two of us.”
    “You flatter yourself.” It comes out a tranquil hiss. “She’s done nothing of the sort. In fact, I’ve yet to bump into her. I’ve been busy here myself.” He reaches behind his hip and produces a thin silver blade in the shape of an elongated diamond, at least a foot in length. “Logan,” he says, bowing slightly. “I have an offer for you.” The sword ignites electric blue.
    “More cutlery from the spirit sword collection?” I don’t know why I bother to fear Demetri. Gage once said both Logan and I would live a nice long life. Not that he’s batting a thousand with those visions, but still, you’ve got to believe in something, especially with a spirit sword staring you in the face.
    “That’s what I like best about you, Skyla.” He extends the S in my name like the hiss from a cobra. “Your wonderful sense of humor. That, and the fact your perfect Celestra being is gracing my tower. Countenance is so pleased with my latest capture. They’ve initiated a festival in the honor of your blood. Does that make you feel like a celebrity? It should.”
    “No. Oddly, it makes me feel like choking the life out of you, which I’m certain will happen sooner than later.”
    Don’t go there . Logan’s chastisement comes out more of a lament.
    “Nevertheless,” he says, shifting his gaze to Logan, “you’ve sworn allegiance as a brother to Countenance. This is your opportunity to be promoted to council should you accept the challenge.”
    You get a promotion, and I get the blood siphoned from my body? Nice, I say.
    “Skyla is in need of an Elysian.” Demetri wands a hand over the sword, and it returns to its alloy luster. “A guardian, if you will—someone to watch over her mortal body and escort her to the tunnels whenever her blood is