The City of Crows by Bethany Lovejoy (great books to read .txt) ๐
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- Author: Bethany Lovejoy
Read book online ยซThe City of Crows by Bethany Lovejoy (great books to read .txt) ๐ยป. Author - Bethany Lovejoy
โWell?โ Rowan asked, โare you?โ
โWeโre alive,โ I gasped.
โYes well,โ Rowan said, shifting his body so that he tilted a bit more upward, โno surprise there. Unlimited power typically means that youโre a little bit harder to kill,โ he sighed. โBut you really did try to end us both, Lyra."
Overwhelmed by joy, I threw my arms around his neck, cheerfully yelling, โRowan, weโre alive!โ The man reddened at my contact, a heavy blush coating him from cheek to cheek. It didnโt matter, none of it really mattered. โYouโre going to take me to Leo,โ I said, though it was more of a demand than anything else. โWeโre going to save him.โ
โLyra, I already told youโโ He pushed me away, blinking at the expression on my face. Despair coated my features at what I perceived to be yet another denial. He groaned, still a man ruled by his emotions and the emotions of those around him, โyou would have to make a deal with the man.โ
โYes.โ
He frowned, leaning closer to me to inspect me properly. I couldnโt imagine what he was thinking. His hand reached up to cup my face, inspecting me from side to side. There was still a hint of tenderness underneath his features, though I knew that he tried hard to hide it. Rowan was still, though he tried not to be, a sympathetic man. Perhaps signing your soul away didnโt strip your humanity, perhaps it only sent you to hell once it was all over. But still, Rowanโs shifting ribcage and the unfurling black feathers from his arms, was not something that I wanted for Leo. Was living really living if you were damned as well?
โLyra,โ Rowan said, his tongue running over his chapped lips. โYou canโt go back. Lydia might have been able to, but you wonโt. Your terms and conditions will be much different from hers, much more permanent. You needโโ
โBut you could help me, you could fix it. Thereโs an alternative, your pact is fresh. You could cure Leoโโ I began but trailed off as I took in his expression. Of course, he wouldnโt do it, of course he wouldnโt want to. To ask him, to put faith in the fact that he would, was cruelty plain and simple. All Rowan could hope for was that the moment I sold my soul away, this would all fade, and I would be back sitting in his arms. To him, the world would be as it should.
โIโm sorry, Lyra,โ he spoke, shame poking at the edges of his voice. This was it then, this was the way things were meant to be.
Selfish, both Rowan and I would always be selfish; that was why, though fate and its various mouth pieces spoke otherwise, we would never be able to come together. It was a cruel joke, declaring us to be destined lovers. An even crueler joke to have us meet. I loved Rowan once, for all of the danger and excitement, and he loved me; I was home to him. But there was an ending, there always had to be an ending. That ending for me was six months prior, and for Rowan, it was right now. It was sitting thousands of feet upwards, knowing that whatever it took, Iโd choose someone else over him.
My soul for Leo, a man Iโd just met, but not him. Never him.
โIโll take you,โ he whispered reluctantly, loathing that he was being compelled to do so. โIโll take you to him, but Iโll do nothing further. Your deals with the devil are no business of mine.โ He leaned forward, his mouth barely brushing my ear, โIโm sorry if you expected more from me, my dear.โ
I wish I had, but I knew better. Arms around his shoulders, a single knee popped up underneath me; suspension stopped. I held on as he turned, arms wide and moving, a monstrosity in the sky. This was Rowan, this was reality. This was the end, though not an ending that any of us wanted.
24
Autumn
Opulent white marble steps and wide stone columns greeted me as Rowan shook out his feathers beside me, the lights were on in every window as if to greet me. Tall, wooden doors that seemed to reach impossibly high formed the entrance, Iโd only crossed the threshold once before, filling out my registration paperwork when I first entered the city. To the sides, intricately carved statues stood, Atlas holding the world and Lawrence Lobdel placing his hand upon a map to indicate to his settlers where New Haven would soon sit. They were aspirational, hopes that the first city to welcome witches would grow into something more; but they were nothing but empty hopes and broken promises. I couldnโt help but wonder what Lawrence Lobel would say if he knew what the city had grown into, what lurked far down his family line; he was originally a witch hunter, never intending for the integration that would come soon after his death. But was he a witch as well?
I stared at the front doors, large, brass lion heads peered back at me, encouraging me to push forward and enter the beast. Their snarling faces seemed to say it all, turn back, go home. You arenโt meant to be here. They were right.
โLavish, isnโt it?โ Rowan chuckled beside me, finally absorbing all of the feathers back into his skin. โI suppose thatโs why they went after Pat first, demons have a taste for the finer things in life. They didnโt want to be camped out in a trailer or some tawdry apartment; doesnโt seem fitting. But the townhall that holds the passageways a famous witch hunter once
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