The Beckoning (Entangled Series Book 2) Page 17

  Brea stood in the center of the silo, then raised her hands above her head. “Apertus,” she said, and to everyone’s shock, the giant metal doors slowly lifted until they were fully open. Brea turned to Xtina, her silver eyes almost glowing in the fading light. “Primum,” she said, then Ethan watched in horror as her eyes rolled to the back of her head. He reached her just before she landed on the cold cement floor of the empty silo.

  They carried her out the main entrance. Her body had turned cold. When they reached the spot where Xtina cried out in pain, Mike hoisted her over his shoulders and carried her out of the bunker the rest of the way.

  “What the hell?” he said when he laid Brea gently down in the front car seat.

  “I’m better,” Xtina said when they were finally outside.

  “What was that?” Mike asked, running his hands through his hair.

  “I don’t know,” Xtina said, taking a drink of the water Mike offered her.

  Ethan’s eyes were still on Brea. Her coloring was a little better, but still, she was so cold. “Brea?” He slapped her cheek lightly. “Brea?”

  Her eyes fluttered and then opened. “Ethan?”

  He sighed and gathered her close. “Are you okay?”

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “You told the silo doors to open in Latin, and they did.” Xtina shook her head. “Then you said… ‘Soon,’ I think. I’ll want to check my translation just to make sure.”

  “You know Latin?” Mike asked her.

  “Sure.” She shrugged. “It helps when you’re ten and banishing the dead from your room.”

  Mike leaned in and kissed Xtina on the lips. “That’s such a turn on.” He gathered her close.

  Ethan turned back to Brea, brushing a strand of hair from her eyes. “How about you?”

  She shook her head. “Never learned Latin. The last thing I remember is standing outside of the tunnel.”

  “Maybe we should give it a rest?” Mike suggested.

  “No.” Brea stood up. He tried to help her, but she pushed him away. “Time is running out.” She looked up to the dark sky. “If we don’t figure this out soon…” Her unspoken words hung in the air. Everyone standing there knew what was coming.

  “We can’t solve anything tonight. Both of you were just…” Mike kicked a clump of dirt in frustration. “Damn it. We can’t keep doing this.”

  “Mike.” Xtina rushed over to him and laid a hand on his arm. “We’ll figure this out.”

  “I need to go back,” Brea said, walking towards the opening.

  “Like hell.” Ethan followed her into the field and then pulled her to a stop. Something close to déjà vu passed quickly in his mind. “Stop.” He pulled her into his arms. “I can’t see you like that again.” He held onto her.

  “Ethan, I have to. The answer’s there.” She sighed into his chest.

  He pulled back and looked down at her. “I love you. I can’t see you like this. It’s killing me.”

  She smiled at him. “I love you, too.”

  He felt like his heart had finally started beating as warmth spread through him. “You do?”

  She smiled. “Of course. I’ve loved you from the moment I first dreamed of you. I feel like we’ve known each other forever. I want nothing more than to spend the rest of our lives together, but before any of that can happen, there’s something I have to do.”

  He shook his head. “We can go away from here. Leave all this craziness behind. Spend the rest of our lives together.”

  She shook her head. “No, we can’t.” She took a step away from him, her smile fading. “You have to let me go.” She took another step back.

  He dropped his arms when the memory hit him. “No.” He shook his head. “Not like this.”

  She stepped further away from him, her eyes running over his face. She reached up towards him, but she was too far away to touch him. “I love you, but I have to go.”

  “Why?” he asked, but he knew he wouldn’t get an answer.

  She took another step back, then looked up at the sky. His gaze followed and when he found the sliver of the moon, he looked at her again. She was less than two feet away from him, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to get to her in time.

  Her eyes turned back to him as her hand reached out for him, then she screamed, no.

  He stood there in the dark field, with the waxing moon overhead, and watched her fade from his life.

  Coming Soon: The Ascension

  Jessica was getting tired of fighting fate. Not only had some really weird stuff been going on the past few months, but now she found herself crawling out of Jacob’s bed. She hated the guy. Well, okay, she’d avoided the guy. Sure, she’d fantasized about him most of her life, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t fight the attraction. Something was coming and everyone in town felt it, not just the chosen group she’d found herself part of in the last few months. And, if her being with Jacob was fated, she was determined to fight it for as long as she could, because she knew what was coming, even when no one else did. She knew how important everyone's roles where in the next few weeks, but with the disappearance of Breanna, fate may have just taken a huge turn. For the worse.

  Jacob has completely lost it. That’s the only explanation for what he’d been going through. And now, suddenly he’s found himself inexplicably drawn to Jess. But these new desires he felt for her were stronger than the need to breathe. What new powers did this witch hold over him? But more importantly, was there a chance they would survive the upcoming horrors?

  Other books by Jill Sanders

  The Pride Series

  Finding Pride

  Discovering Pride

  Returning Pride

  Lasting Pride

  Serving Pride

  Red Hot Christmas

  My Sweet Valentine

  Return To Me

  Rescue Me

  The Secret Series

  Secret Seduction

  Secret Pleasure

  Secret Guardian

  Secret Passions

  Secret Identity

  Secret Sauce

  The West Series

  Loving Lauren

  Taming Alex

  Holding Haley

  Missy’s Moment

  Breaking Travis

  Roping Ryan

  Wild Bride

  Corey’s Catch

  Tessa’s Turn

  The Grayton Series

  Last Resort

  Someday Beach

  Rip Current

  In Too Deep

  Swept Away

  Lucky Series

  Unlucky In Love

  Sweet Resolve

  Silver Cove Series

  Silver Lining

  French Kiss

  Entangled Series – Paranormal Romance

  The Awakening

  The Beckoning

  The Ascension… Coming Soon

  St. Helena Vineyard Kindle Worlds

  Where I Belong

  For a complete list of books: http://jillsanders.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  THE BECKONING

  PRINT ISBN: 978-1-942896-77-7

  DIGITAL ISBN: 978-1-942896-76-0

  Copyright © 2016 Jill Sanders

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  About the Author

  Jill Sanders is The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Pride Series, Secret Series, West Series, Grayton Series, Lucky Series, and Silver Cove romance novels. She continues to lure new readers with her sweet and sexy stories. Her books are
available in every English-speaking country and in audiobooks as well as being translated into different languages.

  Born as an identical twin to a large family, she was raised in the Pacific Northwest and later relocated to Colorado for college and a successful IT career before discovering her talent as a writer. She now makes her home along the Emerald Coast in Florida where she enjoys the beach, hiking, swimming, wine-tasting, and of course writing.

  Connect with Jill:

  @JillMSanders

  JillSandersBooks

  JillSanders.com

  Jill@JillSanders.com