Read Unearthed for Free Online

need to.
    “Always waiting for the ball to drop, waiting for the rug to be pulled out right from underneath your feet. That comes with trauma, Cam. With heartbreak. Just when things begin to feel peaceful…you think everything’s going to be stolen from you. I know you, remember?” He placed his hand over my heart, breathing deeply. “You’re the same girl you were when I picked you up for our first date—remember that?” He smiled fondly.
    “Of course.”
    “You were so beautiful, wearing your grey Chucks and that sexy black top. At first, you hated dancing. But you let me drag you all over Café Des Amis, let me dip you and spin you around and then you were laughing…so vibrant and strong. You’re that same girl now. The one who quoted O’Connor and Maupassant. The one who loved my chicken parmesan and who fought to the death when our friends needed us. You’re that same girl right now, only you’re even stronger. You’re the mother of our child. No matter what happens when we do what that book says, no matter what’s going on here, you still have the strength you need to follow through, because that strength never disappeared. And you know me, too. You know I keep my word and that wherever this leads us, we’re in this together. So, it’s okay to be afraid of losing what we’ve worked so hard for, here. But know that you can handle this, and that you’re never alone, okay? Never .”
    “Shit,” I murmured, my gaze falling to the Book of the Ancients. “Why do you have to be right?”
    Gavin laughed softly and let his hand fall from my face. I marched forward, back toward the stone case, bracing my fingers on its cool, heavy edge. “Okay, then. Let’s get this over with.”
    He nodded swiftly and moved to join me, giving the coffin lid a strong push.
    I wasn’t sure what to expect when we opened this thing, but given the circumstances, it couldn’t be pleasant.
    “What…the… hell ?” I groaned through gritted teeth, throwing every ounce of my human strength into pushing the damn lid. “This thing isn’t going anywhere!”
    “Keep trying. Harder.” Gavin bent his knees and shoved mightily, working to slide the stubborn slab of stone to the left.
    “ Ahh ! I give up.” I dropped my hands at my sides, completely out of breath.
    “It’s times like this I wish we had our frozen soul strength again.”
    “Was I always this physically weak as a human?”
    “Pretty much.” He shrugged, falling back against the wall with a labored sigh.
    “Please, don’t try to spare my feelings or anything.”
    A little chuckle slipped out between pants for breath, and Gavin shoved his hands deep into his pockets. “Well, the book gave us plenty of light and pointed us to this coffin. This doesn’t make any sense.”
    I was about to agree, but a low, heavy rumble and the sound of stone grinding against stone stole my breath, calling my attention to the coffin’s lid. “Gav, it’s moving.”
    Gavin pushed himself off the wall and hesitantly moved forward, taking my hand and aligning me to the left, just behind him. “Dagger,” he whispered.
    My hand slid under my dress to the leather strap that held one of our old silver daggers, the same ones we fought with during our battles as frozen souls. We didn’t have the luxury of super human strength anymore, but we still knew how to fight in combat, and these simple weapons would have to suffice.
    Gavin grabbed his knife, too, and we readied ourselves for whatever was about to greet us.
    As we kept our eyes glued to the stone coffin, an irrational giggle bubbled up beneath my breath.
    “What’s so funny?” Gavin hissed, glancing nervously at me.
    “Nothing,” I said, forcing another laugh down, “except for the fact that we’re holding up knives to protect ourselves from…a dead person?” Gavin’s head swiveled in my direction and his brows raised.
    I stopped laughing.
    Yeah. Vampire kings and queens, dead-witches-turned-reanimated-corpses,