Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 152666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 763(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 509(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 763(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 509(@300wpm)
“What?“ My head was going to pop off if I kept shaking it this much. Dragon royalty? What was he even talking about? “No.” I breathed out in frustration.
“This is my fault.” He sat back. “We’ve been tracking you down for months. Which means I’ve been cooped up with very square wolves for months.” He gestured toward himself. “This bitch is a round peg. The situation just isn’t fucking working. The only reason they let me don my professional attire”—he smoothed a hand down his lapel again—“is because I am reprising my role of mediocre guardian.” He cupped his hand beside his mouth and stage-whispered, “I used to be a butler, but it would be absurd to call myself a butler in this situation.” He winked. “But you make drugs! You’ve got to be more interesting than these people, right? I mean, I don’t want to be your best friend or anything. The last very pretty hostage I governed got me into all sorts of horrible, life-threatening situations. I’m bored but I’m not that bored, you know what I mean? Plus, your fate is uncertain. You’ve killed too many people—you must know that. But between now and whatever terrible fucking atrocity happens later, I think we can be chummy without going over the top, don’t you?”
I twisted my wrists, pulling at the binding. I didn’t give a shit if someone found me later, so long as it was someone else. Anyone but this guy. I needed to escape this madness.
He nodded at me. “Go ahead. What’s on your mind?”
“You’re— What the— What is—” I yanked harder, twisting, the rope biting into my skin. “I don’t make product that kills,” I finally blurted in a rush of anger.
“I knew I still needed this.” He adjusted his spear.
I ignored it. “I have personally tried every one of my products. Every single batch. My co-creator dabbled way too much, as did a few people in the village. No one has died. No one has even gotten ill. I built a few fail-safes into the product, as well, ones that can minimize the journey if the path turns toward nightmares. There are risks—of course there are—but none of those risks are death. You’ve obviously come for the wrong woman.”
“I like that language—the journey and the path of nightmares. Yes, that sounds right up my alley. Now I’m desperate to try it. Damn it. Why’d you make it so dangerous?” He tilted his head. “You have, though. You do know that, right? Killed people. Unfortunately, you’re the bad guy in this . . . journey.”
“It is not dangerous!” I bit back. “It might be habit forming for some, but it is not dangerous. It’s natural, all of it. It’s made from plants and extracts. From fire and water. Air. It alters the mind, but it doesn’t alter the body. If someone died it is because they had an ailment, like a weak heart or some other medical issue. That happens with healing elixirs all the time. That’s not my fault. Is a person who made a healing elixir a bad guy because something went wrong and it killed the patient?”
“Except that person was trying to help . . .”
“I’m trying to help. You said it yourself—life can be dull. A hallucinogen gives people an escape for a time. People who are anxious can take a relaxant. People battling depression can get a lift. People with trouble focusing can clear away the fog. It isn’t my fault if they take it irresponsibly or too often. Habit-forming doesn’t mean addicting. It doesn’t mean dependency. It isn’t any different than ale in large quantities. And if you’re traveling to dangerous areas, into shadow markets, don’t you know the risks? Besides, in this kingdom, the king and queen have given approval for my product to be sold in the main market. Could it really be that dangerous if royalty are allowing it?”
I hadn’t believed that last bit, but I would damn well use it to my benefit now until proven otherwise. Because honestly, if the product did have royalty backing, if Alexander was correct, then that essentially nudged it into the confines of the law. If that were the case, these people were the outlaws, not me. They were the bad guys.
His eyes had widened. “My goodness. You’re very smart, aren’t you? If I hadn’t seen the addiction and death firsthand, I’d believe in your conviction. Sadly . . .” He frowned comically. “I have. We’ve nipped it in the bud in our kingdom—though the queen holds a grudge—but we’d seen it throughout our kingdom and heard about it in others. Why the king and queen here are allowing it, I don’t know, other than they don’t give two shits about their poor constituents. It’s why I’d never come back—”