Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 145704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
“What do you mean, gone?”
“I no longer feel it. Neither does Elisaf nor the others.” His gaze drags over my neck. “I can smell your Ybarisan blood, but it does not stir the same pull as before.”
My heart pounds. “Does that mean the curse has ended?”
“Within Ulysede? Perhaps.”
I smooth my palm across his forearm as a thrill courses through my veins. “This is what we’ve wanted all along, right?” An end to his need for blood.
“It is.” He bites his bottom lip. “But what about Islor? The people out there will still suffer.”
“So, we bring them here. Look at all these houses, waiting to be filled.”
He chuckles. “This city can house thousands, yes. Tens of thousands, even. But it is nowhere near big enough for everyone. Not even close. I fear we have solved our problems, but Islor’s will only worsen. And what kind of king would I be if I abandoned them all to it?”
Not the king he was born to be.
Not the person I love.
But … “What are you saying?” Panic stirs. “You’re not going to leave me here alone, are you?
“You are not alone. You have eighty-nine mortals to rule. That is a nice, small number for a new queen. I believe Jarek would make an exemplary commander and would accept the position.”
“I don’t want any of this if you’re not here.” I’ll leave it all—and the crown—right where I found it.
He reaches out to collect my hand, pressing his lips to the back of it. “I do not wish to, but I must help my people and my realm. If I do not, then I do not deserve to be called king. But the nymphs have given us a gift and we would be foolish to dismiss it so hastily. You must reign here.” His eyes linger on the blood moon crescent. “And I have much to do outside these walls before I can ever hope to enjoy peace within them.”
“You’re right. You can’t just turn your back on your people.” I slink my arms around his waist. “So tonight, we enjoy this moment. Tomorrow, we figure out how to save Islor together.”
45
Atticus
“What news from Bellcross?”
Boaz offers a curt headshake. “Nothing yet.”
“Nothing short of treason, Your Highness.” Adley picks at a loose thread on his silk jacket. “My contacts put the traitors in the city three weeks ago. That is plenty of time for Lord Rengard to send a message.”
My teeth grind as I pace around the war room table.
Adley’s contacts.
I’m fucking tired of hearing about Adley’s contacts.
But not as tired as I am of hearing Adley.
I knew Zander would go to Theon and that Theon would help rather than betray him. But now what? The Lord of Bellcross is beloved in the west. Punish him and my enemies will reproduce like rabbits overnight.
I make a point of putting my back to Adley when I ask, “And Lord Telor?”
“They are sweeping through the northern villages. Zander has come and gone with the Ybarisan traitor and her caster.”
“To what outcome? Tell me it wasn’t as bad as Freywich.” I will admit, news of that slaughter surprised me. I didn’t think Zander had it in him to murder all those keepers and make a spectacle of it.
“Worse, I fear. They killed many soldiers, beheaded the Lord of Norcaster, and pillaged their supplies. Dozens of mortals and winter stores were taken before they continued. He and that caster of Neilina’s unleashed their power on the town square.”
“Leave it to Zander to get tangled up with another caster after the last one betrayed him so thoroughly.” I study the map. “And they’re heading north? We know this?”
“It is what we’ve heard and what makes sense. She will be looking for her Ybarisan army, if she hasn’t already found them.”
I can’t imagine what good Romeria thinks a few hundred or her soldiers will be against thousands of mine. Then again, they’re gifted in ways mine are not, and their elven affinities may prove dangerous.
“It is only a matter of time before we find them. They cannot go anywhere. They will be trapped.”
I study the map on the table. “Which is why this move makes little sense. Zander’s not stupid.” Though he is desperate, and more familiar with Venhorn’s caves than any of us.
“The exiled king turned on his crown and his realm for that treacherous spider,” Boaz says gruffly. “How he lost his way so utterly, I cannot fathom.”
I can. I escorted that same treacherous spider south from the rift, her charm weaving an alluring spell that so utterly blinded me, I would have done anything she asked of me by the time we reached Cirilea.
I’m not proud of what I coveted.
I’m even less proud of what I took.
But my brother is still caught in her web, with no hope of extricating himself, which is why I had to save him from himself the day of the tournament.