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)
The muscles in Jarek’s arm flex, his glare settling on where I grip him.
“Brynn took an arrow in her shoulder yesterday while dealing with the guards in Freywich, and it’s not healing as fast as I would like,” he says with icy calm. “I was looking for the caster.”
“Oh.” I release him and take a step back. It’s likely unwise to grab a lethal warrior like that, especially one who’s made it clear he hates me. I have no idea who Brynn is, but I assume she’s one of the few female warriors I haven’t met. Is she someone special to Jarek? Is anyone special to Jarek?
His attention veers to somewhere across the lake. I follow it and spot the two forms on the far shore. My heart stirs. How long has Zander been standing there, watching me?
When Jarek meets my eyes again, I struggle to not shrink. “Do not grab me again, unless you’d like that favor returned.” With that, he stalks off.
I release a shaky sigh and aim for my tent.
It’s midday when we crest the tallest hill. In the distance sits the vast stone wall of a city. Between is forest and low-lying farmland dotted with villages.
“Is that Bellcross?” After two long and tedious days of nothing but rolling landscape and dismal company riding at the back of the line with Jarek, today we’re in a three-deep row next to Elisaf and Horik a few horses behind Zander. I can’t tell if this is by Jarek’s own choice or if he’s been ordered. Regardless, I’m happy for the chance to ask questions of someone who will answer.
“It is,” Elisaf confirms. “It is the third-largest city in all of Islor, next to Cirilea and Kettling, and well fortified. There is a deep gully with a river surrounding two sides, impossible to attack from.”
“It’s beautiful.” In the sunlight, the stone is a pale gray. Several towers loom in the center. The lord’s castle, I assume, and likely a sanctum.
“Second only to Cirilea, most would say as Kettling’s aesthetic is more that of a port city, adopting its flavor from Kier. When the Great Rift struck and Islor became its own realm, there was talk of making Bellcross the capitol. But then the Nulling spilled into our world, and its beasts made homes in the mountains, and the king and queen had no interest in living closer to them.”
“And now we’re heading there willingly why?” Jarek grumbles behind me.
I ignore him, though I said something similar the other day.
“Your Highness.” Eden clears her throat, her nervous eyes flipping around as if checking to see if anyone else pays attention to her. “Is it true that your castle in Argon is made completely of rubies and emeralds?”
The hell if I know. “That may be a slight exaggeration?” Zander said Princess Romeria lived in a jeweled castle, but I don’t know what that means. I steal a covert glance at Gesine.
She smiles, catching my call for help. “The spires on the king and queen’s towers each hold enough precious stones to wink ten thousand times with each ray of sun that hits them. And at noon on a clear day, the gleam is a beacon seen clear across the land. Some believe, all the way to Shadowhelm in Skatrana.”
Jarek snorts. “Only an idiot would believe that.”
I resist the urge to elbow him. “Why don’t we put you on a boat in Northmost so you can go to Shadowhelm and confirm it for us?”
“You want to send me to my death with the sirens now?” Amusement laces his voice.
“I’m not worried. They’d spend two minutes with you and send you right back.” Of Gesine, I ask, “Have you been to Shadowhelm?”
“I have not. Queen Neilina does not allow her casters to go … well, anywhere.”
“But she allowed you to come to Islor to ally with the king and future queen.” Eden smiles first at her and then at me.
Eden’s continued ignorance about the current state of the throne, and the fact that we’re running, is both a relief and a concern. She needs to be more aware to survive in this world. Enough comments have been made that she should have picked up on something by now. Then again, I can see that she trusts me, and I’ve lied to her. The longer I keep up this charade, the more deceived Eden will feel. I’ll have to explain things soon, though I have no idea where to begin.
“To get to Islor, I traveled west along the mountain corridor that separates Westport from the rest of Skatrana, so I did not have the opportunity to visit Shadowhelm,” Gesine says, smoothly diverting the conversation. “But one of the elderly scribes traveled there on an information-gathering expedition once, and she had much to say on the city.”