Total pages in book: 210
Estimated words: 200096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1000(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 667(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 200096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1000(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 667(@300wpm)
I divide her hair into several sections, letting my fingertips graze her nape. “It makes for excellent foreplay.”
Her body stiffens. “Tyree—”
“I am teasing.” But I don’t miss the gooseflesh that crawls along her slender neck, which goads me to tease more. “Here, this is in the way. I need to …” Slipping a hand around, I unfasten her cloak’s clasp and coax the wool down, my thumb brushing her bare, pale shoulder. I’m rewarded with more gooseflesh. “One of my mother’s collared pets taught me, actually.”
She clears her throat. “An elemental?”
“Yes. Her name was Inez.” I begin weaving strands of Annika’s hair, tugging the curls straight so I can plait them properly. “It is a funny story. I was a young boy and completely smitten with her. She had hair the color of spun gold. Much like yours but straight as a feather’s quill. I followed her around like a puppy for years, fascinated by her affinities.
“She was equally smitten, often saying how, if she could bear children, she wished to have one like me. Considering how little I saw of my mother, Inez filled that void.” I smile fondly. “She used to tell stories about fantastical beasts and distant lands, stories that she had been told as a child. Bedtime was my favorite part of the day. And then one night, I woke to her hovering over my bed with a dagger at my throat, uttering nonsense about how I must be stopped before I unknowingly feed my heart to the gilded doe.”
Annika gasps. “She went through the change.”
“Yes, and the first thing she wanted to do was kill me. But I was deft with my blade by then and fought her off. I put her own dagger through her chest and held her until she died.” My father caught me shedding tears for her and called me weak.
Silence hangs in the wagon for a few beats.
“I thought you said it was a funny story,” Annika says.
“On second thought, I guess it wasn’t much of one. Hold this.” I hand her the end of the first braid, her fingertips grazing across mine. Using a dagger to slice off a piece of hemp string from one of the crates, I secure her hair and move on to another section.
“She could not help what happened after the madness took over.”
“I know.” And yet it shattered my young heart all the same.
Annika turns, giving me her profile. “Is that why you hate elementals?”
“Hate is a strong word. But I certainly keep my distance from them. From all casters, really. And after Gesine and Ianca conspired against Ybaris, can you blame me?” To what end, I would love to know.
“I suppose not.”
My fingers work deftly through Annika’s hair as the wagon bumps along. Little by little, she relaxes, until she leans, her shoulder blades resting against my inner thighs. Because I love testing her boundaries, I take every opportunity to skate a fingertip across her bare skin.
She doesn’t complain.
Destry stirs as I’m finishing off the last plait—a thick braid that combines all the smaller ones. She pulls herself up off the wagon floor to peer at us through squinted eyes. The wood’s grain has indented her cheeks.
“Good morning.” I smile. “How much do you remember from last night?”
“Other than the kal’ana escaping from the temple? A bit here and there.”
“At least you remember the important things.”
Destry’s face pinches. She looks likes she may vomit as she pushes past us in the tiny space, clambering through the curtain. She exchanges words with the driver in their tongue while Annika and I swap amused expressions.
Finally, she slips back, taking a seat on the crate Annika occupied—the only one available. She closes her eyes.
“What did he have to say?” I ask.
“We should reach Garm’s Pass at nightfall. There is a small village there with a place to sleep.”
“Can’t we just keep going?” Annika asks.
“If you enjoy laming horses.” Destry cracks an eyelid. “That won’t work. She is too pretty. You would be better off shearing her. Even that might not help.”
“Shearing me?” Annika’s tone is rank with indignation. “What am I, a sheep?”
Destry rubs her forehead, revealing the faded ink. She shutters her eyes once again.
Annika’s body is tense as she glares up at me in a “Why did you saddle me with this idiot?” way. “What are we supposed to do?”
“Don’t worry. I will smear dung on your face and teach you to walk with a hunch.”
She rolls her eyes, but I catch the corner of her smile as she turns back to Destry. “So, you are one of these Azyr?”
“Not anymore,” comes the croaky reply in that harsh accent.
“What can you do?”
“Sleep, drink, and pretend I was never one of them.”
“She was friendlier last night,” I mock whisper. “What do you know of our driver, Destry?”