Total pages in book: 241
Estimated words: 229266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1146(@200wpm)___ 917(@250wpm)___ 764(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 229266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1146(@200wpm)___ 917(@250wpm)___ 764(@300wpm)
The corners of my lips turned down. “If I’m not free of him, how would he have let me go?”
Kieran lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive.”
My frown increased, but then I shook my head as I looked to the door. Knowing he wasn’t lying meant something. It meant a lot because Casteel would do anything to get his brother back.
Except he wouldn’t force me to marry him to achieve what he wanted. He wouldn’t use me as ransom, and for the first time since all of this began, I truly realized his plans to use me had changed long before I was even aware—probably even before he was aware they had. It wasn’t just his claim or what Kieran said. It was all of that and Casteel’s own actions. I just didn’t want to accept it—to see or understand. Because while Casteel wasn’t a monster, he was capable of doing monstrous things to get what he wanted. But I was exempt. He wasn’t the good guy—the savior or the saint. He’d killed to free his brother. He’d used countless others—mortals and Atlantians alike—to free his sibling. And he still would. To him, the means justified the end.
But Casteel had drawn a line that he wouldn’t cross.
And that line was me.
Truly acknowledging that was terrifying. Already, my heart was pounding, and that swelling sensation had returned, filling my chest. And that scared me. Ignoring and denying what I felt for him was easier when I could convince myself that I was nothing more than a pawn—another means to justify the end.
Now, there was no ignoring or denying anything.
I didn’t know if that meant what Kieran had claimed—that Casteel and I were heartmates, but it did mean something. What that changed for me—for us—I also didn’t know.
I took a breath. It went nowhere, and it felt like the floor was moving—the whole world was shifting under me, even though I was sitting. “I’m going to do it.”
“I’m half-afraid to ask what it is you’re going to do.”
Folding my arms across my chest, I rolled my eyes. “I’m going to offer myself up…for dinner basically. To Casteel,” I tacked on.
“As dinner?”
“Basically.” I peeked at Kieran, and I could tell he was trying not to laugh.
“Only a part of me is surprised, but I’m relieved.” And it did seem like his shoulders looked less hunched. “He needs you.”
I’d just returned to the rooms Casteel and I had been given, hoping he’d returned, when Alastir knocked on the main door.
Letting him inside, I told myself not to stress over Casteel’s continued absence. He had to be okay…ish, and it was still pretty early in the morning.
Alastir was dressed in an outfit far more suited for the temperate weather, wearing only a white button-down shirt and breeches. I was half-tempted to cut the sleeves off the sweater, even though it remained cool in the rooms.
“I won’t take up too much of your time,” he said, sitting on the edge of the settee as he brushed back a lock of hair from his face. “I just wanted to check in on you after hearing that you had a far more eventful trip here than I.”
I sat across from him in one of the thickly cushioned armchairs. “Most of it was rather uneventful up until I learned of the Dead Bones Clan with firsthand experience.”
“I couldn’t believe when Casteel told me they had attacked your group,” he responded, and the measure of relief that came with that was ridiculous. He had to have spoken with Alastir this morning. “To be honest, I figured they were mostly gone by now.”
“Well, they are definitely a few members short now.” The image of Casteel tossing the men from the trees filled my mind. “I still can’t believe the Ascended have either allowed them to live out there or don’t know about them.” I glanced around, shaking my head. “Part of me can’t even believe they don’t know about this. I was shocked when I saw it.”
“Solis is a powerful kingdom, but they are also an arrogant one. I don’t believe they even considered once that Atlantia might quietly take back some of their lands.”
“Casteel had once said something similar—about their arrogance.”
He nodded. “Did Casteel not tell you about Spessa’s End? How he hopes to eventually move hundreds here?”
I nibbled on my lip, unsure if I should lie or not, but I decided that doing so would be silly. It was clear I had no idea. “He hadn’t yet.”
A slight frown pulled at his lips. “I honestly expected he would. Reclaiming Spessa’s End is incredibly important to him and the kingdom. And, it was entirely his idea. Something he convinced his father and mother of.”
Irritation reared its head again, but so did something heavier. Embarrassed because this seemed like something a fiancée should know about, I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. “I’m sure he planned to tell me, but with everything going on…”