Total pages in book: 201
Estimated words: 191006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 955(@200wpm)___ 764(@250wpm)___ 637(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 191006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 955(@200wpm)___ 764(@250wpm)___ 637(@300wpm)
“Then why?” I find myself blurting. I immediately regret it. “I mean … excuse me for my disrespect, Your Highness—”
“For the good of the kingdom.” A somber expression takes over his face. “To unite Kettling with Cirilea, two powerful sides that seem to be moving farther apart with each day, but especially after the betrayal by the Ybarisans.”
I hadn’t expected an answer. I swallow. “That is a noble reason.” Though sad that he feels he must hitch himself to that terrible elven, but I can’t feel too sorry for him. He didn’t have to take his brother’s throne.
“We will see. Things are more complicated within these walls than they are on a battlefield.”
Speaking of battlefields …“You’re bleeding.” I nod toward his sleeve.
He tugs at his collar, pulling it down to reveal sculpted muscle over a shoulder where a sword slash still weeps. “It is nothing. It will close by tonight, even without a healer’s aid.”
“I’ve always envied your kind’s healing abilities.” My body is still recovering from childbirth.
He peers down at the small bundle against my chest. “She is much quieter than she was last night.”
Last night … Those few quiet, intense moments between us that I have replayed over and over in my mind since I reclaimed my spot in bed, unable to make sense of it.
Even now, thinking about all that transpired, my adrenaline races.
The tiny flick of his eyebrow tells me he’s caught the reaction, but he doesn’t pry for my thoughts. “Did Saoirse hurt you?”
My arm aches and will no doubt wear bruises, but I shake my head. “No, Your Highness.”
He nods, his lips pursing as if he knows I’m lying but doesn’t want to call me out for it. “What are you doing in the library?”
“Oh.” I smile sheepishly. “I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped my bounds, Your Highness, but I’m looking for my son. He has a habit of finding places to hide. Unfortunately, this castle has many of them.”
“Unfortunate for you, but not so for him.” He chuckles. “And you think he’s in here?”
“He’s not anywhere else I’ve checked, and the guards have found him in here before. They weren’t willing to help with the hunt this time, but they waved me through.”
“I imagine they are occupied with more pressing matters than a mischievous little boy.”
“Yes, of course.” They’re searching for whoever tried to kill the king.
“Let’s try this way.” He gestures down an aisle.
Let’s? As in let us? “You are going to help me look for him?” I can’t hide the shock in my voice.
“I was a mischievous boy in this castle myself, once. I have a few ideas.” He pauses. “Unless you’d rather not have my help?”
“No, of course I would love it. It’s just … I’m sure the king has far more important things to focus on?”
He sighs heavily. “Actually, I could use the distraction. Come.”
I move in his direction, catching his scent—clean sweat and worn leather. Sabrina says he practices in the sparring court every morning. That must be where he earned his injuries. I would love to watch him there, if I could find an excuse to knead dough outside.
We walk alongside each other, our footfalls the only sound in the library. There’s an easy quiet between us, and yet I can’t seem to calm my nerves as my thoughts whirl. What if I hadn’t stopped the king from undressing last night? Surely his offer was in jest, but if it wasn’t …
I can still feel his warm hand against my throat. What if he had decided to take what he wanted from me? Would it be as terrible as every other time I’ve experienced it? Or would he be gentle, as Sabrina claimed him to be?
My pulse hammers in my veins.
The king clears his throat and murmurs, “This way,” slipping a hand against the small of my back to steer me down an aisle three over.
I stiffen instinctively. Lord Danthrin and his guests used to coax me with gentle touches and soft reassurances, and it always led to unpleasant experiences.
“Have you ever been inside a library?”
“Not like this one.”
“It is quite impressive.” He removes his hand.
I instantly feel the loss. “My previous keeper had a collection of books. Mainly from Seacadore. Lord Danthrin has a fascination with those lands. But I was never allowed to touch them, let alone read them.”
“You can read?” He doesn’t hide his surprise, and I can’t blame him. So many mortals can’t.
I nod. “When I was born, our keeper gifted my parents a book. It was about a mortal girl named Hania, who went on a grand adventure to Kier and beyond—”
“There’s a beyond?” Humor laces his voice.
“You tell me. You are the one with the map.” I feel my cheeks flush. “But there was a beyond in this story, a land where—” I falter.