Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 123190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
“No. I need you to stay here and look out for your friends.”
His eyes lose some of their luster, but he nods. He’d do anything for me. “If that’s what you want.”
“It is. I’ll be back soon.”
His gaze is fixed on my mouth. Sweet, studious Natan, fixated on the Enchanting Lady. “You promise?”
“I promise.” I wink at him over my shoulder as I make my way to the stairs.
When I return to the tavern, it’s empty. The rowdy group from earlier is gone. Their table is littered with dirty dishes and empty glasses, and the lanterns have been turned down low.
My stomach sinks.
I could go upstairs and search each room until I find the proprietor, maybe ask him some questions about their plans and where they’re going, but I hoped to find out more tonight.
A clatter of dishes behind me pulls my attention away from the filthy table, and I follow the sound to the kitchen, where I see the proprietor’s wife scrubbing floors on her hands and knees.
“Hello,” I say sweetly.
“The kitchen is closed,” she says. Her knuckles are raw from her work. My sister’s hands used to look like that, and now they’re soft and healthy. Maybe there’s a better future for this female as well.
“Please look at me.”
She obeys, sitting back on her heels and lifting her chin. The moment her eyes meet mine, she drops her rag and jumps to her feet. “I’m so sorry, milady. What can I do for you?”
“Your husband and his friends were eating in the dining room earlier. Have they retired for the evening?”
“No, ma’am. They continue their revelry at High Captain Vauril’s manor house. They will sleep there tonight and be on their way in the morning.”
I tilt my head to the side in question. “High captain?”
She blushes. “He was named high captain of Mordeus’s personal guard before the king was slain. His friends still use his title.”
My gut clenches painfully at the sound of the false king’s name. “I’m surprised the queen allowed him to keep his lands after everything.”
“The queen doesn’t know he lives, milady. She believes the compound is owned by his son and told the boy she doesn’t believe in punishing children for the crimes of their parents. She’s a merciful queen, perhaps too merciful for these lands, if you ask me.”
She’s twisting her hands at her waist, and I brush my fingers over them. “You’re hurting yourself,” I whisper.
“Nervous habit, milady,” she says, but she stops and tucks her hands into her pockets. “Please tell me what I can do for you. I am a talented cook. May I prepare you some food? Or perhaps you’d like a foot rub? Or a warm bath in our nicest room? I could have its occupant cleared out and have it cleaned for you within the hour.”
“None of that will be necessary. Tell me, do you have somewhere to go? If something happened to your husband?”
She blinks. “My best friend is a widow. Her husband died in the war and left her and her children a house. She’s invited me to live with her. I wish I could, but as long as my husband needs me, I cannot leave.” She drops her voice to such a low whisper I can barely hear it. “Sometimes I wish he would die in his stupid crusade against the queen so I could be free of him and his anger.”
“I want that for you.”
Her eyes fill with tears. “I don’t deserve even such a kind thought from someone so lovely as you.”
Sometimes I hate the ring and how fake these exchanges are. This female deserves true love and affection, not some magical substitute that she won’t even remember tomorrow. I don’t like manipulating those who deserve honesty, but if I must, I want them to benefit from it. “You deserve more and better,” I tell her, putting all my will into the words. “And you’ll need to remember that if you wish to find it.”
“As you wish, milady.”
“Now, tell me where I can find this High Captain Vauril’s manor house.”
The night is dark with very little moon, and the only light cast onto the small village road comes from the few houses that still have lanterns burning on their front stoop. Even with the ring on, the darkness bothers me tonight. Maybe it’s the talk of Mordeus or maybe it’s just the long day catching up with me, but fear creeps through my veins where the Enchanting Lady’s ice should be, and by the time I arrive at the high captain’s manor house, I’m grateful for the torches he has lining his gate.
The house has the look of a property that was lush in the recent past but has since been neglected. The gardens are overgrown and need tending. The gate is broken in several places, and the paint is chipping on the exterior.