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)
Kendrick cocks his head to the side. “I doubt that. Not when your guard is telling anyone who comes to your door that you’ve asked to be left alone in your chambers today. Anyone who asks to see you is told you aren’t to be bothered until morning.”
My chest tightens. He has connections inside the palace. “How do you know that?”
“Do you think that we nabbed you the first time we saw you? You are royalty. The Unseelie princess, next in line for the Throne of Shadows. You think my people would be foolish enough to take you from the woods when someone would be keeping an eye on you? We’ve been plotting for weeks on how to get to you.”
“I thought you said you took me because I was in danger?”
He shrugs. “We were able to take you because you put yourself in danger. You made it easy—too easy.” His jaw hardens. “What were you doing in those swamps? Do you realize what kind of people reside in that area?”
“So I’m supposed to be grateful to be your captive?”
“Grateful to be ours instead of theirs, yes. We won’t hurt you or use you against your sister’s court. I can’t say as much for others who would’ve liked to get their hands on you today.”
“And what about after today? My excuses only buy me so much time. They will expect to see me tomorrow.”
“Leave that to us.” He walks across the room, grabs his mug, and refills it from the steaming pitcher.
The door rattles as someone pounds on it again. “Are you going to make us sleep out here, Hale?”
Kendrick ignores Remme. “What else do you need to know?”
“Can I sleep on it?” I ask, already thinking through my escape. I don’t want to leave without my ring, but I don’t see my cloak anywhere, so I might not have a choice.
Kendrick comes to stand before me and sinks to his haunches so we’re eye to eye. “You can sleep, but nothing will change. I need you, Jas.”
Of all people, I never would’ve believed Kendrick would betray me in any way. Once, he was helping me plot my escape from Mordeus, and here I am, plotting my escape from him.
As soon as they’re all sleeping, I’ll call for my goblin.
Chapter Five
Jasalyn
“YOU CAN KEEP STARING AT that door, but even your glare isn’t going to put you on the other side of it,” Remme says the next morning. I turn said glare on him, and he chuckles and offers me a mug of coffee. “You might feel a little less like something from the bottom of my boot if you hadn’t been so determined to sneak away last night.”
I snag the mug from his hand. “I don’t know what you mean,” I mutter into the cup.
“Sure you don’t. I saw you watching me and Natan. What were you planning to do? Run back to the palace on foot? Or maybe you were planning to steal one of our horses?” He gulps from his own mug. “Do you even know where we are? Would you have known which way to go?”
I wouldn’t have had a clue, which is why I’d planned to use my bracelet to call my goblin, but goblin bracelets are invisible to everyone but their owner and I’m not planning to reveal the only advantage I have in this mess.
Not that it mattered. There was always someone awake. Always someone watching. Kendrick’s clearly more adept at dealing with a captive than I ever would’ve imagined.
The coffee is rich and like an answered prayer. Brie says I drink too much of it, but dark black coffee is one of the few things that inspires me to get out of bed in the morning. Thank goodness this isn’t a tea-drinking group. “Where are Kendrick and Natan?”
“They had someone they needed to see this morning,” Remme says. “They’ll be back soon.”
I frown at the four packs piled by the door. They weren’t there last night. “Going somewhere?”
“We’re always going somewhere, Princess. We’re not in this godsforsaken realm because we’re looking to settle down.”
I roll my eyes. “Where are you going?”
“Feegus Keep. It’s a few days’ ride from here and is the primary stronghold for Mordeus’s remaining followers.”
“You think Mordeus is there?”
“The dead king?” Remme snorts. “Unlikely.”
“The sword?”
“If we’re lucky.” He takes another gulp of his coffee. “We’re looking for Mordeus’s son. If he’s there, then Mordeus’s most prized spoils will be there too.”
I’ve been so focused on getting away from Kendrick and his friends that I never considered the benefits of staying. If I go back to the palace, my sister will send me away to Misha’s court. There, it would be difficult to hunt for the remaining guards from the dungeons, even with my ring, and it would be impossible without it. If I stay with Kendrick while they search for their special sword, they would take me to the doorstep of my enemies.