Total pages in book: 362
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
“I know.” I closed my eyes and then quickly reopened them. “What I mean is that there seems to be no balance in this. And yeah, I get that I conceived before I lost control, but I keep thinking it’s not fair. It would have made more sense if fate had made me barren. Or if it took them from me after what I did…”
“I see what you’re saying.” Nektas came over and sat beside me. His large frame took up nearly two cushions. “Halayna felt something similar when she first learned she was pregnant with our daughter.”
My head turned to him in surprise. This was only maybe the second time I’d ever heard him speak about his mate. “Why?”
“There used to be far more fighting among the draken, especially after Eythos was killed. We wanted justice but sought vengeance.” His head tipped back on a heavy exhale. “My mate was extraordinarily kind and generous.” He paused. “If she liked you.”
I cracked a grin.
His lips followed suit. “But she was also as vicious as she was kind. When provoked, she was as feared as much as I am. Possibly even more so because when she let loose on someone, she didn’t hold back.” He glanced at me sideways. “Sound like anyone we know?”
“Whatever,” I murmured.
“After Eythos was killed, Halayna singlehandedly took out most of the draken that served in Veses’ Court and wiped out the entirety of Hanan’s.”
My eyes widened. “Good gods.”
“Like I said, she could be vicious. Fiercely so. It was one of the reasons I loved her.” His chin lowered. “You may know a part of this story. It involves Reaver’s parents.”
“They were killed when Ash didn’t respond to Kolis’s summons in a timely manner.”
Nektas nodded. “Kolis sent several of his draken. We lost Reaver’s parents and two more in the battle, but Kolis lost twice that. His actions caused him to have fewer draken in his Court than Ash.”
Anger grew within me. “Let me guess, he didn’t believe himself responsible.”
“You’d be correct,” he replied. “We learned that Kolis was considering taking Reaver— demanding that Ash sever the bond with the youngling. Kolis felt as if he was owed.”
My lips parted. “Oh, gods.”
“When Halayna learned about it, she was enraged. Reaver had become a son to us. We knew what happened to the younglings in Kolis’s Court. They never survived past their first full shift or adolescence. Neither Ash nor we would allow that to happen. Relations were tense in the years that followed.” The ridges along his shoulders became more pronounced. “At that time, Kolis had three fully grown female draken. He sent them, likely believing they would be safe, along with Davon and two others,” he said, speaking of the draken who shared his blood. “They were there to take Reaver, and it…it did not end well. In a way, we were sending a message back to Kolis. That he wasn’t just fucking with his nephew. He was now fucking with us.”
I had a feeling I knew where this was going. “He used the female draken almost like a shield.”
“He did, and he was wrong for doing so. None of us cared who or what they were. Not when it came to Reaver. Halayna took out two of the females. The third—she was Davon’s mate and the youngest of Kolis’s draken—was Taliaya.” Faint lines appeared at the corners of his eyes. “Davon created a path for her escape. My mate wasn’t having that. Halayna went after her, catching up while they were over the Lassa Sea.” Nektas was quiet for several moments. “If Halayna had time to cool down, if there weren’t years of pain and loss at the hands of Kolis, she likely wouldn’t have done what she did. She ripped Taliaya’s throat out over the sea, sending her to a watery grave along with…”
I closed my eyes.
“Along with the child she carried within her,” he said, his voice low. “We knew the moment Taliaya showed that she was pregnant. We could smell it. We couldn’t believe Kolis sent her or that Davon allowed it, but then again, Davon, as much as he was a fucker, could do nothing but obey Kolis’s orders.” Nektas’s gaze found mine. “Once Halayna returned and calmed, she was horrified by what she had done. Less than a year later, we learned she was with child.”
I didn’t know what to say, only because I knew how Halayna felt. Kolis had put everything into motion with his selfish, insane actions, but like me, Halayna had reacted in rage and pain, leaving devastation behind. I knew exactly how she felt.
“What she did to Taliaya and her unborn youngling haunted her. Stayed with her up until her death. The many nights that I held her as our daughter grew inside her and even after, telling her that she was worthy of our gift, were innumerable.”