Total pages in book: 218
Estimated words: 205594 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1028(@200wpm)___ 822(@250wpm)___ 685(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 205594 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1028(@200wpm)___ 822(@250wpm)___ 685(@300wpm)
And after that, perhaps we’ll spread out. Perhaps we’ll stay here under the mountain. As long as there’s peace, I don’t mind.
I stroke Bodahn’s fuzzy head. Unlike Nemeth, he’s got my dark hair and no horns. He does have his father’s wings and tiny tail, about which I tease Nemeth mercilessly. We’ve already started talking about what another child between us would look like, and if it’s a girl, I want to name her Iphigenia, after my nurse. She would have loved Bodahn.
“You’re just in time,” Nemeth murmurs to me. “We’ve had human refugees arrive.”
“Oh?” I sit up with interest, scanning the throne room for unfamiliar faces. The newcomers are obvious to see, their clothing soaked and muddy, their forms thin and emaciated, and they look exhausted. My heart wrenches at the sight of them. Maybe I’ve become soft ever since giving birth, but I know how hard it is outside, how difficult a struggle to find food. I want them to know they’re welcome here.
I open my mouth to speak just as the first one steps forward and lowers his wet hood.
And I gasp. “I know you!”
The man stares at me in horror. I do know him. It’s one of the men that kidnapped me. The one that left when his companions were going to murder me. The one that stole my knife and took off.
I even remember his name. “You’re Jarvo, aye?”
He cringes, bowing his head. “My…my lady. I am.”
“You know this man?” Nemeth asks, practically bristling from his throne with fierce protectiveness.
“I do. He was one of the ones that robbed us when we were on our way to Lios.” The room gets quiet, and Jarvo cringes even lower. He’s thinner than I recall, his eyes hollow, and instead of anger, I feel nothing but pity. “It was difficult out there with nothing to eat, wasn’t it? How did you manage?”
He looks at me in surprise, then glances at Nemeth. “I-I-I found kind strangers. They took me in and shared their supplies until they were gone.”
I glance at the people behind him. “Are they with you now?”
“Aye.” He gestures at an elderly couple with him. They have lined faces and white hair, their clothing ragged, but they don’t look terrified for their lives, just exhausted.
Bodahn makes an unhappy noise at my breast and I switch him to the other side, where he grizzles and latches once more. I stroke his tiny head, thinking about the past. I know what it’s like to feel that food insecurity, and I know what it will drive people toward. “Was he a good friend to you?” I ask the older couple. “No robbing or stealing?”
They shake their heads and the woman speaks up. “Jarvo has been like a son to us. There were days we had nothing to eat and he would share the fish he caught. He would hunt down ravens so we could have something to eat. We would have died without him.”
I glance back at Jarvo. He still looks defeated, as if fate has decreed his death. “Well, you are all welcome here. Someone in Second House will assist you with getting settled and explain the rules of our city. All we ask is that you treat both Fellian and Liosian kindly. There are no more wars. We are a city of survivors now, and there is no difference between us. Understand?”
“Yes, my lady. Thank you, my lady,” Jarvo stammers, dropping to his knees on the floor. He catches himself, and then his head jerks upright. “Oh! I have your blade!”
“My blade?” I echo, though I know exactly what he means.
Sure enough, he pulls out the enchanted dagger that Erynne gave me so long ago. The one that is enchanted to give answers. The one that I relied upon so heavily once upon a time. It looks the same, small and benign, with a few jewels in the hilt.
I debate its presence for a moment. With it, I could ask questions about the future. I could suss out enemies before they strike. I could predict everything before it happens…and base every decision off of its answers.
But I’m tired of living in fear of what the future could bring. I look at my handsome husband, who sits upon a throne. I hold my child, my best friend standing behind me. Somewhere in our city is my sister with her daughter, and a thousand other faces that have become friends in the last few months.
I’m no longer cursed. If anything, I’m the luckiest Vestalin ever. So I smile at Jarvo and shake my head. “You keep it. I’m good.”