Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 105164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Zyros bowed her head to him. “I would not expect anything less. Until we meet in Green Spring, godling.”
“Goddess,” Caelan murmured, offering his own head bow. He lifted his eyes in time to see the Goddess of the Hunt slip between the shadows of the trees, disappearing completely from sight.
For a mad goddess, she wasn’t nearly as insane as he’d expected her to be.
Maybe his own sanity was slipping.
It didn’t matter. His path had spawned a new branch, offering a different treacherous way forward. Did he kill the goddess that threatened all of Thia? Or betray the gods who tricked him in the hope of carving out a sanctuary for his family?
Or was there a third path he couldn’t see yet? A path where this godling put the old order to rest once and for all.
THIRTEEN
Rayne Laurent
Rayne plucked off his glasses with his left hand and rubbed his burning, weary eyes with his right. Two full days in Hidden Falls and he was sure that he’d held every baby, smiled at every child, and healed every wound from skinned knees to snake venom to jaguar slashes. And rashes. Gods, he prayed he never saw another rash for as long as he lived.
The village was as healthy as he could make it. These people had the best fighting chance he could provide within these harsh conditions.
Not that he was judging. Yes, he preferred to begin his day with a hot shower and a latte before slipping into a designer suit, but just because these people didn’t have modern conveniences didn’t mean they weren’t happy.
In fact, everyone he met appeared to be incredibly happy. There was a sense of close camaraderie. Everyone within the village knew each other and looked out for one another. An impossible feat for a place the size of Stormbreak.
And yet, he still found himself wishing he could do more.
How close were they going to be to the fighting in Green Spring? Would it spread to include Hidden Falls, putting these kind people in danger?
It was not like they could simply pick them up and move them somewhere else. Where would they even go? It took their group several days to reach Hidden Falls from the Ilon-Ordas border. Most of these people were already refugees from New Rosanthe. They’d chosen to make a home here, and he was willing to guess they had no desire to try to start over somewhere else yet again.
Right now, these people were about as safe as they could be under the circumstances.
Sighing, Rayne dropped his empty right hand to his lap and shoved his glasses on his face. His last “patient” had left a few minutes ago. He’d eaten dinner someone brought him about an hour ago, and he knew he needed to seek out the rest of the group.
In two days, he’d barely seen Eno, Caelan, or Drayce. They’d all popped in at various times of the day to check on him and then left. He’d attempted to apologize to his king more than once, but Caelan would chuckle, squeeze his shoulder, and brush off his words.
His place was at the king’s side, but he also couldn’t deny this gift he’d been given. These people were living much too far from modern medicine. Ilon had been careful not to send a single doctor among the refugees to the Ordas, which meant they had basic medical skills and home remedies to depend on at best.
“Looks like the clinic is closed for the day,” a warm, deep voice he’d missed so very much murmured.
Rayne lifted his gaze to the open doorway to find Eno standing there, arms folded across his chest and a smile on his handsome face. Why did it feel like he’d not seen Eno in weeks? He’d been the one to bring him dinner, right? Except there had been a hunting party who’d just returned with two profusely bleeding hunters in the clinic at the same time. He’d given Eno a small nod before returning his attention to the wounded.
“I feel as if I’ve seen everyone within the village,” Rayne said on another sigh.
“Twice.” Eno crossed to where Rayne sat on the floor with his back to the wall for support and kneeled next to him. “I’ve prepared a special surprise for you.”
The grin he gave his lover was crooked at best. “I feel like the only surprise I’m up for is a semi-soft bed.” He snorted. “Honestly, I’ll even take a hard bed at this point. Just so long as I can sleep undisturbed for a few hours.” He made a disgruntled noise the second those words left his lips. “No, I need to find Caelan. I don’t think we spoke more than three words all day. I need to find him—”
“No, you don’t,” Eno cut him off. “The king finished his meal with the village elders less than an hour ago and is relaxing with Drayce. He’s not taking any more visitors for the rest of the evening. You can talk to him tomorrow.” Eno stood and held out his large hand to Rayne, a stern expression on his face. “Come on. If you stall any longer, you’re going to ruin your surprise.”