Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 66383 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66383 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
“Why is it colder here?” I finally ask between chattering teeth.
“The yates aren’t too far from where we are now. So far, we have a barrier keeping them out, and it seems to be working, but the cold is not something we can stop.”
“How many people live in the village?”
“About two hundred.”
That’s when I see it up ahead. Small little houses are nestled together in a circle, with a playground and other essentials centered in the middle. It’s like their own barrier of houses. Every house is brown, with not one standing out more than the other. When we reach the first house, a little girl with blonde hair comes running toward us. The guard drops to a crouch, picks her up, and then swings her around. She giggles as he kisses her cheek before they both look at me.
“This is Talia,” the guard says.
I feel bad I haven’t learned his name.
I offer her my hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet someone so pretty. And what is your name?” The guard smiles at me as he looks at his daughter. I can see the resemblance, as it’s more than obvious.
“Amirka,” she says. And then her head falls onto her father’s shoulders.
“I’m sorry, I never asked your name,” I say to the guard.
“Adam,” he tells me.
Another little girl runs over, followed closely by a lady with blonde hair. She walks over, kisses Adam on the lips, and falls into his side as if she belongs there as she glances at me with ease.
“Hi. We have heard so much about you.”
“All good, I hope.” I smile.
“Of course. Adam thinks you are fantastic. Come, meet some of the others.”
I follow her into the middle area, where people seem to be gathering. Some offer me small smiles while others get up and leave.
“Don’t worry about them. Our numbers are slowly dwindling, and everyone is worried about what that could mean for us,” she explains in a small voice. “We used to be a large village…” She looks around. “There were thousands of us. Now we are all that’s left.”
“You!” I hear thrown my way and turn to find Levy standing at a door. “You are not welcome here.”
“King Maxilliam instructed I bring her,” Adam says.
“Well, you can take her right back to where you found her.” Levy crosses her arms over her chest.
“How come she isn’t dead yet?” I ask Adam, to which his wife tries to hide her laugh.
“Because unlike you, I know my place, witch.”
“Witch. You say it as if it’s a bad word spilling off your tongue when it’s who I am. You need to try harder.”
“Witch?” someone asks as they step closer.
“Oh, Ron… you are from her world.”
I look over to see a man standing not too far from where we are. He has a mustache and is overly large, his big belly hanging over his pants as he stares at me.
“Why don’t you teach this witch the ways of our world and how to better handle herself.” Levy flicks her hair, turns with a scoff, and walks away.
“She doesn’t like you all that much,” Adam’s wife comments. “But from what I hear, she has good reason not to.”
“And what did you hear?”
“You are staying with the king. It’s where she wants to be. It’s everything she has worked toward, and you come along and get a room that was meant to be hers.”
“My room is hers?” I ask, shocked.
No wonder she’s angry at me.
“No, technically, it never was. She just thinks it is and that she deserves it. King Maxilliam has been entertaining her because he knows that we are growing weaker, and the only way to grow stronger is to keep our population growing. And King Maxilliam is the strongest of us all, but he is fair. And to be honest, he doesn’t love her, even though it’s obvious she loves him,” Adam replies.
“I feel bad for her. She has turned down every last person while waiting for him,” Adam’s wife adds.
I glance at Ron, who has been watching me. “Why did the queen send you through the portal?” he asks me.
“It wasn’t the queen. It was Viper.”
He stares at me, wide-eyed, rubs his jaw, and looks to the ground.
“Viper?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“And the queen?”
“Dead,” I reply.
His eyes go big at this news.
“Dead. Oh my God, who did it?”
“Me,” I reply without hesitation.
“You? How could you defeat her? She was mighty powerful. The only person I have seen more powerful than her is King Maxilliam.” He squints his eyes, recognition flaring behind his gaze. “I know who you are now. You’re one of the Halaba girls.”
“Yes…” I pause. “And are you a wolf?” I ask, not wanting to assume. For all I know, he could be a human.
“I am. The queen didn’t approve of me crossing the border, so she threw me down without warning, and poof, I ended up here.” He waves his hands around.