Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 117336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
And that hurts just as much as his betrayal.
I stalk down the hall after him as he heads for our quarters. Part of me wants to race ahead and grab him before he can even step foot inside. If he thinks he's sleeping with me tonight, he's delusional. But I know that we shouldn't argue in public. Even if I hate the way Azar is running things, he still needs to be the ruthless leader. I know that appearances mean a lot, and he's just now starting to win over the hold-outs. Plus…this feels private. I don't want anyone else knowing our business.
I said I would be his mate in public, and I am his mate as far as anyone else is concerned. How I feel about him in private is my business.
Instead of heading into our private quarters, though, he heads for the library. I follow after him, resolute. When I open the door to step inside, Azar is near the window, his head cradled in his hands, an expression of pain on his face.
My heart thumps with misery at the sight. Even though he's awful, I still care about him. He's betrayed me completely, but it's going to take time for my love to fade, and right now seeing him hurting is painful to me. I shut the door behind me and lean against it. "Headache?"
Azar shakes his head, and when he lifts his gaze, his eyes are glassy and distant. "It…it's speaking to me."
"The Rift?" Goosebumps prickle over my skin. "What's it saying?"
"I don't know. I don't speak pure evil." He shudders, pressing the base of one hand to his temples. "It's so full of filth and malice…it feels like it's polluting my head."
"Tell it you've already got enough pollution in there," I snap, feeling helpless. I'm torn between being angry at Azar and being worried about him.
"It's trying to worm its way in," he grits out.
Which reminds me of why I'm so angry. Jenny's ultimatums that she gave below just reinforced that Azar has been lying to me this whole time, and apparently everyone knows but me. I'm angry they kept it a secret from me, but I'm angrier at Azar for being the instigator. I cross my arms under my breasts and glare. "Doesn't feel good when someone tries to take over your mind, does it?"
He shoots me a look. "Did you come here to gloat?"
"How dare you?" I lose my cool, storming over toward the window. "How dare you enslave people and make me complicit?"
Azar's jaw clenches. He lowers his hand from his brow and gives me an unyielding look. "You have known I was a Salorian all this time. You knew I was Salorian when you agreed to be my mate. How did you think we conquered the drakoni? Through polite words and empty promises?"
I glare at him. "It was different when you were being the bad guy. When you were nice to me, I hoped…I thought…"
"That I wasn't Salorian?" His tone is cutting. "Or did you simply see me in a better light because you chose to? Because it soothed your spirit to let me touch you if you thought I was less evil? That I was not a cruel man?"
"You're not a man, remember?" I say softly. "And don't give me this Salorian bullshit. Salorians aren't supposed to take mates, remember? And you've been more than willing to fool around with me. Or are we only applying the rules when they suit you?"
He gives me a furious look. That comment clearly hit a mark. His jaw flexes, as if he's biting back angry words, but he's silent as he just glares at me. And glares. I don't give an inch. I keep my arms crossed and my defiant look on my face. I don't know what hurts me the most—that he's enslaving people and doesn't see a problem with it, or that he has lied to me and somehow made everyone think I'm fine with all of it. That he's been blatantly betraying me with a smile this whole time.
That he let me fall in love with him.
"I was going to free them," Azar mutters after a moment. He rubs his temples, his face strained. "I didn't tell you the truth because I knew your heart was soft and you wouldn't like it. I didn't know about humans and their pasts. That enslaving another people is bad here, in this world. In mine, it is just something you do." He shrugs. "It is part of life."
"It doesn't matter if it's part of life," I exclaim. "That doesn't make it right."
"I was going to free them," he snaps irritably.
"But you didn't!"
Azar's throat works. After a long moment, he admits, "I did not, no. I did not yet come to a decision that would allow me to keep everything under control."