Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Vasilisa sighed and lifted her head. “We should check on Garald and then track Olga. I’m sure she is heading toward the portal the demons are slipping through. We need to find it. Then we have to find a way to get my other two brothers back out from under the demons’ commands.”
She was going to have to rest soon. Vasilisa knew that the kinds of spells she was working with, fighting against those in the underworld, were particularly draining. Afanasiv was shoring her up, but even his vast strength couldn’t last forever.
Without a word, Afanasiv lifted her into his arms and carried her close to his chest as he whisked her through the snow to the shelter her brother had taken Taisiya to. The small shedlike building was one the shepherds often occupied. It had a good wood heater and was always kept supplied. Garald already had the woodstove glowing hot, and he was attending to Taisiya’s many wounds. The cuts appeared to be mostly superficial, but a few were deeper lacerations that had to be closed with stitches. They covered her entire body.
Garald looked up as they entered.
Taisiya covered her face with her hands. “Don’t look at me,” she implored.
“Little sister,” Afanasiv said. “You suffered each of those wounds protecting Garald. Protecting the royals. Those are badges of your courage. They speak well of who you are and why Garald thinks you are an extraordinary woman.”
“That is so,” Vasilisa agreed. “I have soothing ointment to cover the wounds after my brother finishes. It will help to heal each injury much faster and leave no permanent scar.”
“If I hadn’t looked at you in the first place, this never would have happened,” Garald snapped, his eyes glittering a deep blue. “I was wrong to ever seek you out. I’m sorry, Taisiya. I let myself believe for one moment that I could find happiness with you. That I could protect you from enemies. They surround us all the time, chipping away at us. And then there’s the family curse.” He flicked his gaze to Afanasiv. “I’ll bet my sister didn’t mention the family curse.”
“Garald, I know it hurts to see Taisiya this way, but—”
Garald cut his sister off. “You think it hurts to see her this way? It kills me to see her this way. It destroys me. I did this to her just by looking at her. Just by showing in public that I cared about her.”
“Don’t say that, Garald,” Taisiya pleaded. “That means you take away my free will. My choices. I would never have willingly done this for anyone other than you, because you are my choice. Always my choice. From the moment I saw you there in the shadows all alone. Those demons tried to break me. That hideous woman tried. They said things about you, but I wouldn’t believe them because I believed in you. Don’t take that away from me.”
Garald’s answer was to bring both of her bruised hands to his mouth. He kissed them gently and then turned her wrists up to be kissed equally as tenderly. “I could never leave you, Taisiya. Ignore the crap coming out of my mouth. I’m venting.”
“What hideous woman?” Vasilisa asked. “If you don’t want to repeat what you suffered out loud—and who could blame you?—please allow the three of us to link together, and we can look at the images in your mind and see who did this to you. We will not view anything else. On that I give you my word.”
The last thing I want to do is stumble onto her fantasies about my brother.
Taisiya’s eyebrows drew together in a delicate frown. “You can do that?”
Garald kissed her knuckles and nodded. “It’s a gift handed down to royals. We have various other things we can do. I tried to tell you we’re not always what we seem. Our life isn’t royal balls, it’s mostly serving our people. I didn’t want you to come into it with rose-colored glasses.”
“It’s just that if you can read my thoughts . . .” She trailed off.
He grinned at her. “You can’t lie to me. I meant what I said when I told you there would never be other men in your life.”
“Or women in yours,” she added.
“We’re loyal.”
“Time, Garald,” Vasilisa reminded him as gently as possible while still showing urgency.
“We’re going to look at your memories of what happened very quickly,” Garald explained. “I’m right here. I’ll be with you.”
The moment Taisiya nodded, Vasilisa and Afanasiv slipped into her mind, taking Garald with them. They sifted backward until they came to the moment when Olga knocked on the door of Taisiya’s parents’ home. She introduced herself, although they knew who she was and were delighted that she had come to visit them. She took her time, basking in their admiration of her clothes and gracious ways. She told them she wanted to “borrow” their sweet daughter for a few days in order to better introduce her to the life of a royal. There were certain protocols Taisiya needed to learn, and Olga would guide and teach her as she had Vasilisa. She would act as a chaperone, as well, to make certain Garald was always a gentleman.