Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 76857 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76857 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Dark hair styled short and tidy, he struck me as approachable and somewhat handsome. Even his expression was amiable, if not perplexed.
When the hybrid male was close enough to join us in our dark corner, a kind tone offered fair warning in a congenial voice. “You should not be here.”
This was the first male besides an instructor who had spoken directly to me in years.
Where he seemed easy, I was a jumbled mess of nerves.
Even so, there was something about him I liked. The syrupy-sweet scent that came with him was far better than the cloud of stink wafting about the place. Nice enough to note and lean into.
Eyes a shade of smoky-gray, lacking all trace of vorec-green, and hair dark as midnight, he was everything the opposite of the man who put me in this position in the first place.
He was slimmer in stature than General Cyderial and far less intimidating.
That was all I needed.
Offering a shy smile, I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “I know I shouldn’t be here, but I’m looking for someone.”
Eyebrows darting up, the man replied, “Here? Who?”
I liked the look of his face, that he spoke gently.
I liked that this might be quickly done and forgotten.
Nervous, I licked my lower lip and felt my hearts racing. “What’s your name?”
“You cannot stay in here, beautiful girl. It isn’t safe.” His voice dropped to a mere whisper as he leaned closer to say, “This bar is for unmated males.”
He’d called me beautiful. That was a good sign.
He did not crowd me, but he did come close. Close enough that I could whisper back, “I need help.”
Looking me over, shifting his body between myself and the crowd, he frowned to see my feet. “You’re not wearing any shoes.”
Tucking one foot behind the other as if that might cover my ridiculous state, I muttered, “Um. No, I’m not.”
The bell above the bar’s main entrance jingled, the crowd cheering as another of their comrades arrived.
I glanced quickly toward the door, a literal giant ducking so he might step inside. Golden hair, golden skin—even from this distance, I suspected his eyes would glitter in the same shade. A low-contrast, monochromatic beast of a man who sauntered in with a friendly smile and ordered a drink.
He was absorbed into the crowd with many pats on the back, and my attention was regained by the properly sized male I’d moved unconsciously closer to.
The corner of the dark-haired stranger's lips quirked, and he looked at me as if charmed. “What’s your name?”
My name didn’t matter. What mattered was getting this over with.
Urgency churning in my belly, I took a deep breath. Aware I must seem completely out of my mind, I confessed, "I want to be a surveyor, but I will not be allowed into the fog unless my song is taken away. The vorec will try to breed me, and a mate will deny me the only future I want. I need someone to help me ruin my song, so I can live life on my terms.”
His smoky-gray eyes lost some of their light, yet he remained kind. “I see.”
Vulnerable, my expression open and honest, I said, “It has to be a man who doesn’t want to keep me. Do you understand?”
Shaking his head, he refused, “I’m not going to hurt you.”
I didn’t have time to argue or convince. He may have seemed a good candidate, but I didn’t have time to waste. There were other males in the bar to consider. “If not you, I will find someone else. Someone will help me.”
Before I might edge away from him in the dark, his hand caught my wrist. “Wait. I will help you. But first, we need to get you somewhere safe. If one of them hears your song, there will be violence.”
The stranger didn’t strike me as a bad sort; even his touch on my arm was cautious. "You'll put yourself inside me so I can be free?"
Voice gravelly, he swallowed and seemed at war with his thoughts. "Come with me."
"Yes." Relief trickling down my spine, I glanced over my shoulder to see if Maeve was ready to go.
And found… nothing but empty space.
My sister was gone.
Had vanished into thin air.
The stranger still had my wrist, gripping tighter. “It’s too late for her.”
Confused, dread churning in my belly, I frantically ran my eyes over every corner of the bar to find the crowd was staring, and it wasn’t at me.
My gaze followed their attention to a scene that stopped my hearts.
Panic left me panting.
Had it not been for her bare feet poking out, and a bit of naked leg wrapped around the waist of a giant, I would not have seen her at all. The size of him blocked her little body. But I could tell by the way he moved, how his hips ground where she was pinned, that she was in far more than trouble.