Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 119158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Nylian was on his feet in a flash, his sword singing as it flew from its sheath. I was slower, mostly because I couldn’t hear whatever had tipped him off that trouble was approaching. But I didn’t have to wait long to hear the echo of footsteps drawing closer.
Lots of footsteps.
An entire platoon of footsteps.
“Want to run for it?” I demanded, squeezing the hilt of my sword to the point of hurting my knuckles.
“It’s too late. They’re already here. Just stay behind me.”
Sadly, I didn’t have much choice otherwise. We hadn’t gotten around to my sword training yet. The best I could do was to look threatening with my blade drawn. Anything else and I was in danger of cutting one of my own limbs off.
As the first of the City Watch rushed into the warehouse, their stone gray uniforms like ghosts floating into the darkness, Nylian rushed forward, his sword flashing. He cut the first two down, but they kept coming faster than he could stop them. My stomach twisted into bigger and bigger knots. I wanted to jump in, to help him, to not be so fucking useless.
In the end, there were too many. The guards flooded into the room, surrounding us with swords drawn. Nylian retreated to my side, his face splattered with blood and his breaths coming in sharp pants. He grabbed my arm, forcing me behind him as he kept his sword lifted, daring them to take a step closer.
“Prince Xeran Elrich, you are under arrest for illegally entering the city of Ulmenor,” one guard, who had more medals and shiny gold emblems on his uniform than the others, barked. I guessed that made him the captain or sergeant in charge of this horde.
“What about my companion?” Nylian’s fingers tightened on my wrist to the point of pain.
“That will be put to death immediately,” the captain sneered. “It’s the only way to keep the vermin population under control.”
My heart leaped into my throat. “Fuck.” Not even a fake trial and the threat of a hefty fine. Going straight to the death sentence. My thoughts briefly drifted to Adeline and Jasper and I hoped they’d done a better job than us of staying hidden, but that wish was blown away as the first elf took a step toward me with a short sword raise to cut my head from my body.
“No! He’s my pet!” Nylian shouted, halting everyone in the room.
I’m his fucking what?
So, maybe now was not the best time to argue semantics, but I had never been called that.
“If you touch him, you will be destroying the property of a member of the royal family of Wolfrest,” Nylian continued into the stunned silence.
“You’re not fooling me. Everyone knows you’ve been exiled.” The captain laughed, though I had to admit that it sounded a touch forced.
“Yes, but that’s a situation that can change easily enough. Can you bring him back from the dead as easily as I can be returned to my full status?” The captain swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his slender throat, and Nylian pressed his advantage. “Do you want to be the one to explain to King Beldroth why you plunged Galinaes into a war with Wolfrest over a human? Or would you rather arrest us and allow someone who gets paid more to make that decision?”
The elf hesitated, his face going from deathly pale to a bright pink. Just as sure that I was breathing my last, he slashed his sword through the air and shoved it into its sheath. “Throw them into the dungeon.” I could have sworn I heard him mutter, “I’m not paid enough to deal with royalty.” But I could have been mistaken.
Either way, that was how I ended up as Nylian’s “pet” and locked up in an elf dungeon.
Chapter 17
This Pet Bites
“At least we’re still alive.”
With an arched brow—because this body knew how to arch just one eyebrow—I looked around our new temporary home of cold, damp walls; oppressive iron bars; and a bit of straw on the floor that I may or may not have been sharing with the local rat population.
But I got what Nylian was saying. It could be a hell of a lot worse. I could be dead. They hadn’t even bothered to rough us up after we were disarmed and bound in rope. Of course, I thought that had more to do with Nylian’s convincing speech about not wanting to be responsible for starting a war.
If we were alive, it meant that we still had a chance at escaping and finding Orian’s killer.
I thought about asking him how long he thought we’d be stuck in there, but I let the question go. He knew no more than I did at the moment, and he didn’t need the pressure of trying to keep my spirits up. He’d already accomplished the hard task of keeping me alive.