Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 58483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
“When he convinced Zander to let him put you into his personal detention. That worked out well. I’m sure Zander expects him to come any planet rotation now requesting—”
“I’m sorry, I don’t follow.” I reach out and grab her sleeve. “Lamira.” I let go of the sleeve, feeling it was too aggressive, but my voice shows my urgency. “Explain?”
“Oh. I thought he told you.” Her face falls. She puts a hand to her mouth. “Oh, no.”
“Tell me.” I lean forward.
She sighs. “Oh, Taisha, please don’t take this badly. Zander was willing to give you asylum immediately and allow you to be mated. It was only Drayk who asked for extra time to assess you. But it goes to show how things work out for the best, don’t you think?”
I stumble back. “That can’t be true.”
Her expression is full of sympathy. “It is, but if you just give him a chance to explain?”
“So—wait. I don’t understand.” I think I do, but I want to be wrong. “From the start, it was Drayk who insisted on my detention? Not Zander?”
She nods, silent.
“And it was Drayk who let me go on thinking, even after all the things I did, that Zander hadn’t deemed me safe yet for Zandia? That I’d not yet proved myself?”
“Well, it was—”
I cut her off. “It was miserable. Lamira, the whole time I didn’t know if I’d get to stay. Where I’d be sent, if I were denied. Would I go back to the Ocretions?” I shake my head. “I didn’t think Zander would do that, but I couldn’t get fully comfortable here, knowing it might only be temporary. Do you know how hard that was on me?”
“I’m sorry. Many humans have been through it. You’re right, it is miserable. But I think he only did it because he felt something for you.”
Lamira looks guilty. It’s not her fault, of course. She’s busy with her family and her duties, and in no way can I hold her responsible for her husband allowing one of his warriors to deceive me. No, the one I’m angry with is Drayk, and I can feel the blood pulsing in my skull.
“Taisha, Zander often knows what’s best for his subjects. It’s not always pleasant at the time, but it works out well in the end.” She touches my hand. “This may be such a thing.”
I shake my head. “I trusted Drayk. And he betrayed me.” My face is hot, my arms and legs cold. I start to shake. I’m dizzy. “Thought he actually cared about me.”
“I’m positive he does care about you. He showed in a way that wasn’t, maybe...”
There is a sound at the lintel, and we turn to see him there, ready to collect me.
Drayk.
“Taisha? What’s wrong?” He steps forward, brow furrowing, when he sees my face. “You look upset—”
“You could say that. Don’t touch me.” I spit out the words and put up a hand, stopping him in his tracks.
“What—”
“I’ll tell you what.” My voice trembles with indignation. “You lied to me, Drayk.”
My eyes well up as I stare at him, willing it to be a mistake. A misunderstanding.
But his glance slides away, and in that second, I know it’s true. He knows what I’m angry about, and he knows it’s bad. Worse than bad.
“About my probation.” I put the words out there and they sit between us, a mountain, dividing us. All the tenderness from last night was a lie, clearly, built on this unstable foundation.
He clears his throat. “Well, I can explain what I was…” He breaks off. “It’s complicated.” His voice rises. “I had the responsibility to—”
“To treat me fairly.” My voice rises more than his until I’m practically shouting. “To tell me and King Zander honestly whether or not I was fit for this planet. And all along”—I suck in a breath of air—“you were leading me on? Just, what? Enjoying my body while you toyed with my emotions?”
“No!” He bellows it, then tempers his tone. “It was not like that, believe me, Taisha. At first I, yes, I wasn’t sure you were trustworthy. But over time, as I got to know you, it was”—he swallows—“it was evident that—”
“Was it some great joke?” My voice is breaking now and I barely get the words out. “Were you laughing at me with your friends, at how gullible I was? Watching me bend over backwards to prove my worth and still not allowing me access to”—I wave my hand—“peace of mind? After all I’d been through? How could you?”
His expression turns tortured. “It was a mistake. I didn’t realize how difficult the waiting was for you, emotionally. Not at first. It’s only recently that I understand how human emotions work. And”—his jaw clenches—“my own.”
“Your emotions?” I shake my head, rubbing moisture from my eyes.
“Because of you—” he starts, a hitch in his voice.