Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 127722 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127722 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Even if my father were guilty of all these travesties…it still sucked.
Huntley dropped into the chair beside me in his underwear. His big fingers slid across his face and caught the sleep in one of his eyes. It was still too early for bed, and neither one of us had had dinner yet. He watched the fire for a while before he turned to look at me. The firelight highlighted one of his cheeks. His bent arm supported his chin, his fingers lightly touching the coarse stubble.
I knew it was written all over my face.
“I’m sorry.”
He knew. He knew so well. He was the other side of my coin. The blood to my heart. The beat to my drum. “The look on his face…I don’t want to see it.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Yes, I do.” This was all my doing—and I wasn’t a coward. “I want to confront him anyway. Sometimes I wonder…I wonder…” I couldn’t bring myself to say it, let alone think it.
He continued to stare. “What is it, baby?”
“I wonder if he had anything to do with my mother’s death.” Even if he was as evil as Huntley proclaimed, I just couldn’t believe he would do such a thing. “They were fighting a lot before she passed. And then she just got sick…and the priests couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her.”
“Why would her death benefit him?”
“I don’t know…maybe he wanted his bed to be full of whores instead of her.” He’d tried to keep it from me, but I knew the truth. I knew when he wasn’t on official business, he was drinking and fucking like a teenage boy. I expected that behavior from Ryker, but not a grown man who should be a role model to his children. “I wonder about our past, where we come from, who else he left behind…if he ever loved me.” I kept my eyes on the fire and could feel his stare. “He’s always preferred Ryker over me. Never really spent any time with me. The only time he ever took an interest in me was when he taught me how to fight…and plotted to marry me off. But both of those things were to benefit himself, not me.”
His stare continued.
“Not only do I dread seeing the look on his face when he’s seen what I’ve done. But I also dread facing those questions…and getting the answers I don’t want.”
“Look at me.”
The gentle command in his voice made my eyes water because I already knew what he was going to say.
“Come on.”
I finally tore my eyes away from the flames and met his hard stare.
“Whether he loves you or not, it doesn’t matter. Because I love you now, and I will love you forever.” His gaze was sharp like a blade, powerful like the magic of Adeodatus. “No matter your age, you’re the woman I want in my bed. I don’t want a woman I bought. I want the woman I earned. I will be a damn good father to the children you give me, and I will love my daughters more than my sons simply because they’ll look like you. I’m your family—and that’s never going to change.”
Two tears spilled over and streaked down my cheeks. “I know…”
After leaving the tropical paradise of the island, the cold weather was harsh. Whenever the sun was out, the dragons left their cavern and basked in the sun, just the way pets found that perfect spot on the living room floor.
I sat in front of Pyre on the ground, the sun hitting my back while it hit him right in the face. His eyes were closed as he enjoyed it.
You seem sad.
“I am a bit sad… It’s complicated.”
I can try to understand.
“Well…Delacroix is where I’m from. I grew up there with my brother. I thought the kingdom had been in our family for generations, but then Huntley told me that wasn’t true. It actually belonged to his family…until my father barbarically claimed it for himself. He did some other terrible things, things I won’t repeat.”
That’s hard to believe since you’re so kind.
“Thanks.”
Does that mean you’re going to kill him?
“No. Huntley promised me he wouldn’t. But we’re going to remove him from power. He’ll probably be a prisoner for the rest of his life.”
And you feel bad because he’s your father.
“Like I said, it’s complicated. He’s going to see me show up with two dragons and married to his enemy. That’s a lot to take in. I know I shouldn’t feel bad, but I can’t help it.”
Family is complicated.
“Yes.”
Storm and I are fellow hatchlings, but we don’t always get along.
“This is more than not getting along. My father raped and murdered people…”
I’m sorry.
“Thanks.”
You can make your own hatchlings with your husband.
“He said the same thing.”
I’m sure they will be beautiful.
“Yeah…I think so too.”