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)
She moved to the chair across from me. “Must be nice to be a man…”
“It is.”
We ate together just as we did with all our other meals. She’d been staying with me for weeks. The Blade Scions had left after they cleared our operations, but I didn’t take her back to the house where she would spend all her time alone. When she was with me, she was safe and fed, and she gave me good sex every night.
With her head tilted down to her food, she spoke. “We both know I can’t stay here forever.”
I didn’t want to think about it.
“I have to find my family. I have to go outside. Right now, I’m a rat living in the cracks in the floor.”
“A very cute rat.”
She gave a little smile.
“I know I’ll have to travel to the Capital soon. I’ll take you with me then.”
“And what will I do there?”
“I’ll buy you a house.”
“That didn’t answer my question.”
I pushed my food around with my fork. “We’ll find your family. Then they can move in with you. You can start new lives.”
“The Capital is really far away…”
“We’ll make it work.” I wished she could stay in Delacroix, but other people in the town would recognize her, and that would compromise the ongoing lottery. There were other villages closer by, but they didn’t have the same infrastructure to keep her safe. Also, I didn’t have much of a reason to visit those other places, so it would be even harder to see her.
A knock sounded on the door.
Effie flinched, as if she wasn’t sure if she should dart into the washroom.
I dropped my fork and got to my feet, then I nodded toward the bathroom.
Effie disappeared.
I opened the door and came face-to-face with Commander Burke. “Something you need, Commander?”
“Your father has requested your presence.” His eyes purposely shifted past me to the table with two dinner plates, as if to make a point. Then he walked down the hallway, his boots loud against the thick rug and the hardwood.
My father hardly asked for my attendance in the evening, so whatever it was, it was probably important. I threw on my attire before I took the stairs to the next landing. He was at the grand dining table, his dinner laid out before him. In his hands was a roll, which he ripped in half before stuffing one piece into his mouth.
I took the seat on his right, the plate already prepared with food for me.
He chewed the enormous piece of bread as he stared at me, the food hardly able to fit inside his mouth.
“Enjoying that roll, huh?”
Annoyance entered his gaze as he forced the food down his throat. “Word has reached my ears that you have a long-term guest staying with you.”
I didn’t dodge the accusation or sugarcoat the truth. “You’ve never been concerned with my personal life before.”
“Only when a guest becomes a resident—and it sounds like that’s what she is.”
“Don’t you have whores who live here—”
“We agreed that you would wed Lady Elizabeth at the Capital. Did we not?”
No, we didn’t agree on anything. “Oh shit, is that tomorrow?”
My father glared, not the least bit amused by my smartass comment. “Ryker. What did I tell you about getting serious with a woman who fucks men for a living?”
“She does it for free, so your concern is unfounded.”
“Ryker.” He slammed his closed fist on the hard table. “I’m sending you to the Capital next week to woo Elizabeth, and you’d better be unencumbered when that happens. With Ivory gone, that’s our only path to the throne.”
“King Rutherford has three sons. I’m not going to marry someone to be fourth in line.”
“You’ll be first in line—eventually.” He grabbed his ale and took a drink.
I heard the warning in his voice, crisp and sharp. “What are you implying? You’re going to kill all three of them?”
“I won’t be doing anything.” He said nothing more and left it at that.
He’d mentioned something like this before, but I didn’t think he was serious. I spent my summers in the Capital growing up, spent time with Maddox, Jaime, and Peter in the gardens, sailing their little sailboat in the harbor, skipping rocks on the ocean. They were rambunctious and cocky at times, but they’d never done anything that deserved this treason. “Delacroix is more than enough for me. I’m happy to inherit your title when your time comes.”
He picked up his chicken leg and took a few bites before he slowly turned his head and regarded me, his eyes as sharp as a spear. “Well, it’s not enough for me. The Kingdoms will be ours before my time comes.”
I hadn’t touched my food, not when my stomach was full of bile, not when Ivory’s words rang with truth. “When you came to the top of the cliffs, why didn’t you take the throne in the first place?”