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)
“Get behind me.” I pushed her back and took my stance, sword and shield steady, showing them that I knew exactly how to use them both. Five against one…not good odds.
Her voice erupted behind me, full of awe. “Ryker…”
I lowered my voice so only she could hear and kept my eyes trained on our enemies. “When I have them distracted, you need to run.”
“No—”
“There’s a passage back to Delacroix. Hidden by some boulders. I told your family to meet us there.” I watched the men exchange looks before they started to move in, to get into formation to take me on.
My father trained me well. Hopefully, he’d trained me well enough.
She came to my side, her sword at the ready, this time steady. “I’m not leaving you.”
“Effie—”
“Klaus will be very interested in you both.” The man whom I presumed to be their leader stepped forward, distinguished by the heavy coat he wore on top of his armor. “Surrender and remain unharmed. Or let your bloody and broken bodies be dragged there.” He didn’t withdraw his sword, like this fight would be so short there was no point.
“You think this is the first time I’ve taken on five guys?” I spun the sword around my wrist. “Let’s go.”
The leader stared at me for a long time. His eyes were dark, but not dark brown like the average person. They were black, black like his armor, black like the fur coat that kept him warm. His face started to draw back, as if he was about to scream, but instead, long and sharp teeth emerged.
It was like nothing I’d ever seen.
The others followed suit, pushing a throat of teeth outside their mouths.
The leader spoke, his teeth still. “Surrender—or be eaten.”
7
IVORY
Thud.
I heard it—and I heard Huntley go silent.
I ran straight to his weapons and picked up his ax before I ran to the top of the stairs.
Queen Rolfe stood over him, her boot against his chest. “Another should do it, Commander Dawson.”
Huntley opened his eyes, his face bloody, but he lay still.
Then Commander Dawson walked over and kicked him right in the head.
It was too horrifying for me to react immediately, seeing a mother betray her son as he lay on the floor with a bloody nose. Just minutes ago, we were happy in bed, our bodies and souls tangled up into one. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
They both snapped their heads in my direction.
My eyes were reserved for hers. “He’s your son.”
Devoid of emotion as always, she gave a nod to Commander Dawson.
I knew what that meant. “Bitch, I’m gonna kill you. I’m gonna kill you for touching my husband.”
“Husband?” she asked, appalled. “He is no such thing. But you got the bitch part right.”
“According to the Priest of Adeodatus, he is.”
“I’ll make sure that’s reversed.”
“It’s irreversible—”
“We’ll see about that.” She nodded to Commander Dawson again.
He started to move up the stairs.
I gripped my sword and prepared to take on a commander, a man who outweighed me in every way. “He’ll never forgive you.” Queen Rolfe looked down at her son’s unconscious body then gestured to the men outside the door. They picked him up and moved him to the couch and applied dressings to his wounds.
There was nowhere for me to go. I was trapped. “I’m taking you down with me, so make your best move.” I stayed at the top of the stairs, ready to slam the butt of the ax down on his head when he came close enough.
He stopped a few steps down, considering his options.
“That’s what I thought, asshole—”
Something hit me in the head—hard. I toppled slightly and saw the book on the floor. “Cheap shot…”
That was enough time for Commander Dawson to find an opening, and he rushed in and circled his arm around my throat and squeezed.
My hands dropped the ax and reached for his arm, trying to pry it free. I gasped for air, twisting and turning to throw him off, but it was useless. I slipped under and went weak in his arms.
Then everything went black.
The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the cold.
It jerked me awake, and when I inhaled my first real breath, I felt it burn the lining of my lungs. My body rocked back and forth continuously, and that was when I realized I was on a horse.
Tied to the man in front of me.
My hands were bound around his waist, and my ankles were secured to the saddle. I was totally immobile, couldn’t even see in front of me because his shoulders blocked my view. I looked left and right, trying to make sense of my surroundings.
It was all a blur.
“Shit.” My rider addressed the other men in the cavalry. “She’s awake.”
“Where are we going?” I yanked on his stomach, but he wouldn’t budge more than an inch or two. I’d assumed I would never wake up, that Commander Dawson had choked me to death. But here I was—back in the cold.