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)
“To gather our soldiers and ride to the Crags with me.”
He stepped back slightly, giving a small shake of his head. “You want me to go to war. You want me to go to a war that Mother just prevented. For a woman who’s not even one of us.”
“She is one of us—because she’s my wife.”
His nostrils flared at his next exhale. “I already helped you once. Mother hates me enough as it is, and now, she’ll hate me more.”
“She does not hate you—”
“She’s never forgiven me for my actions as a child. And she probably never will—especially if I do this.”
“You don’t need her approval, Ian.”
“Easy for you to say…since you’re her only son.”
My eyes took his in, seeing the pain and the resentment. “That’s not true—”
“Don’t bullshit me.” He stepped back farther. “I went against her wishes once. I won’t do it again.”
I held his gaze, sickened that I’d wasted two days coming here instead of riding straight to her. “Ian.”
He averted his gaze.
“I’m asking as your brother.”
“Why?”
My eyebrows furrowed.
He turned his gaze back on me. “Why did you marry her?”
“I told you why—”
“Her protection is more important than the protection of your people? Is that what you’re saying?”
“I’m saying that she is our people, Ian. Not just by marriage—but by heart.”
His eyes narrowed.
“She’s vowed to help me regain our home. Without her, we wouldn’t have a chance.”
“And you believe her?” he asked incredulously.
There was no hesitation in my voice. “I do.”
“She’s just using you—”
“I’ve promised her something in return, yes. But she’s not using me. We need to get her back from the Teeth because we have no chance of taking Delacroix and the Kingdoms without her. Mother would see that if she weren’t so desperate for revenge. She can’t think clearly. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“But is that worth going to war with the Teeth?”
“It is if our goal is to return to the top of the cliff—and get away from Necrosis.”
He averted his gaze again, this time with a sigh.
“Would it make any difference if I told you she meant something to me?”
After a long pause, he looked at me once more.
“Because she does.”
When he gave another exhale, his nostrils flared again. “Even after what her family did to ours?”
“It’s not her family. Just her father, whom she’s nothing like.”
He bowed his head and chewed the inside of his cheek.
“Ian.”
When he met my gaze, it was with a look of resolve. “You owe me.”
The breath left my lungs—along with all the tension. “I know.”
“No questions asked.”
“Consider it done.”
“Alright.” He stepped away. “We go to war.”
9
IVORY
I was thrown into a room full of single-size beds.
No windows. One bathroom. No fireplace. The ceiling had glass openings, so that gave me some light. But now that the sun was gone, all I had was the moonlight to see my surroundings. I leaned against the headboard of one of the beds, my thigh wrapped in tight gauze to keep the pressure on.
I felt weak. So weak that my dinner wasn’t enough to make me feel better.
It could have been worse. All he wanted was my blood—but not my flesh.
Thank the gods.
I sat there for a long time, too weak to even consider an escape plan. They returned my clothes, so I put on my shirt but left my bottoms off to keep an eye on my bloody thigh. He said he wouldn’t kill me, but once his teeth had pierced my flesh, he got excited, so excited that I thought he would devour all of me on the spot.
I suddenly felt this pain in my chest, a pain I’d never felt before.
It was deep inside, not superficial or on the surface, like a knife between the ribs or in the flesh like my current wound. It went so deep that I couldn’t identify the location. I just knew it hurt, knew that changing my position or getting up and walking wouldn’t make a difference. And it hurt a lot more than the wound in my leg.
It reminded me of the night Huntley and I had bound our souls together for all eternity. When we were together, the euphoria was so potent, so powerful. It cleansed my body of every sorrow I’d ever felt. The joy was unmatched. It was just like that…but in the opposite direction. This pain was stronger than anything I’d ever known. It was beyond medicine, beyond healing. The pain was organic and physical, as if it was a part of who I was.
I jolted awake when the door flew open.
A girl my age was shoved forward. Long blond hair. Green eyes. A petite thing. They hit her so hard that she fell forward and caught herself on her palms before she broke her face on the stone.
Just in my top and my underwear, I rushed to her. “You okay?” I took her by the arm and helped her to her feet.