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)
“Sympathy?” She rounded on me. “You just told me this woman gave your wife to the Teeth.”
“And I got her back.” Well, she got herself back, technically.
“Why do you always make excuses for her?”
“I’m not making excuses.”
“That’s exactly what you’re doing. Right now.”
I took a breath and steadied my anger, but that was nearly impossible to do. “You don’t understand. And be grateful that you don’t understand.”
She shook her head, her visage angry.
“I understand because I was there.”
She didn’t absorb my words fully. It was obvious because she didn’t understand. She didn’t have a reaction.
“Elora.”
She turned to me, the rim of the glass at her lips.
“I understand because I was forced to watch the entire thing.”
We sat there for a long time, neither one of us really saying anything. Elora was quick to fire like a cannon, but now she simmered like a warm pan on the stove. Her eyes were on her drink most of the time because she didn’t know where else to look.
It wasn’t hard for me to get the barmaid’s attention, and I ordered something hot to eat to go with all the booze I’d drunk. There were other people in the bar, regulars I recognized, others I didn’t. I gave her plenty of time to speak, and when she didn’t, I decided to move on. “Seeing anyone?”
She stirred slightly at the question. “I’m sorry, Huntley… I just don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything.”
“I can’t even imagine…but I guess now I understand. I understand why she’s so deranged…and why you always put up with it.”
“Trust me, I don’t always put up with it.”
“You know what I mean.”
The barmaid put the roast beef sandwich in front of me, so hot with steam I couldn’t touch it for a couple of minutes. “You never answered my question.”
“Like I’d walk into that trap…”
“What? I talk to you about Ivory.”
“And that’s it. Ivory is the only woman you’ve ever mentioned.”
“Because she’s the only one worth mentioning. Is there someone worth mentioning in your life?”
She turned on the stool and faced me. “You don’t need to do the dad thing with me. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
“The dad thing?” I asked.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about, Huntley.” With her fingers wrapped around her glass, she stared at me. “You did it the whole time I was growing up, but now I’m an adult, and you don’t need to do it anymore. Just be my brother.”
“I am asking as your brother.”
“I see the way you scare off the guys who stare at me.”
“Doing that as your brother, Elora.”
She chuckled before she took a drink. “Alright. His name is Victor.”
“Victor…stupid name.”
“Wow, couldn’t even get past the name.” She laughed before she took another drink.
She was right. I already didn’t like him. “Tell me why he’s good enough for you.”
“He’s not good enough for me. But that’s not what I’m looking for right now.”
I didn’t like that one bit. “Don’t waste your time, Elora.”
“So, you can waste your time with whores, but I can’t? Why can’t there be a brothel for women? With a bunch of sexy men ready to service our needs?”
I suddenly lost my appetite. “I’m going to be sick.”
“Hey, you went there.”
“No. You’re the one who talked about going to a brothel for women.”
“And isn’t that a genius idea? Women like sex too, you know.”
“Trust me, I know.” Ivory had woken me up in the middle of the night throughout our entire stay in Delacroix. I’d be dead asleep, and then she’d be on top of me, his thighs straddling my hips.
She scrunched up her nose in disgust. “Anyway…we’re just having a good time.”
“Where did you meet him?”
“He delivered my materials to the forge. He flirted. I flirted back. You know how it goes…”
“Elora, you can have any guy you want. Don’t waste your time on a deliveryman.”
“And you could have any woman you want, but you waste your time on the daughter of the man who raped your mother and murdered your father.” She raised her glass in the air. “Touché.”
She was a lot more than that, but I was tired of repeating it. “If you gave her a chance, you’d see that you’re wrong.”
She finished her final drink and left the empty glass on the bar. “When do you leave?”
“Day after tomorrow.”
“Already?”
My food had finally cooled off, so I started to scarf it down. “Ivory and I are returning to the dragons.”
“That’s going to go really bad…or really well.”
“I hope it’s the latter.”
“Yeah, me too. It’d be pretty badass to see you return home on the back of a dragon.”
I had a feeling it wasn’t going to happen like that. “On our journey here, Ivory saw Necrosis in the wildlands.”
“What? You’re asking me if I’m seeing anyone while sitting on this the entire time? What’s wrong with you?”