Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 100553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
The last time we’d looked at each other head on, it was under different circumstances, naked, my heavy body on top of hers, our minds, bodies, and souls connected on a different plane.
Now, we were here.
I tore my gaze away and feigned indifference.
Because I knew she was watching, Queen Rolfe.
With her drink in her hand, she shifted her gaze from me to Ivory. “Isn’t life funny, child? How one day you can sit on top of a castle, and then the next day, be at the bottom of the cliffs, scrubbing the chamber pot of a woman your father once fucked.”
Ivory dropped her chin and kept working.
Ian refilled his glass.
I took a seat on my mother’s right and helped myself to a drink.
My mother continued to watch her. “Scrub harder. Get some elbow grease into it.”
When Ivory looked up, her eyes lethal, I knew what was coming. “How about I shove this up your ass instead? That should make some elbow grease…”
Queen Rolfe smiled, like that insult was only amusing and nothing more, but I knew that wasn’t the end of it. She was on her feet in a split second, glass in hand, and she rushed Ivory.
I had to sit there and do nothing.
If I helped Ivory in any way, my mother would know what really happened last night, and she would send Geralt to do the job.
Queen Rolfe shattered the glass over her head—and Ivory crumpled to the floor.
I’d wanted this for so long, but now it made me sick. “Mother, we have much to discuss. Ignore the rat in the corner.”
Ivory sat up and looked at me like I’d betrayed her.
Mother came back to the head of the table and took her seat. “Yes. Let’s discuss.”
“You fucking bastard!” I was in my cabin when I heard it, Ivory’s voice.
I gave a sigh as I looked down at the field reports on my desk, knowing that her torture had been handed off to someone else. My eyes stayed on the maps, but my thoughts were with her, unsure what orders my mother had given.
Her screams didn’t come again, and that worried me more.
I left the cabin and walked down the path, approaching her dwelling at the very end.
Marcus, one of the guards who had been close with Cameron, dumped a bucket of water on top of her naked body—right in the street.
The water must be freezing because she was shaking uncontrollably.
“Marcus.”
He stilled at my voice, immediately stiffening like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t.
“I’ll handle this.” I extended my hand for the bucket.
He cooperated then returned to his post on the fence.
Ivory was squatting on the ground, doing her best to cover her intimate parts, shivering harder than she had in the caves on the way here. She didn’t even look up at me, probably because she recognized my voice.
“Get up.” I didn’t offer her my cloak, not when we were in public, not when someone could see me.
She trembled before she rose to her feet, almost toppling over because she was frozen to the bone.
My mother knew we needed her, but sometimes it seemed as if she was trying to kill her. “Follow me.”
“Where?” Her hands were bunched in front of her chest to cover her small tits, her head down like an ashamed animal.
I never answered and made the walk back to my cabin. My eyes scanned left and right, making sure nobody saw what was about to happen. Most of the outpost was asleep, except the guards on the perimeter, but they shouldn’t see us.
I opened the door and ushered her inside quickly before I locked the door behind me.
There was a fire in the hearth, so she immediately ran to it, her palms reaching out to feel the heat.
The fire wouldn’t be enough, not after what they’d done to her.
I grabbed the pot of hot stones and carried them to the tub in the bathroom. It was already full of water, and I dropped the stones inside so it would bring the tub to a comfortable warmth. The bath was meant for me, but she needed it if she didn’t want to die. I tested the water before I removed the stones and returned them to the pot. “Come here.”
She appeared a moment later, still shivering. “Is it warm?”
“Yes.” I extended my hand, and to my surprise, she took it and allowed me to help her into the tub.
She dunked her body to her shoulders—and released a sigh so loud it almost sounded like a scream. “Oh shit…that’s good.” Her arms wrapped over her chest to keep the warmth next to her body, and she just sat there, her eyes closed.
I returned to the other room and got comfortable, setting my cloak on the coat hanger, along with the rest of my clothing. The only thing that remained was a pair of breeches I wore in my cabin because the roaring fire had made it plenty warm. I returned to my desk and got back to work.