Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 83933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Hey! Where are you going?” she bellowed. “You can’t leave me here alone with the creature!”
“If you hurt my dog,” I called, “he’ll be eating your organs by morning. Bitter or not.”
I found the beautiful executioner standing statue-still in a small circular clearing lit by more luminous mushrooms, his face to the sky as he inhaled with purpose. An invisible weight rested on his shoulders.
Oh, man. I’d made a mistake, following. He required solitude. Intending to sneak off, I backed up a step. Not a noise did I make, yet he said, “You’re handling everything better than I expected.”
Okay, so, maybe he’d only sought a break from Leona. Understandable. “Honestly? I’m only handling it well on the outside. My mind is a mess.” I glided to his side and peered up at the sky, too. Colorful stars winked from a sea of black velvet.
“Go ahead. Ask the burning question you’ve somehow contained all day,” he said and sighed.
How well he’d come to know me, so quickly. “What can you tell me about the prophecy the Guardian is willing to kill to hide?”
Jasher’s mood dipped from strained to leery. “Water maidens claim King Ahav’s child is destined to return to Hakeldama and ends storms, sacrifices, and monstra.”
Every word hit like a bomb, exploding inside me. Me, some kind of hero? A promised protector. Please. There was no way this so-called prophecy pointed to me. “The king’s mistress must have given birth.” Yes, yes. A strong possibility. Most kings kept mistresses.
Jasher massaged his nape. “If he had another child, it’s the best kept secret in the realm.”
“Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.” I rubbed my lips together. “Will the Guardian seek to kill me for my lineage?”
“I don’t know. Could he strike at you? Yes. Could he welcome you with open arms? Yes. Is a strike more likely? Also yes. He takes extreme measures to prevent storms.” A heavy pause. “Does this alter your plans to visit Lux City?”
“No. This isn’t my world. I want to go home.” But honestly? I wasn’t as eager to part with my guide. Jasher had kind of grown on me.
“And if I’m the one ordered to kill you?” Ferocity glazed his features, torching any hint of blankness. “I told you about the only girl I’ve ever loved. She developed a crimen, and I was forced to end her life to save a town.” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Do not force me to end yours, too.”
My chest squeezed with compassion. And hope. Had he just admitted to developing feelings for me? “That must have been terrible for you, Jasher.”
“Yes, princess, it was.” Without the mask, he couldn’t hide his emotions. In those sunset irises I saw incredible pain, endless rage…and budding desire.
Tremors cascaded over my spine. “I won’t let you decapitate me. I’ll fight.”
He arched a brow, slightly amused. “You think you can stop me?”
“I do.” Emboldened, I stepped closer to him. So close I breathed his breath and shared my own. Desperate for true contact, I flattened my non-bandaged palm on his chest. His heart raced, proving I influenced him, and the knowledge was heady. “Because you’re going to give me self-defense lessons.”
“Is that so?” He rested his big, calloused hands on my hips. “What will I get in return?”
“More trouble, probably.” My gaze dropped to his lips. How soft, how soft? “What do you want?”
A slow smile spread, and I felt as if I’d won a great battle already. “I want you to stop filling my head with ideas I shouldn’t entertain. I want you to cease surprising me. I want you to not look at me with those stunning hazel eyes, making me feel things I shouldn’t. I want you…safe. Always.”
Head spinning.
“Your lessons begin in the morning,” he said, sliding his thumbs along my pantyline.
My heart raced in time to his. “Thank you.”
He pressed his forehead to mine, a shockingly intimate pose. “For now…”
“Yes?” I whispered.
“We have a visitor,” he finished with a wry tone, lifting his head.
“There you are,” Leona called.
Dang it! I had hoped, well, it didn’t matter now.
“Your creature is growing,” the mayor grumbled, “and I need you to be with me when he wakes up and decides to snack on my liver.”
Her whine grated. “The. Worst,” I grumbled right back.
We returned to the campsite. And yes, Nugget looked as though he’d doubled in size again. “How big is he going to get?” I asked, settling beside my darling to stroke his fur.
“Huge,” Jasher and Leona said in unison.
She rubbed her hands together. “Another cookie wouldn’t be amiss.”
We ignored her. The mushroom clusters illuminated the campsite more than the clearing, ensuring the surrounding gloom never snuffed out the fire as the executioner cleaned vegetables, plucked leafy greens from the root, and removed a pot and bowls from within a hidden compartment in a tree trunk.