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)
“But.” The color drained from Leona’s face. “That can’t be true.”
“It is, I assure you.” I perused my new accommodations. Dirty water dripped from a rocky ceiling, leaving puddles on the dirt floor. One wall was comprised of those metal bars, while the other three made of stone. Some kind of mossy green foliage grew over the rocks. There was a bucket for bodily functions.
“So the Guardian isn’t going to free Claudia?” Leona asked with a whimper.
Gut punch. “No. But you should be glad about that. He’s worse than any governor.”
She pressed a hand to her mouth and crumpled to the floor.
Splashing water drew my gaze to the biggest water puddle. Stiffness spread through my limbs. Of course. Iris had decided to join the party.
The scowling water maiden rose from the shallow depths, no longer pink but scarlet. “You are a liar!”
Patch scrambled to press herself into a corner. Leona was too busy sobbing to notice the intrusion.
“I might be a fool, but I’m not a liar,” I snapped. “I kept my end of the bargain and fulfilled your first demand. Don’t ask questions. I didn’t ask anything. Therefore, I owe you nothing else. We’re even.”
Rage blazed in the water maiden’s eyes. “You could have saved this world. Instead, you damned it.”
“How would the Guardian’s death save anyone?” And that’s what the disc would bring about; I had no doubts about that now. “There are countless others just like him, ready to take his place.”
“When the leader dies, they all die! To prevent a coup from those who share his aspirations, he made sure of it.”
So Jasher would die along with the Guardian. Well, I didn’t care. I didn’t! Let all the monstra perish. The pit in the bottom of my stomach meant nothing.
“You deserve what’s coming,” Iris hissed. “When the Guardian invaded this world, your father failed to stop him and you mother ran like a coward, leaving us to our doomed fate. That’s the real reason they are so hated. Now, here you are, their daughter, too weak to act.”
Bombs of fury detonated. “My mother was no coward. She was pregnant when she watched her husband die and probably desperate to protect her baby. Ahav did what none of the rest of you have even tried. He faced the enemy head-on. And he wasn’t ineffective. He did something the monstra can’t overcome. I’ve experienced it.”
My words had no impact on the water maiden. “Sandrine could’ve returned, gathered support, and led us to victory. I served her for years and would’ve helped. But because of her absence, the Guardian was allowed to spread his lies. Most citizens see him as a beloved liberator, the truth of his motives and actions forgotten. Only those of us who witnessed the death of our king know better. Now we work tirelessly to stop him, but it’s a losing battle. We kill one soldier, and he makes ten more. Citizens fight us, because his deceptions run too deep.”
And the shocks kept coming. “Why didn’t you tell me this from the beginning?”
“So you could doubt and question me, then spill my secrets to lover boy?” she spat. “No, thank you.”
A blush burned my cheeks. Yeah, I would’ve spilled.
Iris narrowed her eyes. “You were so determined to return to a home that isn’t yours. You wouldn’t have listened to anything I said, especially if I suggested you stay and fight the big bad on behalf of people you knew nothing about.”
Facts I couldn’t refute without lying.
“I gave you time, a protector, and experience, and this is how you repay me.” She scoffed. “If you are anything like your father, you’ll do what’s right, no matter the fate awaiting you.” She executed a mock curtsey. “Not that you have much longer to live.” Bit by bit, she sank into the puddle, disappearing.
My stomach curdled when I detected the sound of marching bootsteps. My cellmates jumped to their feet as soon as the Guardian, Jasher, and their gang of lookalikes rounded a corner. The minions marched behind them.
Jasher met my glare, rousing thoughts from the mire of my mind. He was monstra. Meeting my gaze was dangerous to him. I could hold him captive as long as I wished. But still he’d done it, as if he hoped to relay a secret message.
Or trick me into trusting him again.
Could I risk being fooled again? I released him, setting my glare on the Guardian. “Miss me?”
One of the stationed guards unlocked and opened the cell door. The Guardian and Jasher paused while six soldiers strode inside, wrenching me and the others to our feet and restraining us two by two. Only then did Ian enter, with Jasher directly behind him. My heart raced, the beat becoming erratic.
“Ah, but their fear is delicious.” The Guardian closed his eyes and breathed deep, savoring. “My favorite feast, I admit.”