Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 110080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Only two hours until midnight. Enough time to regain his strength and think about tomorrow’s torture sessions.
As he drew the shadows around him, making his body blend in with the rocky walls of the cavern, he rolled through the facts. Ten females, Blythe included. What he did to one female, he must deliver to all. Though he was furious and, yes, okay, even destroyed by his gravita’s lies, he didn’t know if he could harm her. The thought alone caused sweat to bead on his brow and acid to fill his stomach.
At the same time, he must do what he could to knock out as much of her competition as possible.
He considered and discarded one idea after another. None of the combatants in the tournament would bow to mere threats. Mental torture rather than physical, perhaps? And if he broke Blythe’s mind?
Sexual torment could solve the problem and teach the harpy a lesson at the same time. He could force her to desire him. Fake it then, she-beast. Let her see and hear the enjoyment others derived from his touch, too.
And if she didn’t care?
He worked his jaw. He had to hurt her physically, didn’t he?
Carrigan and Lucca arrived sixteen minutes early, beating the harphantom to the secret meeting. The pair rounded a corner across from the arena and stopped near the royal portal, located directly beneath the palace. Close enough to Roux that he didn’t need to relocate. A blessing, considering he currently shook like, well, anyone who’d ever gone to war with the Astra.
Fitting, since he was at war with himself.
While the harpy evinced stress, pacing back and forth, the Phoenix remained still and calm. They’d washed the blood of today’s battle from their skin and changed into the traditional leather dresses worn by the females of Ation, but they now sported a whole lot of dirt. What had they been up to before coming here?
“What if she doesn’t believe us?” Lucca asked, pacing at a faster clip.
“Then she dies. It’s that simple.”
Roux tensed, the urge to strike now, now, now almost irresistible. Threat!
Wait. He sniffed the air. Did he detect the harphantom? The barest hint of honeysuckle and rose wafted to his nose. Oh, yes. She was nearby. Muscles hardened as he scanned the area. No other trace of her.
“If she dies,” the harpy said, flinching, “we’ll be stuck here.”
Carrigan shrugged. “We’re already stuck.”
“Yeah, but with her, we’ve got hope.”
“Okay, now I’m really curious why you wished to meet with me.” Blythe stepped from thin air, appearing close to the other women, but just out of striking distance.
At the sight of her, Roux’s central nervous system erupted in flames. His blood steamed in his veins, and his heart raced. She’d worn her hair free and loose, the sleek black mass framing her pale face, making her baby blues appear bigger and rounder than usual. The gown had been replaced by a short leather skirt and one of his shirts, tied at her waist, as if she’d ached to have something of his wrapped around her.
He almost reached for her. Then he remembered the firstone dagger. His hands curled into fists. Deep down, she wanted nothing to do with Laban’s killer. She had only pretended to desire Roux in order to distract and kill him. The shirt was just another prop to sell her lie.
Lucca scowled at her. “We saved your ungrateful hide from a swarm of decapitation bees and determined royals. Was spying seriously necessary?”
“Yes,” Blythe replied with a cold smile.
“She wasn’t spying,” Carrigan said with a smile of her own. “That’s done in secret. I knew the moment she arrived.”
The harphantom rolled her eyes. “Whatever you’ve got to tell yourself, hon.”
Roux was inclined to believe the Phoenix, who merely gave another shrug.
“So?” Blythe spread her arms. “Why am I here?”
“To bargain,” Lucca replied. “It may not seem like it now, what with the trinite dagger in play and all, but the former queen’s advisors made a deal with Erebus to ensure your victory in the tournament. As soon as you don the crown, the Dark One has vowed to open a doorway out of Ation for them. Which is true, I’m betting. He can open one, all right, but that doesn’t mean the group will be able to go through it.”
Fury sparked in Roux. Not because of the deal offered by Erebus. That was expected. Roux even knew why the god wished for Blythe to survive. Who else stood a chance of defeating a male known as Torture Master? None. But the fact that Erebus had interfered to keep Blythe alive meant the Blade of Destiny had predicted her death before the tournament’s end. So who was going to take her out? And how did Roux stop them?
Of course, there was another possibility. These females were lying, running a play of their own.