Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75457 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75457 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Iron is fatal to the fae.
“Were they nobility or lower class?” I ask, and it’s an important question because only the nobility have any significant magical power.
“Lower class,” she says, and I can hear the menace in her tone. No matter how outlandish Deandra can be, the one thing she does far better than her mother is govern the poor. Nimeyah didn’t care about them at all, but clearly her daughter does.
Admittedly, that warms me slightly to her.
“So they were defenseless,” Truett growls.
Deandra waves her hand over the tear in the veil and it seals. She spins on me. “Amell has to stop this. I demand he deploy guards to patrol and catch whoever it is.”
“You know that’s not feasible,” I say as I rub the back of my neck.
“Make it feasible,” she snaps in irritation. “He better deploy every ally he has to catch whoever is doing this, or I’m going to march my forces into his dark little world and decimate the entire Dark Fae race.”
Some might think that’s an overreaction or that the silly woman doesn’t know what she’s talking about.
But Deandra has always been a vicious warrior and I watched her kill her brother for his perfidy without a single hesitation. She’d go to war with the Underworld.
“We’ll bring your concerns to Amell,” Truett says with a slight bow.
“I want more than a discussion of my concerns,” Deandra warns.
Truett glances at me and I give him a slight nod. He and I both know that if Amell were to use his forces to patrol around his realm, hoping to catch someone making a breach, it would leave the cities defenseless. However, the threat of Deandra marching on the Underworld is of equal concern, so Amell needs to decide what to do.
With his chances of getting laid by the Light Fae queen ground to a halt, Truett offers her a slight but longing bow and opens up the veil to return to the Underworld.
The minute he’s gone, Deandra takes my arm and coos, “All’s not lost. You and I can still—”
I pull away from her. “Not interested, Deandra.”
My chest constricts painfully with the knowledge that the only one I’m interested in isn’t interested in me anymore.
Glancing at the bed, I do wonder why I’m denying myself. Deandra is a beast in the sack, and I’d get my rocks off in a very nice way. Zora has disinvited me to her bed, and I owe her no loyalty.
“I can see you’re considering it,” Deandra says with a delighted clap.
I sigh with fatigue. “Yeah… I considered it, but I’m going to pass.”
“Oooh,” she teases in a singsong voice. “Maddox is in love.”
Not sure that’s true, but I am all kinds of fucked up in the head. Still, the only thing I want to do right now is figure out how to keep Faere safe.
“What exactly are you contributing to fix this issue?” I ask the queen.
Deandra shrugs and examines her fingernails, as if she doesn’t care about her people. I know this is untrue though.
“I’ve got my own patrols moving about the realm, but they’re concentrated most heavily among the lower class since they can’t protect themselves as well.”
Another point for Deandra. She has once again shown some semblance of a heart.
“I saw the Scryer,” she continues. “But he had no valuable information. You know those voyeur types—”
“Wait… there’s a Scryer? I thought she died… by your brother’s hand.”
“She did, but when she died, another took her place. It’s like that television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I watched all seven seasons when I was living in the First Dimension, and when a slayer dies—”
“For fuck’s sake, Deandra, focus. Where does this Scryer live?”
She frowns. “I’ve already had someone go see him. He has nothing to offer.”
“Maybe they didn’t ask the right questions,” I posit, although my excitement for the Scryer has nothing to do with helping to defend Faere. I’ve got questions of my own. “Now, where is he?”
“The southlands. On the outskirts of the Geyrale settlement. Ask anyone there and they’ll point you in the right direction.”
I nod. “I’ll go there now, then I’m going to see Amell. I’ll be back in Faere after that.”
“Come eat dinner with me at the castle when you return,” she orders.
I don’t accept or decline. My days are going to be taken minute by minute at this point.
I make ready to bend distance to Geyrale, but before I disappear, I can’t help but say, “You used the word voyeur as someone who sees the future. That’s not what it is.”
She blinks at me in surprise. “What is it, then?”
I can’t help but grin. “Someone who gets sexual gratification from watching people have sex.”
No way Deandra would ever blush, and instead, she laughs. “Oh, that describes me, then.”
“Not surprised,” I mutter before leaving her presence and stepping into the Geyrale settlement.