Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
“I agree, Your Highness,” Queen Rolfe said. “Best to take at least fifty soldiers, all armed with Ice.”
It was still weird to hear her call me that. “Shall we leave tomorrow?”
“Yes,” Bastian said. “The sooner we do this, the sooner I can be free.”
With Haldir constantly drugged and locked in the carriage, we made the journey across the open fields and landscapes to the south, where Necrosis territory lay. We didn’t pass anyone on the trails, didn’t meet anyone at the streams. It seemed as if the world was empty except for us.
“What about the Plunderers?” I asked Huntley as we lay down for the night in our tent.
“What about them?”
“Are you going to kill them?”
He shook his head.
“Really? Even though they’re vile?”
“They’re wild and savage because they had to be. They’ve fought Necrosis alongside us for decades. I don’t personally care for their people, but I won’t destroy them because of a petty opinion.”
I lay beside him in his cot, seeing the beard thick on his face. “You’re a good king.”
“Because I was born to be one.”
With the carriage attached to the horses, we couldn’t move as quickly as we normally would, so we spent a solid week traveling south, encountering no one along the way. We were all exhausted and aggravated, and I got tired of having to force the potion down Haldir’s throat while he was asleep.
We made dinner by the campfire once we were at the base of their mountains, finally nearing the end of the journey.
I sat beside Elora, the two of us eating the dinner she’d caught before the sun went down. “So…what’s it like being with Necrosis?”
“I’ve always liked the bad ones, so for me, it’s perfect.” She ate the rest of the food on her plate then set it aside. “I’ve tested out a lot of different guys, but they’ve never felt right, not like it does with Bastian. And that’s ironic, considering our circumstances.”
I watched Bastian across the fire, watched him look into the darkness. “He’s quiet.”
“My brothers are quiet, so I’m used to it.”
“I hope this works out for you. I can’t imagine being in his shoes…losing my soul like that.”
She nodded. “No one deserves that. I wish we could have saved them all, but Bastian’s right, it wouldn’t have been possible. Not with that army at our gates.” She rested her arms on her knees and looked at me. “So, what’s next for you guys? Other than challenging King Dunbar.”
“I don’t know… I guess ruling the Kingdoms.”
“You guys will be so far away. Makes me sad.”
“I know. Huntley is upset about it too.”
“Are you guys going to have kids?”
“Huntley talks about it.”
She watched me. “That didn’t answer my question.”
“He’s a lot more excited about it than I am.”
“And why aren’t you?”
“I don’t know… Maybe because the world has been in chaos for so long. It’s hard to imagine a quiet life, you know?”
She nodded. “You’re right.”
“Huntley would knock me up right now if I were okay with it.”
She released a laugh. “Sounds about right. He’d be a good father.”
“I know he would,” I said. “What about you guys?”
“We’ve got to get his soul back first. Then we’ll see what happens.”
“After everything you’ve been through, I assumed you’d get married at the first chance.”
She shrugged. “He hasn’t asked.”
“Why don’t you ask him?”
“I’m all about asking for what I want without apology, but something like that, he has to ask. I’ve come on pretty strong since the beginning, and I don’t want to lay it on too thick, you know? Besides, I’m not in a hurry. Whenever it happens, it happens.”
THIRTY-FOUR
Bastian
Instead of avoiding the main entrance to Necrosis, I walked straight up to it. The settlement wasn’t fortified by walls and gates like HeartHolme and Crags of the Teeth, not when they were unchallenged in these lands. No one provoked Necrosis—unless they had a death wish.
In broad daylight, we walked along the path, moving farther through the hills and the mountains. We finally came across Necrosis along the path. They recognized me, but not the others, though there was no hostility because of it.
As if they knew.
We made it to the first settlement where the Three Kings had lived in their own castles, but the town was empty. A few Necrosis were spotted outside their homes, but it was a small fraction compared to what it’d been before.
I went to Haldir’s black castle, where my sister would be waiting for me.
The carriage was still with us, and once we reached the entrance to the castle, we left the men behind to guard it. They displayed their Ice swords so no one would be tempted to intervene, not that it would make sense to attack anyway.
I walked up to the doors and realized I was alone.
I turned back to look at Elora. She’d stayed behind with her family.