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)
Ian looked at me, silently asking my opinion.
I didn’t have an opinion to give. “What do you do for them, exactly?”
Bastian pulled his hand away from the stem of his glass and brushed his palm across the surface of the wood. “I’m a scout. I keep an eye on all the independent factions and report back to the First King.”
“Why him?” I asked.
“He’s the First King—the king I’m bound to serve.”
“Why is he first?” I asked.
“Because he’s the eldest of the three brothers.”
“They’re brothers?” It was hard to imagine Necrosis having any sense of family, not when they fed on the souls of the innocent. “That’s why you’ve spied on us so much.” I felt the betrayal, knowing he walked through the streets of HeartHolme with the intention of destroying it.
There wasn’t a hint of apology in his gaze. “I’ve kept most of your secrets to myself. I only shared what I had to in order to deflect suspicion. I’ve been aware of Queen Rolfe’s departure since the moment she left in the middle of the night, but I kept that information to myself. I knew your dragons were gone too, but I didn’t say a word. In order for this to work, I’m going to have to continue sharing details of HeartHolme. If I don’t, or I get caught in a lie, then we’ll all be doomed.”
I looked at my brother again, knowing the line we walked was very thin.
“I’m sure they know by now that Huntley has retaken Delacroix. That means they’ll know the dragons are there too. I know you wanted to keep the dragons’ location a secret, but that was a secret too big to be contained.”
“Fuck.” I dropped my forehead to the surface of the table. “What do we do now?”
“I’ll have to tell Huntley to return one of the dragons,” Ian said.
I continued to speak into the wood, my voice muffled. “He said they wouldn’t separate.”
“Well, they’re going to have to.”
I sat upright again. “Are you going to send a missive?”
Ian sighed. “I’ll send a rider.”
“That’s even riskier,” Bastian said. “A lot could go wrong along the way. The crow is safer.”
“And faster,” I said. “By the time the rider gets there, Huntley will already be marching to the next Kingdom.” That man didn’t wait around. He got shit done. Once he had the momentum, he rode with it. “In the meantime, we need to protect HeartHolme. How are we going to do that?”
Ian didn’t say anything.
Bastian was quiet for a while. “Ice.”
Ian turned to him. “You said there was no more.”
“No more outside Necrosis,” he said. “There’s plenty more, but it’s dangerous to reach.”
“Where is it?” I asked.
“Inside the caves,” Bastian said. “Away from sunlight.”
“Is that where Necrosis lives?” I asked. “Underground?”
“No.” That was all he said.
“If I had more Ice, I could do a lot more to protect HeartHolme. If I had enough to make hundreds of arrows, we could take them down before they reached the wall. Show me where it is.” I’d never ventured farther south than HeartHolme. There was nothing toward Necrosis, just death.
Ian looked at me. “Elora.”
“We need it,” I said. “Without the dragons, we need something.”
“He can go get it himself,” Ian said.
“He may not always be around.”
Bastian had no reaction to that.
Ian grew annoyed. “We’ll discuss it later, Elora.” He turned back to Bastian. “We have a deal—don’t break it.”
Bastian gave a nod.
“You’re dismissed.”
Bastian gave me a hard stare before he rose to his feet and left the room. The guards parted to let him pass.
I stared at my brother. “You want me to keep an eye on him?”
“Yes,” he said. “But keep your guard up. He’s still Necrosis—and I don’t like him.”
“Is there anything he can do to change that?”
He shook his head. “Never.”
TWELVE
Elora
I caught up to him in the distance, his silhouette noticeable in the light from the burning torches. “Where are you staying tonight?”
He didn’t break his stride. “With you, I’m guessing.”
“Excuse me?”
“Ian asked you to watch me, right?” He looked at me, his cloak billowing behind him. “It’s the only reason he would let me walk out of that castle without chains on my wrists and ankles.”
I sidestepped the accusation. “You have a place here?”
“Yes. Just a few streets over from yours.”
“And how did you get that place?”
“I paid for it.”
“With what money?” I asked.
“I didn’t steal it, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“How do you earn money? What are your skills?”
“I can build things—like you.”
“What kinds of things?”
“Doors, tables, homes.”
“So, you’re a carpenter?”
“Yes. That’s what I was in my former life.”
We made it to the residential area, the streets lit up with more torches. “How long ago was your former life?”
He turned down the street, as if he was heading to my place. “I know what you’re really asking.”
“I hadn’t considered it until now.”