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 feigned ignorance, as if I had no idea what he really was.
Rutherford spoke. “They’ve taken Minora. Edgerson surrendered.”
Haldir was stiff in his chair, the placement of his arms blocked by the table. The beautiful woman was beside him, her eyes hazy like her mind was somewhere else. “Coward.”
“They had two dragons, and Minora is a small Kingdom.”
“Doesn’t matter. Now the Runes have two Kingdoms at their backs—and two dragons.”
Rutherford dropped his gaze, too intimidated to meet Haldir’s stare straight on. “King Dunbar has agreed to loan us Regar. He should arrive any day.”
Haldir should have been pleased, but he didn’t seem to be. “We should strike when they least expect it.”
“If they’re holed up at Minora or Supertine, we’ll be at a disadvantage, even with Regar,” Rutherford said. “They’re going to strike the Capital with arrogance, so when they see the mighty black dragon, they’ll be knocked off their feet and unable to recover. The plan doesn’t change. When will you return to the north?”
Haldir wore a stony expression, as if he didn’t owe him an answer. “When Regar arrives, we’ll return and prepare to invade HeartHolme. That city will fall before your battle commences, so the dragons can’t come to their aid. We’ll defeat them in both the north and the south simultaneously. They’ll be our livestock, and all the remaining free folk will not dare to oppose us.”
This was end-of-the-world shit.
Rutherford nodded. “The Capital will not fall. We’ll return the Kingdoms to their former glory once this is over.”
I sat in the armchair in front of the fire, my hands together on my knees.
Effie sat beside me, paralyzed by her shock.
“I have to send a letter.” It would take them a few days to vacate Minora, and if I could send the crow first thing in the morning, it would arrive by nightfall. “Huntley needs to know what’s going on. His home is about to be destroyed.”
“I thought you didn’t like him.”
“That was before I realized Rutherford and my father had forged an alliance with fucking Necrosis.”
“You don’t know that—”
“I do fucking know that, Effie.” This alliance had existed a long time. Necrosis played all of us like puppets. My father knew and never told me. He served the undead and didn’t blink an eye over it. “And it doesn’t matter if I don’t like Huntley. I respect him. HeartHolme is home to my sister, so it’s important to her, and she’s the Queen of the Kingdoms now. I have to tell her.”
Effie dropped her chin.
“Rutherford doesn’t seem suspicious of me.”
“But if he were, you think he’d make that known?”
No. “But we’ve been close since I was born.”
“Delacroix was taken, and you were the only person who fled. A good king would take that with a grain of salt.”
“Even if you’re right, it doesn’t matter. I have to do this. Huntley and Ivory need to know what’s going on.”
“What will happen if you get caught?”
I looked away. “They’ll probably kill me.”
“And worse.”
I pictured Haldir staring at me one last time before he killed me and ate my soul. “Then I won’t get caught.”
Effie still looked scared, her breathing deep and even, her eyes pleading with me.
It was my job to alleviate all her suffering, but there was nothing I could do. “I have to do this. Even if it gets me killed…I have to.”
She dropped her chin.
“And you know that.”
I finished the letter and rolled the parchment into a scroll. I looked it over a couple times to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything, because this would be the only letter I would ever send. If I managed to get away with it, I wouldn’t be stupid enough to roll the dice once more.
I purposely waited until the very end of night, just before the sunrise crept over the horizon. There was no daylight, just a lightening of the sky, making it blue rather than black. I’d be able to slip in and out of the aviary before anyone noticed. If there was a guard there, I’d try to sneak past. If I didn’t have any other choice…I’d have to kill him.
But then Rutherford would know someone had been in the aviary who shouldn’t have been.
It wouldn’t take long for them to assume that person was me. Effie and I would have to take a horse from the stables and run for our lives.
I slipped the scroll into my sleeve and let out a long, slow breath.
“What if I go?”
I looked at Effie, my wife.
“I could say I’m sending a note to my family.”
“And what happens if they read the scroll?”
“You could pretend you had no idea that I was a traitor. Your life is a lot more valuable than mine.”
I stared in disbelief because her words couldn’t be more untrue. “Effie, you became the single most important thing to me last week. If anyone is going to lose their head, it’s going to be me. And I would gladly have it be me instead of you.” I glanced out the window again, seeing the sky lighten just a little more. “I have to do this now.”