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)
“Move.” I looked to Evan, the adviser on my right.
He jerked upright at my command and immediately vacated the chair.
“Baby.” I pulled out the chair for her.
Evan moved to the end of the table where she had been planning to sit, and Ivory approached the chair I’d just commandeered for her. She took the seat and scooted forward until her arms rested on the table. “What’s the plan?”
“Have you told Pyre and Storm about the black dragon?”
She shook her head. “Hasn’t been on my mind for the last few days.”
“If we can get to the Capital before Regar arrives, we can take the city easily. If he’s there…it’ll be more challenging.”
“We’ll need crossbows.”
“I was hoping our dragons could defeat him since there are two.”
Her eyes remained on the table, as if she wasn’t convinced. “We don’t know anything about Regar. He could be bigger. Could have more experience in battle. I wouldn’t put all the burden on Pyre and Storm. We need to have our own plan to eliminate him.”
“Never killed a dragon before, so I don’t have much to offer.”
“Do you think he’ll have armor?”
I gave a shrug.
“If he doesn’t, the crossbows will do the job.”
“The crossbows are only effective at close range, so unless Regar is where we want him to be, it’s not going to work.”
She was quiet for a while, and as if the thought struck her like a bolt of lightning, she perked up. “Pyre and I can speak across distances. When he’s outside on the field and I’m in the castle, we can still communicate.”
I’d never tried that with Storm. “Your point?”
“We can tell Pyre and Storm where to lure Regar so we can shoot him down.”
It was a great plan, and I was immediately struck with pride that she had suggested it. “That’s perfect, baby.”
We sat together in front of the fire in our bedroom, my shirt covering her to her knees. She lay across my lap, her feet propped on the armrest, so the shirt slid up her thighs and exposed just a bit of her panties. Her hair was across my lap, and she looked up at me with tired eyes. Beautiful eyes.
My fingers moved through her hair, feeling the softness of the strands. I looked down at her as she looked up at me, lost in her eyes like she was lost in mine. My hand left her hair and traveled over her chest to her belly. “I want to put a baby in you.”
“We’re about to march on the Capital, and that’s what you’re thinking about?”
My hand slid underneath the cotton and felt her soft belly. “I’m always thinking about it.”
“We’ve got a long road ahead of us…”
“But it’ll end. And once that ends, we begin.” I was the king the way my father had been, but I didn’t have a son like he did. My wife was more than just the woman who would birth my children. She ruled alongside me, and she would make the perfect mother. I wanted that picture to be a reality, to have children to teach, to be a role model to someone. My father had been stolen far too young, and now that I’d taken his role, there was no one to take mine.
“You don’t want to enjoy each other for a while?”
“We’ll always enjoy each other, baby.”
“Well…my body will be different. I’ll be different.”
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“Just in case you don’t realize it, I might have scars on my belly. My skin might be loose. My tits might not be as perky as they are now.”
My eyes remained narrowed on her face. “Your body is going to grow me a son or daughter. It’s going to battle so they’ll live, so they’ll be healthy, so they’ll leave your womb and survive. If I returned from battle covered in scars, would you love me less?”
“No…but that’s not the same thing.”
“It is the same thing, baby. Nothing will change, except that I’ll love you more.”
Her eyes softened.
“I love you more because you’ll give me my sons and daughters.”
“Then, when this is all over…we can talk about it. We’ve got to survive the Capital. Then we’ve got to survive Necrosis. It’s all uphill from here.”
“We’ll make it, baby.”
“You know what they say. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. I don’t want to think about the future too much, not when I’m not sure if we’re going to have one.” Her eyes dropped down to the fire, the hardness settling into her face.
My fingers flattened across her entire abdomen, feeling a child we hadn’t even created.
“We will. I promise.”
TWENTY-TWO
Ryker
I woke up in a pool of my own blood.
I blinked a couple times, the red color dull at first, but slowly becoming more prominent as my mind sharpened. I felt the ache in my mouth and realized the source. My hands pushed against the stone floor, and once my arms shook, I knew how bad the damage was. My entire face hurt. The rest of my body too, I quickly realized.