Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 147891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
You have to do it like this,” one of the girls says, a dark-skinned one with beautiful white hair. She shows Caz how to tie the flower stem with her own set.
The other girl, dark-haired with milky skin, sits right beside him. “Finished,” the dark-haired one says, then she climbs onto her knees on the bench and places a flower necklace around Caz’s neck that matches the blue and white flower crown on her head.
“You made this for me? Really?” he asks, and the girl nods, blushing. “Thank you, Maia. It’s beautiful. Now, if I can figure out how to tie this thing, I’ll have a gift for you too.”
Oh. My. Word. This is the cutest interaction I’ve ever seen in my life. Look at him with these girls! I’ve never seen him so…soft.
As if he hears my thoughts, Caz’s head turns, and his eyes find mine. I wave from where I’m standing, several feet away from his table. He hops off the bench almost immediately, excusing himself from the girls, but they trail right behind him as he ventures my way, like two little shadows.
“Am I interrupting?” I ask, partly teasing.
“Just the masterpieces of flower necklaces and crowns. You know how that goes.” The edges of his lips quirk up. “I’m glad you’re up and about.”
“Yeah, me too. I feel much better.”
“You have a weird accent,” the dark-skinned girl says. “Why don’t you sound like us?”
“Oh, right. Well, I’m not exactly from Vakeeli. I’m what Earth would call an American.”
“Ah-mah-ri-cuhn?” The girl frowns as she sounds it out.
I shift my eyes to Caz again, smiling. “I see you have your own little fan club now. Super adorable.”
“Oh. Right.” He turns a shade of red, looking between the girls as they step closer to me. “They’ve been lots of fun. Very welcoming too.” The dark-skinned girl folds her arms across her chest, while the paler one brings her hands behind her back with a coy smile.
“My name’s Minka.” Minka, the dark-skinned one, still has her arms crossed. “This is my sister, Maia.”
I drop to one knee. “It’s nice to meet you, Minka and Maia.”
Minka’s face changes, like she’s pleased that I’ve lowered to their level. “I’m only upset right now because Maia will probably be upset too,” Minka announces.
“Upset about what?” I ask, tilting my head.
“About you being awake, of course,” Minka says. “She was hoping you’d stay asleep another day, so we can hang out with Mr. Harlow a little longer. She knew when you woke up, he’d have to leave.”
Maia drops her head, a flush creeping up her neck.
“Well, Maia, if it helps, I only need to talk to him for a few seconds. Hey, maybe we can all hang out. Would you like that?”
Maia bobs her head eagerly. “Yes, please!”
“Great! Why don’t you find me some flowers too? I’d love to make a crown.”
“Oh, I can make you one!” Minka shouts.
“No, she told me to do it!” Maia retorts, and they both run off toward a line of trees, trying to outrace each other.
When they’re out of earshot, I slide my gaze to Caz who is already looking at me.
“Why are you staring?” I laugh.
“Look at you,” he breathes. “How can anyone not?”
I tuck a loose loc behind my ear, fighting a blush. “How long was I out for?”
“About twelve hours. You woke up around the fifth hour for a bit.”
“Yeah. I remember.” When he said he loved me more than anything.
Caz takes my hand, walking across the field with me. As we go, I can’t help feeling like everyone is watching us. I look over my shoulder at the woman who shoved Caz. She stands next to the bridge, the wooden handle of a spear clutched tightly in her hand, the bottom nestled in the ground. Her eyes are slightly narrowed as she watches our every step.
“They still aren’t trusting us about Korah?” I ask as we sit.
“Hassha believes it,” Caz says. “Milandra…well, she’s a different story. She wants to rip my head off, that one.”
“And I can assume Milandra is the woman standing by the bridge with the spear in her hand?”
Caz’s gaze flickers to Milandra. “That’s her. At this point, she’s just waiting for me to breathe wrong.”
“Hmm. And where is Hassha?”
“I’m not sure. I haven’t seen her since this morning, but she’s already sent a boat with some of her strongest women to look for some wood in The Trench. They’ll bring it back here, and we can make weapons. Hopefully they can find something.”
“That’s great news!”
“Yes, it is. Oh, while you were out, I tapped in with Cerberus again.” A look of concern washes over him. “He’s too afraid to go back to the castle. I feel his fear. He wants far away from Decius.”
“Poor wolf. It’s probably best that he stays away. Was Silvera with him?” I ask as we sit.