Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
“With a fast ship, a few days.”
“Can’t you dock all the ships? Delay them?”
“We can make up some reason to delay people getting to their ships, but we can’t keep them forever.”
“Then the countdown has begun.” Fear trembled within me, but I shoved it away in favor of determination. I had precious little time to find a solution to the dangerousness of her product. I’d focus on that and let Weston focus on protecting me. He had the army of a kingdom at his disposal. I would trust him to use it.
He squeezed my hand. “We’ll handle this, okay? She won’t be able to get to you.”
I closed my eyes, my cheek against his back. I would not live in fear of her, not anymore.
“I’d like to learn how to defend myself,” I said in a small voice. “In both human and wolf form.”
“Of course,” he replied.
We’d need to start training soon.
After the horses were handed off to the stable hands, the stable guy from our journey nowhere to be found, we made our way toward the castle, behind the king and queen. We were nearly there when the queen stalled, looking back at us.
“Thank you,” she told me, falling in step. I paused, and Weston moved in beside the king to give us a moment. “I realize what your help means. Please rest assured, we know what threats you will face if you were to fall into Granny’s hands, and we are keenly aware of the threat we all face if that were to happen. We have a solid defense in this kingdom. You’ll be protected.”
I inclined my head, letting the sentiment drift by me.
“I’d like to learn how you make your product,” she said.
“Okay.”
“I assume I don’t have to impress upon you how quickly I want something to combat Granny’s poison.”
“No, you don’t. I’ll find you a cure, if not a solution. Just give me the supplies I need.”
She paused for a moment. Finally, she said, “We’re not going to kill you, just so you know. I know you had doubts. I thought I might put your mind at ease. We’ll probably have to whip you or make some show of things, but . . . your life isn’t in danger.”
I laughed without humor. “Your Majesty, it wasn’t what you would do that troubled me. It was always my past becoming my future again, and you just saw the lengths she’ll go just to know where I am. But thank you, that . . . is nice of you to say. Sort of.”
“The whipping . . . isn’t necessarily great news.”
“No,” I breathed. “It isn’t.”
As we reached the castle doors, the attendants pulled them open for us. The queen looked across at Weston, her eyes hard and troubled, before she nodded and led the way across the threshold.
“Did you want to stay with me tonight?” Weston asked a few moments later as we walked down the hall.
“Yes, please. I just . . . Could I have a minute to write in my journal? I heard quite a lot today, and I’d like to write it down while it’s fresh.”
“Of course. Come over when you’re ready.”
He was where I’d seen him the night before, book open, candles lit.
“You don’t have to light those for me every night, you know.” I gestured at them as I made my way to his lap.
His smile was soft. “They’re nice. They soften the space a little.”
I nestled against him, loving how his arms felt as they wrapped around me. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He paused. “For what?”
“For making you wait. I . . . was lost. I’m not anymore. I’m sorry for causing you pain.”
“I’m sorry,” he said.
I furrowed my brow, sitting up so I could see his face. The candlelight flickered in his beautiful gray eyes.
“Don’t be,” I said. “For what?”
“For snatching you from your home without interrogating you first. For making you share a stranger’s bed as a captive. For making you a captive here again instead of a true mate, or even as just a pretty stranger who needed help with her animal. I mean, need I go on? For ripping your life apart without mercy. For saying you can go free but then shoving you off into a foreign town without any sort of protection. For not telling you about Granny sooner.” He shook his head. “Giving you a little time to figure out your life is hardly a big ask, now is it? Not after what I’ve put you through. It is also well within your right. I haven’t claimed you, and even if I had, you are free to choose whoever makes you happy. Nothing is forever unless you wake up every day and decide it will be, over and over, until the end of time.”
I ran my thumb along his jaw, feeling a little stubble. “I would’ve lost it if you’d been with another woman.”