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)
“Hadriel,” I called out, staying against the wall. “There is a woman with a whip out here. She seems like she spooks easily. I’m not supposed to get in any altercations.”
The woman stopped and held up her free hand. “I’d rather not use the whip.”
“That makes two of us. I don’t much like them.”
“Oh no?” She hesitated in continuing to unhook it. “Not into pain, huh?”
I frowned at her. “Not . . . really, no.”
“Hmm.” She nodded. “Pity. You’re very pretty. Petite and delicate. You’d be a sexy sub. How about randomly attacking strangers? I see you’ve been left out here on your own. Are you not a flight risk, or is Hadriel drunk?”
I blinked at her for a long moment. She was yet another one with a very sexually open way of speaking. I’d gotten used to Hadriel—it was easier because he was so over-the-top about everything—but the calm, collected way the others spoke such bold things . . . I suddenly felt very prudish.
“I’m not a flight risk, no,” I finally said. “To start, I’ve chosen to be here, but also . . . Well, honestly, I have nowhere else to go.”
I stopped there. I wasn’t going to tell her about the reward for my capture or what would befall me if Granny recovered me. If this woman needed the information, Hadriel or someone else would give it to her. Otherwise, I assumed Weston would want to navigate who knew what and when.
“That whip wouldn’t even faze her, Leala.” Hadriel appeared at the doorway with his arms crossed. He’d clearly been listening. “I bet you wouldn’t even hit her, actually. You have no idea how fast she is now that she has access to her wolf. She went to pick some flowers, and she moved so fast she almost blurred.”
“Just so we’re all speaking the same language,” I interjected, unsure if this woman was at all like that Liron character who had hole confusion, “I’d really prefer you didn’t whip me.”
The woman, Leala, hooked the whip back onto her belt. “The beta requested someone attend to his captive, and since no other lady’s maids are readily equipped to handle violence, I volunteered.”
“What about the queen?” Hadriel gave me an sidelong look. “She’s the queen’s head lady’s maid. Very prestigious role. She was assigned to the queen in this very room—before she was queen, obviously. We’ve had a lot of very experienced people travel to the kingdom to take the position, and none of them have been able to. My girl here is fire.”
Leala rolled her eyes as she ushered me into the washroom. “The queen is loyal. There are others better at the job than I am.”
“Those others wouldn’t march into a demon dungeon for their employer.”
“Which is why the queen is loyal. Come on now, miss, let’s get you a bath. My goodness, the beta has left his scent all over you.”
“As well he should.” My wolf preened.
I ignored her.
“I’m not a miss,” I said as I let Leala manhandle me into a corner and get the bath ready for me. She seemed very nice and lovely but also had a very firm way about her. “Honestly, I can do it.”
“She is as calm and balanced as the beta.” Hadriel picked some dirt out of his nails. “It’s been an absolute dream. I don’t know what I’m going to do with the dragons.”
“Annoy them and get picked on, probably.” Leala wasted no time in stripping me and settling me into the bath. Resisting would’ve been futile, though I was sure my face was flaming with Hadriel still in the room. I might’ve lost my senses and fucked Weston in front of everyone, but I still wasn’t comfortable stripping down with an audience. Leala turned to Hadriel and asked, “What are we doing for clothes?”
“We have some of her drab chic attire, or she can wear some of my clothes until we figure out what to do with her. She thinks the dick jackets are funny. We bonded over them.”
She smiled. “I love that.”
I lifted my eyebrows, opening my mouth to interject again. Those dick jackets were definitely funny, but I wasn’t sure I was the right one to pull one off. What if someone like Liron thought it was an invite for more crass language? Or if the head maid thought I might want to try on a purple dick for size? But before I could mention that my drab attire might help me disappear a little better, the conversation had rolled on without me.
“You’re going to love her,” Hadriel said. “Hopefully she won’t be put to death, or we’ll all be very sad.”
Leala tsked. “Don’t be a dick. That isn’t going to happen. The royals feel bad about the beta’s predicament.”
“Aurelia doesn’t. She keeps doubling down about how terrible she is and how many people she’s hurt and how she single-handedly created Granny’s empire.”