Total pages in book: 210
Estimated words: 200096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1000(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 667(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 200096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1000(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 667(@300wpm)
“Our conversation was brief. He called me ‘son’ and demanded I pledge allegiance and die swiftly or rebel and die mercilessly slow. Oh, and he tossed Lord Adley’s head at my feet as a gift.” Zander smirks. “Which frankly is a gift.”
I find little humor in this. “And what did you say?”
“I denied him, of course. And then I provoked Sofie.”
“You did not.” My fingers grip his shoulders, as if clinging to him will somehow squash my growing anxiety. “And what did she do?”
“Tried to kill me, naturally. Valk swept us out of there before she succeeded. That’s the orange dragon’s name. He seems to be healing from the wound he sustained.”
“And Xiaric is his child with Caindra. Lucretia told me,” I say dismissively, my thoughts hitched on what he just said and along with it, my anger. “So, she nearly succeeded, is what you’re saying?”
“But she didn’t—”
“And then what? You’d be dead and where would we all be? How would we go on?” How would I face this without him? Anguish flares inside me with the thought. “Why would you bait her? She’s dangerous.” And I haven’t even seen what she can do as a key caster. I’ve only seen the aftermath of her slaughtering Korsakov and his men without earning a single scratch, despite their guns against her single sword.
“Because I needed to know how she felt about Malachi claiming her husband’s body.” Zander’s tone bleeds defensiveness. He doesn’t like his choices questioned. I suppose that comes with the territory of being born and bred a king.
“And?”
“I do not think she is pleased.”
A small twinge of satisfaction stirs inside me. After what Sofie did, I’m glad it’s not all going as planned for her. “She’s still standing beside him, though.”
“Yes, but it could work to our advantage, if we know which levers to pull. I needed to know, Romeria. I did not see any choice in the matter.”
I sigh heavily and focus on the reality that Zander is still here. “Please promise you won’t go back to Cirilea without me.”
His chest lifts with his deep breath. “Fine. As long as you promise the same.”
I think back to those nymph doors, and how easy it is for me to slip in and out of the city. “Fine.”
The sudden swell of tension between us ebbs.
“How did Malachi get to Cirilea and seize the throne so quickly, though?” Not even a day has passed, and he’s claimed a kingdom?
“He has spent how many millennia trying to get back here? Watching and waiting, scheming. I am not at all surprised.” The muscle in Zander’s jaw ticks. No wonder he came to the rift while I slept. He needed to blow off steam.
“He saw an abandoned kingdom.” I hear Lucretia’s voice in my head. All eyes elsewhere. It couldn’t have been easier. “What is he like?”
“Honestly? Charming, even while he was threatening my life.”
Silence hangs over the tent. “What are we going to do?” I ask the question, but I don’t really expect an answer.
“For now, he holds Cirilea and all those who remain there. There are barely enough guards to maintain order in the city, but I imagine he’ll use fear to keep the people in line. Carrying Lord Adley’s head around will certainly help with that,” he adds dryly. “We hold the might of Islor’s and Ybaris’s armies, as well as that of Mordain’s casters, and the nymphs—”
“Don’t count on that. They gave me a horn that we can use once. They said to save it until all hope is lost and it will bring relief.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“Right?” I relay what Agatha told me, earning Zander’s curse and urge that we throw it into the rift.
“Even without the nymphs, we have the dragons. They are possibly our strongest allies. And we have you, the Queen for All.” He draws an aimless pattern across my back. “We must keep Malachi’s influence isolated to Cirilea while we win favor everywhere else, and once we know how to get rid of him, we move in.”
“You’ve given this some thought.”
“It was a very long night.” He pauses. “I saw Wendeline. She does not appear well, but she lives still.”
My heart leaps with that bit of good news. I may still not forgive her for what she did to Zander’s family, but I know she didn’t do it out of hatred for them. “Can we get her out of Cirilea?”
“Not if Malachi keeps her at his side. But we are likely better off leaving her there. The priestess might be our only ally within those walls.”
“You think she’s an ally now?” There was a long stretch of time when Zander swore he would never trust another caster again.
“To the greater good of Islor? I think I’ve been proven wrong on more than one occasion. Perhaps she will still be of use to us,” he admits, his jaw tensing. “I have no idea where Annika is. I fear what will happen to her if Malachi finds her.”