Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
I get weird looks from the War People, who are on edge, staring down the vampires.
“No takers? Good. Now, can I get a volunteer to feed me?” I ask.
Alwar’s intense blue eyes flicker toward his tent. I know he wants to go in there with me, but as king, he needs to save face.
Right on cue, Alwar’s brother Tiago emerges from his tent and marches toward us. Tiago has cropped black hair that matches his stubble, and stunning golden eyes that leave nothing to mystery. In a way, I appreciate how transparent he is, even if he’s a stupid bastard who hates me almost as much as I hate him. Tiago the Terrible, I call him.
“Tiago will do it,” Alwar says.
I try not to laugh. Tiago’s going to hate being my snack. I love it.
I smile. “Hello, Tiago. Alwar has volunteered you to be my juice box. Where do you want to do this?”
“If she gets near me with those fangs, I will remove her head,” he snarls.
I laugh. “Now, now, Tiago. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“I am not afraid,” he growls. “I simply do not want my body to be defiled by a lowly vampire.”
Hisses erupt from the trees.
I shake my head. “Sounds to me like you’re just too scared to be bitten, yet several of your men gladly volunteered to feed me this week. So are you saying they’re braver than you?”
“No.”
“Then stop with the temper tantrums,” Alwar grumbles.
“Yes, Tiago,” I smirk, “tantrums aren’t very becoming for a ruthless Wall Man of your stature. You’re bringing shame to my husband.”
Tiago’s nostrils flare.
I love that he knows he has to do this. And if you think I’m being petty, I’ll point out that Tiago tried to kill me just last week. His people stopped him. The kicker is that he’d taken a vow to protect me, and when he broke his word, the No Ones came for him. I stopped them; specifically, I stopped Bard. He’d been more than ready to settle some old scores with his cruel younger brother. Like I said, there’s animosity between siblings in their family.
Tiago jerks his head toward his tent. Normally, War People sleep under the stars, but Alwar said they were planning to stay indefinitely, so tents were in order.
Feeling Alwar’s jealous eyes on me the entire time, I follow Tiago. There’s nothing inside his tent except a few gray furs on the ground. The tent is made of woven dark brown fabric that reminds me of burlap. It’s not waterproof, but then again, it only rains here every hundred years, and when it does, the water is pure acid.
The only clean water they get comes from River Wall. That water is fed into a stream that eventually goes underground. Those closest to the water supply, like the War People, raise a few crops, which they use to trade or to supplement their meat-heavy diets. The kingdoms that are furthest from the water source survive off hunting alone.
With so little clean water, one has to ask how this world has so many trees and plants, but then again, none of them resemble the beautiful dense forest back home. Here, everything glows neon during the day. Perhaps the vegetation has adapted to feed off sunlight and any moisture in the air.
Or they just eat meat.
Tiago remains standing, staring straight ahead. “Go on then, leech. Take your meal.”
Did he just call me a leech? “Lie down. I want to sip from your neck.”
His golden eyes float down toward me.
“Do it, Tiago, or I’ll call in your soldiers to hold you down. After you attacked me, your queen, I doubt they’d object.” The War People were pretty pissed off about his behavior. They believe I’m good luck.
He exhales with a grumble and lies on the soft furs. I walk up to the side of his head and sniff. “On second thought, I’d rather starve. You smell like weakness.”
“But you—what the…”
I laugh and leave the tent, knowing that Tiago will never like me, but perhaps I’ll gain his respect. He’s a warrior through and through with a one-track mind, which is why he’ll never make a great king. To him, fighting and killing are all that matter.
“What happened?” asks Alwar.
“I prefer to discuss it in your tent.”
Alwar stifles a smile and leads the way. He offers me his wrist the moment we’re alone. I think he likes when I need him. He likes the intimacy of this act. Maybe because we can’t have sex. Or maybe this is all a show, to make me believe he has real feelings. I know his biggest priority is getting back on the big throne.
Not whining. Just stating the facts.
I bite down on his wrist and feel his hand cup the back of my body.
“I cannot wait to be the same size, Lake. I know the fucking will be amazing.”