Total pages in book: 362
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
Ward’s head jerked up then, his gaze finding mine and not moving away as if he’d been snared.
“The other viktors are reborn, but not you. Because you were restored by an Arae. Your lives in the mortal realm are fabrications. Convincing ones. You learned to live many lies, and you never lost your memories. And you’re old. Older than some of the gods.” Images and words flashed in my mind, coming so fast it was hard to make sense of them, but I saw him when he was mortal. “It was many centuries ago, and you were with a woman—a pregnant woman, not of noble birth. Her name was…” I frowned. “Phena?” That didn’t sound right as I stopped in front of him. I lifted my hand, and before I even knew what in the world I was doing, I touched his cheek—
In my mind, I saw a woman with pale hair and a freckled, heart-shaped face. A woman who eventually gave birth to—
“Ronan,” I whispered, jerking my hand as I took a step back. My heart thundered. Reaver unfurled his wings, lifting his head as he let out a low, deeper call. “Ronan Lesly.” I sucked in a sharp breath, recognizing that surname. “There’s no way…”
“I can explain,” Ward said, straightening. “Or at least try to.”
Unable to speak, I nodded for him to continue.
A heavy sigh left him. “Many, many years ago, when I was mortal, a Queen of a fledgling kingdom—”
“The Vodina Isles,” I cut in.
He nodded. “The Queen knighted me, and I pledged to protect and serve her. I did so without hesitation,” he said, his throat working on a swallow. “But her marriage was one of convenience. One to strengthen ties with other kingdoms. However, the King was already in love with another. A daughter of an aging bookkeeper. And the Queen was aware. She had her own…” Flushing at the throat, he glanced at Reaver. “She had her own suitors, but everything changed when a babe began to grow in the mistress’s belly—one who was the illegitimate child of the King of Vodina. The Queen had yet to provide an heir, so she ordered the death of her husband’s mistress and, therefore, their unborn child—unfortunately, something common in that time.”
Knowing what had eventually become of the Vodina Isles, I imagined it was still common, but it didn’t make much sense to me. “Why? It couldn’t have been due to any fear that an illegitimate child would have some sort of claim to the throne.”
“She feared she would be unable to produce an heir,” Ward explained. “And yes, even if that were the case, an illegitimate child would still have no easy road to the throne. But it was more than that. It was an order born not of unrequited love but the desperation and fear of being tossed aside.”
“Gods,” I muttered, feeling just a tad bit sorry for the woman. If she hadn’t been able to provide an heir, her fear would have likely come to fruition. Many kingdoms still operated that way to this day. It was a whole lot of patriarchal bullshit.
Bullshit that I could change, couldn’t I?
I was pretty sure I could, but that was neither here nor there at the moment. “What happened?”
Ward’s chin lifted. “As a knight, I’d delivered my fair share of death, but not to women and children. Others she could’ve gone to would have no such qualms. So the short of it is, I committed treason. I went to the bookkeeper’s daughter, warned her of the threat, and protected her until the babe was born. But she was…unique for the time. She had no interest in simply being protected. She wanted to learn how to ensure her own safety. I taught her how to do just that.”
“You succeeded.”
Ward nodded.
“The Queen learned of your betrayal,” I guessed.
“She did,” he said. “The babe survived, and so did the mother. That was all that mattered.”
“I don’t think that is all that mattered,” I said.
“But it was,” Ward insisted. “For the bookkeeper’s daughter eventually became Queen of Vodina.”
My head cocked. “What happened to the first Queen?”
“Knowing the Queen would not stop until her child was dealt with, the bookkeeper’s daughter slipped into the palace one night and…well, no one knows exactly what transpired. But come morning, the Queen was dead.”
“Gee,” I murmured. “I wonder what happened.”
“I believe I may have been too successful in my training.” Ward grimaced, causing the faint lines at the corners of his eyes to deepen. “Either way, the bookkeeper’s daughter was the first non-noble to be placed on the throne. Her son, Ronan, eventually ruled Vodina, and the throne passed down through the family for centuries. It was the bloodline Ronan’s birth began and then ended with—”
“With the last King Lesly, who only had a daughter. A princess married to…” I swallowed, unable to say it because it was too unbelievable. “After the marriage, King Lesly was overthrown by the Lords of the Vodina Isles, and a new King was installed.”