Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 48827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 244(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 163(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 244(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 163(@300wpm)
He’s still…him, if not a little more modern looking. Still has that well of power radiating from his very bones, still has those broad shoulders and wise, cunning dark eyes. Still smells earthy like orchids and moss.
Pain lashes through me like a lightning strike at he both familiar and incredibly strange at the same time.
I don’t know him anymore and that…hurts.
I do my best to swallow the emotions threatening to choke me as Zachariah leads me into what’s clearly the king's study. The room is spacious with massive rows and rows of ancient tomes, the leather bindings well-worn. The king himself is now seated behind a desk in the middle of the room, glancing over some papers strewn there as if to give us some semi-privacy.
“How are you alive?” Zachariah asks before the king has even glanced up at us.
I glare up at him. “How are you awake?”
“What happened to you?” he counters.
“Why do you care?” I fire back.
“Why didn't you call out to me?” he growls.
“Why didn't you show up for our wedding?” The question rips from my lips as the adrenaline rises to a crescendo beneath my skin.
I can't even begin to process the relief I feel at seeing him alive and healthy as that emotion snuggles right up next to betrayal.
My heart breaks all over again.
I didn’t know he awoke from stasis.
He made no attempts to reach out to me through a bond that very well may be nonexistent now.
He clearly had other priorities.
Four hundred years of working on my self-worth and confidence dissolves with one look into his dark eyes. I'm unraveling, feeling absolutely dispensable again because he knows our king—our current king—well enough to address him so informally as he did earlier. They have a familiar relationship.
So how long has he been awake?
A decade?
Two?
More?
It doesn't matter.
The female he knew centuries ago is gone.
And I do my best to remind myself of that as I reinforce the walls I've built around my heart.
“Do I need to be here for this?” the king asks.
“Yes!” Zachariah and I both snap, and I break his fiery stare to turn toward my king and bow low at the waist.
“My king,” I add respectfully.
The king cocks an eyebrow at me, but nods slightly. “Zachariah, you know I respect your leadership and judgment, but I’d like to know why you wended a perfect stranger into my personal residence.”
“Apologies, Alek,” Zachariah says, motioning to me. “May I introduce you to—”
“Talia,” I say cutting off Zacharia’s formal introduction. “Talia Ashcroft. And despite my forced arrival, I was on my way to you, your Highness.”
The king glances curiously at Zachariah, the two of them sharing some silent look that has a trickle of foreign power scraping the back of my neck.
“What for?” the king asks.
“To discuss the major baby bloodmad vampire problem you have on your hands,” I explain, not so casually stepping to the side to put more distance between Zachariah and myself. I have to hold myself together, have to keep myself from crumbling. Seeing Z…it’s a pain I didn’t think I’d ever feel again—a searing, unforgiveable pain that rips at my heart.
I take another step away, sucking a deep breath in an effort to not fall apart.
Despite the vastness of the study and its delightful smell of leather and ancient paper, Zachariah’s scent is swarming me, making my baser instincts perk up in a way I simply can't allow.
“I was on a hunt,” I continue. “Tracking someone who I believe may be responsible for the creation of so many new vampires. Someone infinitely more powerful than a baby bloodmad, but I got sidetracked when I picked up on the trail that led me to Zachariah. And it’s a good thing I did or else he would’ve been killed.” I try to deliver the comment with as much iciness as possible, but my heart clenches at the thought of him dying.
It doesn't matter I no longer bear his mark.
Doesn't matter that it's been centuries since I last saw him.
My soul and his were once almost permanently tied, and the idea of him being harmed is physically revolting to me.
A shudder runs down my spine.
What if I hadn't been there tonight? What would he have done? Why hadn’t he used his wealth of power to rid them all at once?
Too many questions race through my mind, making my head spin.
The king stands, coming around his desk as he looks at Zachariah. “You were hunting alone?”
“I wasn't going to bother anyone else. They were enjoying the party. But I’m still dedicated to the mission of finding my brother.”
That comment brings me up short, but I keep my mouth shut.
“I was checking out a lead from Mrs. Zorin,” he continues. “I was ambushed.”
“By infant bloodmads?” the king asks. “They're just running amuck now?” He aims the inquiry at me, but it's Zachariah who answers.