Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 69923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Not only were Alexander, Castor, and Jason staring at me, but my twenty-odd-man guard escort all gave me assessing looks.
“Jason,” Alexander said, eyes narrowing. “How long did you say it would take to get information back on Aella Galanis?”
“No more than a week.”
“Send that on as soon as you get it.”
Jason nodded at him, but looked at me. I didn’t understand what I said that turned all of their expressions suspicious, but I had a feeling the main point did not get through.
“What?” I finally snapped. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You dress—and curse—like a peasant, but you speak like a noble,” Alexander said. “How does a girl from a small village trapped between the sea and stone string together such an articulate response?”
Heat burned the back of my neck. “My people aren’t stupid. Neither is any peasant I’ve met.”
“Not stupid, no,” Jason said in that deep, unhurried baritone. “But schooling is only free in Olympia up to the age of thirteen. To take additional classes you must pay. To attend university, you must pay more. The average family from Port Delphin can’t afford it.”
I turned away. “The line’s moving. We can go.”
“Just another one of your secrets, eh, Aella?” Gods, that smirk always came bounding back like a dog who caught a stick.
“Sir,” one of the guards said. “What do we do if she is a runaway noble?”
Alexander spurred the horses on. “We tell her family they can have her back in four years.”
It seemed to take an eternity for our time to come. I didn’t want inside that academy, but I definitely wanted out of this cart. My butt, hands, and legs went numb ages ago.
It was Alexander who unchained me, shoved my bag in my hands, and grasped my elbow in a firm grip.
“You’re done after we walk through the gates,” he told them. “Jason, I’m the first one you contact after that information on her comes through. Castor, you’re dismissed from imperial service.”
“What!” He nearly fell climbing out of the cart. “Why?!”
“I don’t like spies. If we cross paths again, you’ll discover the boundless depths of that hatred.” He hauled me around, leaving Castor’s gaping shock in our wake. “Pick up your feet, Aella. Wouldn’t want to be late on your first day.”
I couldn’t stop a glance back. “You didn’t have to do that,” I said softly.
“No? Are you saying you would be kinder to the woman who told the watchers she saw you heading into Calliope’s Forest that morning?”
“Depends. Was she following orders she had no choice but to obey?” I bore a hole in his head. “Shouldn’t such a strong supporter of the army understand the chain of command? Or do you believe every now and then, there’s room for rebellion?”
He blew out a sigh. “Gods, I miss the days you sat mute on a horse’s ass, counting dandelions.”
I blinked. He knew that’s what I was doing? Just how often did he peek at me while pretending I didn’t exist?
“All I’m saying is give that man his job back, or admit you’re a hypocrite.”
“All I’m saying is there’s a hole in your pants. Everyone can see your milky-pale ass.”
My eyes bugged. “What!” I snapped around, craning my head to see. My feet tangled and down I went. “Ahh!”
Hands grabbed and put me back on my feet. They didn’t belong to Alexander. He was too busy smirking his ass off.
“There isn’t a hole in my pants,” I gritted.
He shrugged. “No, but don’t you wish you could do a lot worse than dismiss me for lying to your face? See, no one likes a deceiving piece of shit. Admit it or you’re a hypocrite.”
“Oh, I’m going to admit a few things to you, Jackass. Clear your schedule for the week.”
If anything, his smirk widened. “I’ll take a rain check on that. Now stop stalling.” He grabbed hold of my arm. “Get through the gates.”
That’s rich accusing me of stalling while he’s spinning tales about my milky-pale ass. All the same, I did appreciate the extra minutes outside the gates. They gave me a few precious moments to think of a way out.
There are guards on either side of me. If I run, I won’t make it two feet. If by some miracle I did slip through their net, the only place to go would be miles and miles of woods with no food, water, or map. The nymphs would be taunting my starving corpse in a week’s time. There was no stopping this.
Alexander and I stepped off the dirt path onto the stone steps.
All I could do now was find a way to escape the inescapable fortress.
“You did it.” I tugged free of him and was mildly surprised that he actually let me go. “You can run off now. But before you go.” I stepped in his path. “I just want to say... that I despise you and it’s my deepest wish that you eat a plate of tainted meat and shit for so long and hard, that you blow a hole through your pants.”