Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 104842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
“Good. I’m glad.”
“When you report to my father that you are not leaving, and inform him of my imminent arrival, relay to him that I am thoroughly vexed and we will have words when I reach the palace.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Always.”
“How come you couldn’t say no to the king when he commanded you to hunt down Alrek, but you can say no now when he’s directed me to go to Decimus’s court?”
“Because you belong to me. You’re mine. Just as all who are yours—like Zev, and Dae-Jung, and your guards—are mine. He can task me to do something, or Hadrian, or Tiago, as we are his domain. But you are only mine.”
“Like the queen is only his.”
“Yes. Exactly.”
I cleared my throat. “I do want to go, though.”
“To Decimus’s court?”
“Yes. I need to see what’s going on with his people.”
“Why is that?”
“Did you know that your father has a deal with Decimus—an agreement your grandfather put into place and the king has honored—that allows Decimus to rule his holding any way he sees fit?”
“Well, of course, every royal has their own—”
“No, no. Not like your mother’s island, but a place where, according to the non-assassin we have locked up in the dungeon, the iceni class there are bred like cattle.”
“I don’t under—start at the beginning.”
Lying in our bed, I told Varic everything I’d learned from Sorin and Zev. When I was done, silence greeted me on the other end.
“Varic?”
“I wanted us to go away after the wedding, only for a couple of weeks, to Capri or Monaco, or even to our beach house, but now we’ll be off to Ophir instead.”
I was so happy, and even more so, proud. As soon as I told Varic that something was wrong, he was ready to go and inspect his grand-uncle’s holding.
“And of course,” Varic added, “this man who swore he would only talk to me spoke to you.”
“Well, that part turned out to be sort of a lie. I’m sure if you were here, he would have talked to you in a heartbeat, but he also knew that you and I were to be mated, so he came, specifically, to talk to me.”
“How did he know we were going to be and were not already?”
“Well, once I got your seal, I think everyone knew it was a done deal. The only one who doesn’t get it is Kaan.”
“Kaan?”
“Ask Hadrian. So because they realized in Ophir that, wedding or not, I was your consort, Sorin, who is the only one living of the six who came, told me all about his home.”
“You sounded sad when you said he’s the only one living.”
“I am. I feel terrible.”
“And what would you have done differently? No one believed you when you said the king’s life was in danger.”
“But it wasn’t. All they wanted—”
“How were you to know that?”
He was right. “The way they were at the ball…how could I have known?”
“They had to know their plan would produce casualties. I mean, really, Jason, attacking the king with weapons? How on earth were you supposed to have thought, oh, they just intend to detain him. That’s madness. They could have just come to the palace and asked to speak to him.”
“I doubt they had any idea they could do such a thing. They’ve lived their whole lives in Ophir, with no contact with the outside world. The only reason they knew you were getting married was because you sent word to everyone.”
“I did. And I sent a royal missive to Decimus by courier as it was done a hundred years ago. Of course, Indira, Dairo, and Shafir went by plane and helicopter, not by boat and horseback. But it was a proclamation that was read to Decimus in front of his entire veiled court.”
“Veiled?”
“Yes. Traditionally, outsiders were greeted with everyone covered so they could never report on who they saw. It hasn’t been a practice for ages, but Ophir, as you probably guessed, is like something out of a history book.”
“Was Decimus veiled as well?”
“My dreki stated that he was.”
“That’s interesting, but how do you know that the order was read to everyone there?”
“Because those were my instructions, and my dreki followed them.”
Indira, Dairo, and Shafir were three of the guards who came into Varic’s service after four left to guard me. He was still looking to add one more to his service, but so far no one had impressed him enough. It was the greatest honor bestowed on a soldier to protect the prince, as they did not stand guard in the palace as the king’s men did. They flew all over the world with Varic and had to be ready for anything at a moment’s notice. Hadrian trained them mercilessly, mine as well, and as nice as Brenna, Eris, Kamari, and Sibel were, they were also utterly lethal. Anyone who came near me or Varic without permission was simply dead.