Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 127026 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127026 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Dozan drawled.
Kerrigan looked to Fordham. They’d agreed it would be best for Kerrigan to ask even though it was Fordham’s plan. There was no love lost between them.
“We need Wynter.”
Dozan’s eyes hardened. “Need her how?”
“We have a mission, and she has expertise that we can utilize.”
“You want to give her magic back and set her loose on the city,” he said bluntly.
Kerrigan winced at that. That sounded like a worst-case scenario by a long shot.
“Not exactly.”
“How is she?” Fordham cut in.
Dozan’s eyes slid to him. “Recovering.”
“Can we see her?”
“No,” he barked.
“She should get a say in this.”
“She didn’t get a say when you dumped her on my doorstep and told me to fix her,” Dozan growled, low and menacing. “You don’t get to leave your problems with me and collect them again when they’re convenient for you. That isn’t how this works.”
“We wouldn’t be here if we had any other way,” Kerrigan argued.
Fordham took a step forward. “I did not dump my sister here with you or forget about her. Kerrigan told me that this would be a safe place for her, since you have considerable resources in dealing with unorthodox illnesses. I was going to take her to the House of Shadows with me, where she surely would have been allowed to run rampant, causing mayhem, and hurting herself further. Neither of us wanted that. Her mother was mad. She is mad. If there was a way to help her, any way at all, I would take it. If that meant dealing with you, then I agreed, and I’d do it again. But she is not your prisoner.” His shadows crept higher around him as his fury grew. “She deserves her say in this.”
It was a testament to Dozan’s assurance in himself that he didn’t cower at Fordham’s words. He just nodded once.
“We’ll see what she says,” Dozan said.
Kerrigan put a reassuring hand on Fordham’s arm. Then, they followed Dozan out of his quarters and through a labyrinthine maze of corridors. They stopped in front of a blank door. Nothing gave away that it held one of the most powerful Fae in Alandria.
“Wait here a moment.” Dozan took a breath and then released it before opening the door. He leaned against the doorframe. “Hello, Wynter.”
“What are you doing here again?” she demanded.
“How is your treatment?”
“If you mean the sludge I’ve been drinking, it’s been shit.”
“Amond is working on the right dose, but you already seem more amiable.”
“Does this seem amiable?”
Kerrigan guessed that she had just given him a rude gesture. But otherwise, she sounded … almost normal. Not like anyone else normal, but Wynter normal. None of the insanity that had dogged her for so long. Was it actually working?
“Are you up for visitors?”
Wynter was silent for a long moment. “What’s the catch?”
“There is no catch.”
“I’ve been here long enough to know when you’re lying.”
Dozan’s smile was feline. “I never lie.”
Kerrigan snorted and shot Fordham a look. He shrugged.
“Who?” Wynter asked, and for a second, she sounded almost … hopeful.
Dozan kicked the door the rest of the way open to reveal Fordham and Kerrigan beyond.
Wynter balled her hands into fists. She looked half-rabid despite her clearly being well taken care of. Her white hair was in a plait over one shoulder. Her black leathers had been replaced with a white gown. A chain dangled in the room, but it wasn’t tied to her. She could have launched herself across the room at them. She could have tried to kill them. But without her magic, she only had her skill and no weapons.
“You were dead,” Wynter said. She shook her head. Her eyes went to Dozan’s in confusion. “He was dead. Is this … is this a trick? I killed him.”
“No,” Fordham said gently. “You didn’t kill me. Kerrigan helped me in time, and I recovered.” He put a hand to his chest. “I have a scar, if you’d like to confirm it.”
“This isn’t glass?” she asked Dozan.
Kerrigan didn’t know what that meant, but Dozan shook his head, as if he did. “It’s not glass. It’s real, pet.”
Kerrigan’s eyes shot to him. Pet. Dozan was full of pet names, but having one for Wynter seemed dangerous. Of course … wasn’t that how Dozan liked his women?
Wynter put a hand to her head. “You’re not dead.”
Fordham shook his head. “I am as much alive as you are.”
After a moment, she asked, “Do you hate me? Are you here to return the favor?”
“No. I don’t blame you for your mental health problems. I have come instead to ask a favor, if you feel up to it.”
Wynter narrowed her eyes. “A favor from me?”
“Indeed.” He took another step forward and then slowly sank into a chair next to her. “I am not upset with you, Wynter. You were put in the worst of circumstances, and we had no way of helping you. I agreed to bring you here to help you. I didn’t want you to have House of Shadows’ justice for your actions. I wanted you to recover. Do you feel better?”