Total pages in book: 163
Estimated words: 154735 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 774(@200wpm)___ 619(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154735 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 774(@200wpm)___ 619(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
He let the sentence drift. Then there was a silence that no one filled.
It was within the dense quiet that the implications of the tragedy clawed into them all anew, it seemed: A private guard with no King to protect. Brothers who had lost one of their own. A family… without a patriarch.
A shellan without her mate.
A young without his father.
A species without a leader.
All those levels of loss, private and public, intersecting into one void the size and shape of a grave… that would never be filled because the explosion had left no remains to bury.
“Anyway…” Tohr sighed. “That’s where we are, which is nowhere, actually. The King’s power was extensive, but he was the one who abolished the monarchy. So, yeah… of course, the irony is, the civilians he’s been meeting with all wanted his lineage to continue. They told us so, every time they showed up.”
Grumbles of agreement percolated around.
“But yeah, nothing to be done.”
More silence. To the point where Lassiter realized, it was all over. The Brotherhood. The mansion. This community. There were many parts to what had made the whole, but Wrath had been the binding. Without him, all was going to scatter, and Lassiter had the strangest sense that this was the last time they were going to be together at once—
The double doors to the study burst open with such force they banged against the walls.
Filling the void of the archway, a dark-haired female in a red and black gown stood proud and tall. In her arms, a young dressed in a black robe. By her side, the dead King’s dog.
Beth, the Queen, marched through the room, and as she went along, she looked at every single one of the males, her stare full of vengeance and purpose.
At the desk, she went around, faced them all…
And sat upon her hellren’s throne.
There was no weakness in her voice, no stammer or stutter, and there was no forgiveness, no quarter, no compromise:
“I will not allow the Lessening Society to rob my son of his father’s legacy.” Then, with even more power, she said, “Rahvyn.”
As ripples of confusion shot around the room, Lassiter recoiled and wheeled toward the door.
His beloved entered, and immediately looked at him.
I love you, she mouthed.
What the hell is going on, he wanted to ask. But instead, he just mouthed back, I love you, too.
With a nod, as if she needed his support and had gotten it—and thus was ready to move forward with something—his shellan started walking across the study, in the path cut by the Queen.
The transformation was sequential, the stages coming with each step his female took: First, her hair changed from platinum to black. Second, her body began to lengthen its limbs and fill out. Third, her robe altered shape and color.
Taller. Broader. No longer feminine, but masculine.
No longer Rahvyn…
… but Wrath.
By the time she reached the throne and turned around, she was the very image of their lost ruler, the one who had been killed saving his most trusted and loyal servant.
The eyes were pale green and had tiny pupils. The midnight hair fell from a widow’s peak down to the waist. Heavily muscled arms with tattoos of the great Blind King’s lineage along the insides were on display.
The black muscle shirt. The leathers.
The shitkickers.
One of the brothers started to faint; someone caught him. Vishous looked like he was going through a mental splintering. Even Eddie and Adrian had thrown out arms and were using one another as crutches to stay upright.
The last thing Rahvyn did was reach forward to the blotter.
And pick up a pair of black wraparound sunglasses that had been left behind.
Just before she slipped them onto the image of Wrath’s face, she mouthed those three words again to Lassiter.
Then it was complete. The transformation… done.
Beth spoke up in that new voice of hers. “We continue as if nothing happened. No one will know outside of this household. The civilians will continue to be heard, their concerns and problems sorted. The Lessening Society and Lash will believe they failed to kill my mate. And my son will have the opportunity to grow into maturity.”
She looked around. “First thing tonight, my husband Wrath will reinstate the monarchy. Though during his lifetime, it was his wish for democratic elections, in this current situation, the Council will take control of ruling the population, and they will abuse their power because they always have. Families without means will suffer, the slayers will get the upper hand, and the species will die off. That is what will happen. Therefore, we will reverse his decision. Sometime in the future, my son can reinstate the election process in honor of his father. But it is too dangerous for all of us right now, and I’m not just talking about the people in this house.”