Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 129912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
She weaves her way through the crowd, and I glance back at my mate who shakes his head and holds my gaze.
Keep your wall down.
I blow him a kiss. I’ll try.
EIGHT
CAZ
What is wrong with these women? Yes, it’s Armistice Night, but that doesn’t mean we’re entirely safe.
This night is a façade. We’re all under watch and acting like we’re not at each other’s throats every other day than this one.
I don’t have the urge to fight or argue, but I do still have my senses about me, and if there’s one thing I know about Vakeeli, it’s to always have your guard up.
There are Rippies everywhere. I’ve caught them staring with foul grimaces, but they don’t come near me. Their soldiers are everywhere, but my fleet blends in as an equal threat. You’d think those fuckers would be grateful after we sent them a shit ton of rubies. Then again, I did kill their previous monarch.
I order another drink and figure I’ll return to the balcony, but two people barrel past me, nearly causing me to spill it. A woman lets out a shrill laugh as she tugs on the hand of a large man. And not just any man. Killian.
He doesn’t even notice me as he rushes down one of the corridors with that Gilded woman from the counter. They’re going straight for Armistice Night lodgings.
“Oi, you saw that, right?” Rowan approaches without his suit jacket, grinning like a loon. “Killian just ran off with a woman! That’s Hannie Keery. She’s Gilded, you know?”
“So I’ve heard. Have you asked him why he’s fooling around with a woman who’ll likely be married off one day? We all know that won’t end well.”
“I literally just found out he was fucking around with her, but I swear this is a revelation,” Rowan laughs. “For a second there, I thought he was into men. Not that I’d have an issue with that, but ya know. Can never be too sure that every man loves pussy these days. Where’s Willow?”
“Upstairs with Juniper. Juniper is changing. Apparently she jumped fully clothed into a bloody lake.” I shake my head at the thought. She spent all that time looking for the perfect dress and paying thousands of rubies, only to get it soaking wet. That woman is ridiculous, I swear.
“Why does she need Willow with her to change clothes?”
“Don’t ask me,” I grumble, plucking a bloom out of my case. “They’re either talking shit about me or they’re discussing some girly issue. Willow has her wall up right now even though I asked her to keep it down, so I can’t tell. I feel her though. She’s calm so I assume they’re fine.”
Rowan takes out a bloom of his own, sparking it just as a pair of women calls his name.
He whirls around with the bloom pinched between his lips, and they gesture for him to follow while cocking their heads toward the lodgings.
“Met them on the dance floor.” A smile splits his face in half as he bumps me with his elbow. “If you leave, I’ll catch you at the manor, yeah?” He jogs off before I can answer, draping his arms around both girls’ waists and marching down the wing.
I finish my bloom while watching the ocean ripple. I try tapping in with Willow again, but she still has that damn wall up. I knock mentally, waiting, but she doesn’t let me in.
Then I feel something heavy behind me. Someone’s presence.
The hairs on the back of my neck rise, and goosebumps prickle my skin. Just as quickly, something sharp presses to the back of my neck.
NINE
CAZ
I spin around and clutch the hand holding the blade pointed at me. It’s a double-edged dagger, the metal gleaming beneath the lights. But it’s not the dagger I’m annoyed about.
It’s the person holding it.
He’s young—a bit too young to threaten me, really. His beady eyes are round and familiar, his lips pinched tight, and his nostrils flared.
His skin is tan, and his black hair is slicked back. He’s taller than me by an inch or two, and unlike his father Rami, he’s not a fat fucking pig. He’s stronger, leaner. Clearly takes care of himself.
“Devlin.”
He grimaces and tries snatching the blade away, but I don’t let him. I hold on to his hand a few seconds longer before shoving him against the chest with my other hand.
He stumbles, and his grip around the handle slacks, giving me the chance to snatch the dagger away from him.
“You’ve been dodging me,” I tell him, pointing the tip of the blade at his throat now.
“Fuck you!” he seethes, eyes flaring.
I suppose he’s not that different from his father after all.
“You killed my father,” Devlin snaps. He reaches for something beneath his suit, but I rush him and pin him to the nearest column. I press the edge of the blade to his throat, and he growls, nostrils flaring.