Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 163(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 163(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
The ground began to shake and quake beneath my feet. As if it too was afraid of what approached. Refusing to flee like a coward, I stood my ground…and waited. In short order, I could hear brittle branches snapping as the undergrowth of the forest was crushed under their horses’ hooves.
Then it happened…the kingsmen broke through the trees.
A deep and primal preservation instinct had me taking a few steps back. These men could not possibly be normal humans. The humans I had observed were either slight and weak-limbed or corpulent from drink and overindulgence. These men were neither. Astride their horses, they seemed to embody the ancient myths of the giants who once roamed this Earth. Each of the four had thick arms with wide shoulders and heavily muscled chests. Instead of the effeminate, tightly coiffed curls of the men of King Basil’s court, these men let their hair grow wild. It hung in thick waves down to their shoulders in the deep, rich colors of the soil. Dark brown, chestnut, a light sand and one who was even as gray as stone at the temples.
Eschewing the hammered tin armor of the king’s ineffective guard, these men wore leather breeches with linen shirts, each dyed an ominous black. It was as if they wanted to send a message to their enemies that they did not require armor to vanquish anyone in their path.
I now understood the true reason why the kingsmen were feared but never seen. Surely King Basil had them conjured from the depths of some black magic hole deep inside the fiery Earth’s belly.
No, these men could not possibly be human.
Yet, for all their brawn and bravado, I was still the powerful fairy queen.
Tilting my chin high, I asked, my voice deep with regal indignation, “Who dares enter my realm without permission?”
While my withering look would have sent most scurrying, these men responded with only a chuckle.
Throwing my shoulders back, I tried again. “I command you to leave my forest.”
The one with the graying temples leaned forward in his saddle, resting his large hands on the horn. His stance was casual and unafraid, which tweaked my anger.
“Queen Zelladine, you know who we are and why we have come,” he said.
Only partially pacified by his proper use of my title, I responded sharply, “You presume too much. I have not the faintest idea why you have disturbed my peace.”
All four men leaned back in their saddles, each exchanging a cryptic look. They then turned their gazes back on me. Each had piercing eyes of either azure blue or emerald green. It was unsettling to see such bright, intense eye colors on men such as these. My stomach twisted and tightened but not entirely from fear.
“That is your one and only lie, your highness,” said the largest one with hair the color of dark red clay and disturbingly blue eyes. I think they called him Sigmun.
“How dare you call me a liar?” I exclaimed as my hands fisted nervously in my black robes.
“How dare you lie,” the one with tawny blond hair quickly responded.
“If you don’t cooperate, you are going to find we will dare quite a bit more,” threatened the one with gray hair, his voice dark and low.
Shifting my eyes from one to the other, I could feel the energy radiating from them. Power and anger. Especially from the one who had yet to speak. From the moment they entered the glen, his eyes had not wavered from me. It was unsettling and oddly stirring.
These kingsmen were setting me back on my heels and I did not appreciate it one little bit. I was unaccustomed to feeling overwhelmed and, strangely enough, almost powerless. Usually, I was the most commanding presence, but these men—with their assured, confident manner and displayed brute strength—were making me feel almost…submissive. Breathing heavily through my nose, I nurtured the feelings of outrage such a weak thought brought to my breast. Submissive indeed. Over my dead body would I ever submit to anyone…even the kingsmen.
“I’d like to see you try,” I ground out through clenched teeth.
“Zella, you don’t want the torment we can bring. Lift the curse on the House of Basil. Return the king’s daughter’s body to her family for a proper burial and we will leave you in peace.”
So, the dark, quiet one had finally spoken. His words were soft and evenly measured, giving them an ominous sound. The threat undeniable.
Bristling at the familiar sound of my given name being used in such an informal manner, I snapped back, all the while ignoring the fluttering in my stomach that the almost-endearment caused. “Never. King Basil shall never have another son or daughter. His lineage of hate and greed dies with him.”
“Remember when you are begging for mercy and yet receive none, you chose this,” responded the dark, quiet one.