Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 147649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
A pledge with a twist of magic.
And then my mind flashes with—not a memory, but a possibility.
A wedding.
She comes underneath me, moaning into my ear, clawing at my shoulders, her legs wrapping tightly around me.
And then I come too. And in this moment of pure ecstasy, I understand what I need to do next.
We’re gonna need another ring.
CHAPTER FIVE – PIE
Pell and I stay together in his tomb for a while. I’m practically lying across his chest, dreamily replaying that last spelling in my head. I didn’t plan it. I haven’t planned any of them all day. And maybe the first couple sorta freaked me out, but this one… I actually sigh out loud. This one was perfect.
“What are you thinking about?” Pell is stroking my hair, lazily dragging his fingers through it.
“I just love you.” I can’t see his smile, but I can feel it. “And I don’t know what’s coming, but I meant that spelling.” I lift my head up, reposition so I can see his face, and then sigh out loud again. “Whatever happens, I’m on your side.”
He places his hands on my cheeks, still grinning. “And I’m on yours.”
“I go where you go.”
“If you lead, I’ll follow.”
We both smile now. And I lie back down on his chest. Content.
A little while later Pell gets up, adjusts his package in his pants, and grins down at me. “I have a pressing matter in the smithy.”
I’m confused. “What kind of pressing matter?”
“Need-to-know basis. But…” He glances to the part of the forest path that leads to the outside. “Would you mind staying inside the tomb for the rest of the day?”
“Why?”
“I don’t know what’s going on with them, Pie.” He kinda motions with a hand towards the outside. “But something is brewing. They’re mad at me right now and I don’t want them to take it out on you.”
“You’re not the only one they’re mad at.”
“All the more reason for you to stay inside.”
“But I have to go check on Jacqueline.”
He looks over at the doors. “That door pops you out onto the side of the mountain in town, remember? You can take a door, right?”
I nod. “Yeah. Sure. I hadn’t thought of that, but it’s a good idea.”
“Good. Then I’m gonna go take care of business in the smithy and I’ll be back later.”
He bends down to kiss me, but instead of a little peck goodbye, it’s a long, passionate affair. He even puts his hands on my head, like he can’t bear to let go of me, and our tongues play together for almost a full minute.
When he pulls away and stands back up, he sighs. “I already miss you.”
I kinda melt into the forest floor. And my eyes track his muscular back and furry legs as he jogs away, down the path.
I relax a little, kind of relieved that I don’t have to go outside. I really like Pell’s tomb. Mostly because I know it’s safe in here. No one can hurt me inside this tomb. And I’m glad he suggested that I use the doors to travel because that’s an excellent idea.
Also, a limitless one.
I get up and walk over to the line of doors. Most of them have a ring floating in front, but not all. The ones we’ve already used do not have a ring because Pell and I are still wearing them. Once you put them on, you can’t take them off.
I think this is because once you use them, they are assigned to that door forever. Maybe there is some kind of reset spelling to make a clean slate of destinations, but if so, I don’t know how to do it.
We’ve only used a few. The mountainside in Granite Springs, the bakery in Vinca, and Tarq’s office in Vinca.
Plus one more. The one I used to leave the Bottoms. I’m just not sure which door this is because it wasn’t planned and it didn’t come with a designated ring. In my head, I thought it was the Granite Springs door when I came out. The one Pell controls with his lion ring. But if it was, then I don’t know how that works. How would one get home from the Bottoms if the door leads to Granite Springs?
I dunno. None of this is the point of my deep thinking. The point is there’s fifty of them in total so it won’t matter at all if I use one to, say… go visit Tomas in the dungeon. Pell didn’t say anything about seeing Tomas when he left. He just said he didn’t want me to leave the tomb. And if I use a door, I won’t need to leave the tomb.
Yeah, it’s a little bit sneaky. But I’m not afraid of Tomas. I’m really not. Even if he turns back into his dragon self, I would still not be afraid of him. I would keep my distance, for sure. But that’s just common sense, not fear.