Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 115347 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115347 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Had Fayette and Kaysar arranged this together?
Expression as sharp as a blade, Norok unfolded from his chair. “Do you want her here, your tent or the dungeon?”
The warrior suspected something was off, too? “I’ll be on foot. Find me.”
A nod. Then his friend flittered off.
Walking, hoping to level his mood, Micah stomped from the hut. He motioned to two guards posted nearby. Two of many, but the only ones visible. They understood. They were to return the most vulnerable citizens to their homes. Those who’d sought shelter in common areas Micah designated for occasions such as this.
He headed for his tent. For Red. He would put his eyes on her, then deal with his oracle. Dirt flung from the toes of his boots. Anyone in his way moved as hastily as possible. The sun was setting in the distance, turning the sky into a blanket of plum streaked with lavender.
A sullen Norok appeared at his side, keeping pace. She’s not where I left her, and clothes are missing from her tent, he signed. Hands were simpler to read than lips when they trekked.
Micah’s resentment heated, melting into rage. Had Kaysar sneaked out the oracle? He must have. Why else pretend to desire an extended, lifelong truce? Not for a moment did Micah believe the other king wished to placate that crone Pearl Jean, a former human who’d eaten a royal fae heart to gain immortality.
Had Fayette willingly left with Kaysar? She despised the Unhinged One and his bride, yes. Like Norok, she’d lost someone in the battle. A husband. Did she seek revenge? Or had she foreseen Micah’s loss in the war, and she thought to abandon him to serve the victor...
Denial roared inside his head. Lose his home? His lands? His future? Lead his people to the ultimate defeat? No! He had yet to unleash the full scope of his ability upon his rivals. They knew nothing of the troll armies waiting on the sidelines, his to command.
Only five weeks to go. Thirty-five days. Vapor, there and gone.
Find her. Bring her to me, Micah signed. He required a new oracle as soon as possible. In times of calamity, foresight often proved necessary. But who could he trust? And where could he find a new seer? Among their kind, the ability to peer into the future remained rare.
It will be so. You have my word. Norok vanished.
Seconds later, Elena approached from the opposite direction. No longer did she wear the blue ensemble. Instead, she’d donned a black tunic and leathers, her preferred attire when utilizing her glamara, merging into any background, undetectable. The reason she’d earned the exalted role of royal spy. Or mole, as she sometimes called herself. In their first year together, she’d proved herself to be a valuable member of his inner circle.
“Well?” he demanded. The surdi root was wearing off, his ears switching on, picking up noises. More than that, his curiosity was as bothersome as a rusty nail stuck in his heel. Was Red friend or foe?
“Your prisoner did indeed attempt to escape,” Elena informed him.
Relief hit. Finally, a bit of good news. Kaysar’s spy would not endanger herself to flee the one she hoped to probe for information.
His companion huffed. “Why do you look so happy about this? If you’ll stop thinking with your dangle bits, you’ll do the right thing and kill her. She’s pure trouble.”
Kill Red? No. “Her treatment isn’t up for discussion. And what do you know of a man’s...dangle bits?” If ever his spy had entertained a lover, he didn’t know it.
His first act as viceroy, he’d ended the annual marriage line. At any time, Elena could have chosen a temporary companion; however, she’d had no interest in being “tied to misery.” A sentiment Micah understood. Never mind that secret part of him had never quit craving a family of his own. To finally experience the sense of belonging so many of his soldiers took for granted.
“My knowledge isn’t up for discussion,” she replied with a humph.
“Why would I kill Red, anyway?” he grumbled. Despite any lingering effects of the tea, irritation seeped from him. “She isn’t a spy.”
“Don’t be so sure of that,” Elena snapped. “She knows Kaysar. Or knows of him. I’m sure of it.”
And? “Everyone knows of him.”
“Does everyone hide when he crosses their path?”
“Yes.” Everyone but Micah.
“I’m telling you, she recognized him as more than a legend of mass destruction,” Elena continued. “Distress etched her features. Tears welled. Though she had ample opportunity to vacate the area to circumvent him—and you!—she opted to return to your tent.”
Red had returned of her own free will? Because she feared contact with Kaysar? Did she think to use Micah as her shield? With pleasure, little beauty. He burned to eliminate Kaysar and Cookie. “She’s there now?”
“She is. I stationed guards around the perimeter. She’s well and truly trapped now,” his spy said. “So? What will you do with her?”