Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 127722 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127722 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
And that made me respect him. “With my life.”
We traveled back the way we’d come, heading across the wide-open spaces, through the forest, and to the secret path that led to the bottom of the cliffs. The horse cut our travel time down to half of what it had taken me to get here.
Ivory was in a solemn mood the whole way, like that final conversation with her brother left a lasting effect on her. When we made camp at night, she wasn’t in the mood for conversation or anything else.
I let her be.
In the morning, I took the reins, and she held on to me. Hours of silence could pass, and we didn’t speak a word. It was the sort of comfortable silence I shared with Ian and my mother, a kind of familiarity that was born over a lifetime. But with Ivory, it was natural.
We arrived at the tunnel at nightfall. “I’m afraid your father is going to destroy it.”
“He won’t.”
I stared at her face in the light of the moon.
“Ryker told me he’s leaving it open so I can return…or the people who captured me can return me.”
He was less heartless than I realized.
She got comfortable in the bedroll, sticking as far to the edge as possible so there would be room for me. She was on her side, facing the other way, still forlorn—unlike the woman I’d married.
I joined her in the bedroll, kept my weapons on the grass beside me within a hand’s reach. She turned toward me and got comfortable, her arms hooking around me for warmth, but it still wasn’t the same affection she usually showed me. “Tell me, baby.”
“Tell you what?”
My eyes were on the glimpses of sky between the tops of the trees, the white spots that marked the stars. “What’s bothering you.”
With her face on my shoulder and her arm over my stomach, she released a drawn-out sigh. “My choice of a husband isn’t the only reason Ryker’s upset. He didn’t say it, but I could feel it.”
My fingers moved into her hair, and I gently ran my fingers through it.
“It’s because he wasn’t there. Wasn’t part of the moment. Part of the day. My brother isn’t an emotional or sentimental guy, but we’ve always been close.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I am too. And I know my dad…he’d be really hurt.”
That was hard for me to imagine, but I kept the doubt to myself. “Listening to my mother cry…that was hard. I knew it wasn’t the woman I had married that brought her to tears, but the fact that she couldn’t bear witness to the moment I’d dedicated my life to another, to the woman who would bear her grandchildren.”
“Yeah…”
“When the time is right, we’ll do the ceremony again.”
“Can we?”
“Yes. We can do it in front of the entire kingdom. It won’t just be our wedding. It’ll be your coronation as well. Both of our families will be there. I’ll gladly slice my palm for you again. And I’ll bed you like it’s our first time, too.”
We descended into the tunnel, taking the ladder for hours until we reached the bottom. We both wanted to get the trek over with, so we hardly spoke but a few words so we could complete the journey quicker.
As we descended the path farther underground, it grew cold like last time, and Ivory’s jacket wasn’t enough to keep her warm. Her breath escaped as vapor, and her teeth chattered so loudly I could hear it echo off the walls.
Nighttime was the only time she felt warm. We both slept in the bedroll naked so the heat would fill the enclosure and bounce back at us. Her face was against mine, her leg hooked over my hip, her arm around my neck.
Her hair was across the pillow, and her eyes were heavy with fatigue. “How much longer?”
“Another day, probably.”
She watched me for a while, her eyes dull from the endless journey. “I don’t know what I would do if you weren’t so warm.”
“Die.”
She gave a slight chuckle. “Obviously…”
“I remember the first time we did this—when you stared at my dick.”
“Oh my gods…” She closed her eyes in shame then turned away, looking at the ceiling instead. “I did not.”
I grinned because she was so full of shit. “I watched you.”
“I was making sure you didn’t have a dagger under the blanket.”
“You know I could kill you with just my fist, so I wouldn’t need it.”
Still too embarrassed to look at me, she kept her eyes on the ceiling.
“Didn’t realize you possessed enough humility to feel embarrassed.”
“I’m not embarrassed.”
“Then why won’t you look at me?”
“Because I’m comfortable on my back.”
“Sure.”
She rolled her eyes.
“So, what did you think?”
“About?”
“Come on, baby.” I continued my grin because this was a good time. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
She stayed quiet.
“Is that the reason you came back to save me from the Teeth?”