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)
“She would never do that.”
“You really think when we take Delacroix she’ll be able to look her father in the eye and not falter?”
“I won’t lie, it’ll be hard for her, but she would never betray us. She wouldn’t have gotten this far if that was her intention. She wouldn’t have married me if that were the case. She fought for the Runes at the outpost and saved lives when she sprayed that yeti. She came back for me when the Teeth cornered me. When I followed her to Delacroix, I found her nose stuck in a book, trying to figure out how to heal the dragons. Then on the way here, we were attacked by the Plunderers, and she took them all down so we could escape. What more does she have to do?”
For the first time ever, my mother was speechless.
“I know what kind of woman you want for me, what kind of daughter you want to raise your grandkids. You don’t want a damsel in distress who sits on her ass while I’m fighting wars. You don’t want a woman who doesn’t know how to grip a sword, doesn’t know how to look death in the eye without blinking. You want me to have a partner—and that’s exactly what she is.”
The silence seemed to overwhelm her because she didn’t speak.
“You need to accept her—for me.”
Silence.
“Please.” It was a word I’d never spoken before, except perhaps when I was a child and my mother tried to teach me some manners. But those manners were abandoned long ago, and now I never asked for anything—just took it without remorse.
Her arms tightened over her chest, and she dropped her gaze. An eternity of silence passed before she gave a slight nod.
An actual nod. “Thank you.” I turned away and returned to the door. Ivory was on the other side of it, near the banister so she could look down the staircase to the floor below. “Baby, come on.”
She turned to me but hesitated, like she didn’t want to be in my mother’s presence longer than she had to. I didn’t expect the two to ever be friendly, that this hostility would ever fully wane, but I hoped they could be in the same room together without dread. She joined me, and we returned to my mother.
Mother addressed me. “What else?”
“After we evaded the Plunderers, we stopped to rest. That was when Ivory saw Necrosis.”
My mother shifted her gaze, her entire focus, back to Ivory. “It can’t be.”
“I saw him through the hedges,” Ivory said. “He stared at me…and I stared at him.”
“Did you kill him?”
“No.” Ivory shook her head. “He never attacked me.”
Mother’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “He just left?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not like Necrosis.” Mother turned back to me, expecting more evidence.
“He had black marks across his skin.”
“So, you saw him?” she pressed.
“No,” I said. “But Ivory’s description is more than enough to convince me.”
“If Necrosis found you two alone, a strong man and a young girl, he wouldn’t have spared you. He would have eaten your souls.” Her gaze switched back and forth between us. “To just walk away without provocation is impossible.”
“Well, that’s what happened,” Ivory said. “He disappeared in the trees and never returned.”
Mother looked at me once more. “If she what she says is true…then Necrosis is ready to feed.”
“Yes.”
“We must be prepared for war. I will send an emissary to your brother. Now the question remains, should you stay until Necrosis arrives, or should you continue your mission?” Instead of barking orders, she made me feel like a part of the decision, something I respected about her as a ruler. “You’re one of our greatest fighters. But I understand how important these dragons are to our success.”
She left the decision up to me. “Just because we’ve spotted Necrosis doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ready for an attack. It could have just been one that left their lands to feed. He didn’t attack us…so his intentions are even less clear. The dragons are our priority, and I’m not sure how long this mission will take. Even if Ivory can heal the dragons, we still have to figure out how to gain their allegiance.”
“Giving them the ability to fly isn’t enough?” she snapped. “Make it very clear that without the promise of their servitude, they will never leave that island, unless it’s by death.”
I knew Ivory wouldn’t like that attitude, but at least she kept her opinions in check. “I’m not sure how we’ll communicate with the dragons. There’s a lot we don’t know. So I imagine I’ll be gone for some time.”
“I understand.” She gave me a slight nod, as if I was dismissed. “When will you leave?”
“Two days,” I said. “We need time to recuperate from our travels.”
“I want to see you before you leave,” she said. “You’re dismissed.” The conversation concluded, and she walked away from me like I was a soldier whose only purpose was to follow her orders.