Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Now I sat there alone and could barely feel his presence.
The room was masked with evil, masked with the faded scent of whores, of spilled scotch that absorbed into the wood. Maybe what I did was wrong. Maybe my family was guilty of the same crimes as Faron. But I still felt like I’d honored my father’s memory by stabbing his enemy through the throat.
The door opened and my mother entered. “Am I interrupting?”
I’d been sitting there for an hour, haunted by ghosts. “No.”
She approached the desk, her hands together at her waist. “You’re in a foul mood.”
“I’m always in a foul mood.” My elbow was propped on the armrest, my closed fist underneath my chin.
She stared at me for a while. “What is it, son?”
I dropped my arm and straightened in the chair. “It doesn’t feel the same.”
She took a look around, as if searching for my father’s belongings. “I’ve noticed the same thing. The bedchamber, the hallways, the castle doesn’t have the same spirit as it once did. Faron occupied our home for too long.”
I stared at the surface of my desk, appreciating how many long years had passed.
“I had a conversation with Ivory this afternoon.”
I kept my eye on my wife from a distance. My men reported her whereabouts throughout the day, so I always knew where she was. I knew she could handle herself if danger were to appear, but I also knew she was devastated by grief and didn’t carry her sword, even though I’d asked her to three times. Just because the conquest of Delacroix had been smooth didn’t mean that everyone accepted my reign—even though I was the true king.
“She wants to know how to break your marriage.”
My chin lifted at her words, an invisible sword piercing my heart. “Did you tell her?”
She shook her head.
I knew Ivory was angry. I knew she meant every word she said. But I hadn’t thought she’d take it that far.
“I told her I would in a year.”
My eyes were on my mother again. “Why would you do that?”
“Because she reminded me how indebted I am to her—and she’s right.”
“I’m your son—”
“That’s more than enough time to fix this, Huntley.”
“You don’t know how stubborn my wife is.”
“She’s not as stubborn as you think.”
My eyes narrowed.
“I eavesdropped on a conversation she had with her brother. Ryker suggested they use you to get what they want, and once you’ve served your purpose, they kill you. Ivory becomes Queen of the Kingdoms. And you’ll pay for what you’ve done with your life.”
My eyes dropped as my heart tightened into a painful fist.
“Your wife’s response?”
I still didn’t look at her.
“She said she would never hurt you. Forbade her brother from doing the same.”
The tightness in my chest vanished, and I inhaled a slow breath.
“She loves you still—and said it aloud.”
I knew she did, but it was still a relief to hear it.
“The marriage remains unbroken. All you need to do is fix it.”
When I entered the bedchambers, Ivory was already in her room, judging by the closed door. I removed my weapons and set them on the table, and then I unfastened the buttons of the uniform and hung it up in the closet. The material was lightweight and comfortable, but I still preferred my heavy armor. “Ivory.” I put on my lounge pants, black and made of soft cotton, and approached her door.
There was no answer, so I opened the door and stepped inside.
She’d fallen asleep on the couch, books scattered around her, and the fireplace had gone cold. I tossed on more logs and stoked the flames as I stared at her.
Her knees were to her chest with her arms wrapped around her body, clearly cold.
I scooped her into my arms and carried her to my bed.
She stirred slightly but never really woke up.
I got her under the sheets and pulled the blankets to her shoulders so the warmth would be sealed around her. I reminded myself of my father when he found me asleep somewhere around the castle then delivered me to bed. The other side of the bed was vacant, and I could probably slip inside without her noticing. All my life, I’d preferred to sleep alone, except when I had a whore in the middle of the night and was too kind to throw her out. But I’d become accustomed to Ivory beside me, to her deep and even breaths, the way she tossed and turned in a nightmare. I was always the first thing she reached for.
But I knew I was exiled from her bed.
Just not her heart.
Commander Dawson served the now-elder Queen Rolfe, so I needed my own second-in-command. I selected Brutus, the man who served by my side in every war, who didn’t flinch when an army of ten thousand marched on his gates.