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)
“A Necrosis walks freely in HeartHolme. He’d be a poor king if he trusted me.”
“Never said he trusted you. The weight of his decision is heavy, and he can’t make a good one if he’s never seen you in the flesh.”
“What is your opinion?”
“My opinion is irrelevant.”
“If you convinced your brother to even entertain this idea, then your opinion is anything but irrelevant. It has the power to influence kings and queens, which is why I came to you in the first place. You’re stubborn but open-minded. You’re smart but not arrogant about it.”
My eyes narrowed. “You speak of me like you know me.”
He faced forward and took a drink. “I’ve watched you for a long time, Elora.”
“Strange. Because if we were in the same room together, I would have noticed you.”
He turned to me, looking at me head on with eyes the color of the ocean. “Why is that?”
In the moment, I didn’t think before I spoke because my mouth didn’t come with a filter. I spoke my mind, and if someone didn’t like it, that was their problem and not mine. But now, I actually regretted the slipup—because I didn’t know how to answer the question. “You don’t look like a Rune.”
“What do I look like, then?” He pressed me, as if he knew I was cornered and he wanted to back me into the corner even further.
I sidestepped it altogether. “My brother said your proposal was risky, but I said it would be far riskier if your intentions are genuine and we deny your aid.”
“My intentions are genuine—but there’s no possible way I can ever prove that.”
“My brother is a pretty good judge of character.”
“Really? He’s not outspoken like his elder brother, and he is certainly subdued compared to his mother.”
How did he know that? “Don’t mistake his quietness for weakness. Ian chooses to observe life rather than participate in it. That makes his opinions more solid than the stones of our keep. Huntley makes rash decisions, like when he decided to fall for the enemy, when he declared war on the Teeth to save a single person. Queen Rolfe is too traumatized to lead a kingdom of people because her emotions guide her decisions more than her intelligence. Ian is the only one calm with logic, who can consider the stakes of any situation with real deliberation.”
His eyes shifted back and forth between mine. “I always assumed you were closer to Huntley.”
“I am. But that’s because I’m also rash and impulsive. And I’m more stubborn than he is. My relationship with him is different because he looked after me when Queen Rolfe chose not to.”
He must not have been surprised by that because he didn’t ask any questions. “Would your brother be willing to meet on neutral ground? Outside HeartHolme?”
My eyes studied his face. “You know, if I were an enemy to the Runes, that’s exactly what I would do. Lure King Rolfe outside his kingdom and assassinate him.”
“I’ve been living among you for a long time. If I wanted him dead, I could have lifted a poison arrow from your storage and climbed to the roof of your shop. All I’d have to do is wait for him to visit you thirty minutes after sunrise.”
My blood turned to sludge in my veins. The man had been everywhere, through my private storage in the basement, had watched my brother come visit me from a vantage point that no one saw coming.
“If I meant you harm, we wouldn’t be drinking together this very moment. We wouldn’t be on a first-name basis. I wouldn’t admit that I know everything about you, from where you sleep to who you’re sleeping with.”
I held his stare, growing furious. “Are you trying to piss me off? Because the tip of my dagger has your name on it.”
That slight smile returned. “Just wanted to prove a point.”
“That you’re an asshole.”
“That no man would drag out an assassination this long.”
“Ian suspects that your aid has just been a ploy to gain our trust.”
“To what end? If I said nothing, Necrosis would have been at your gate before you raised the alarm. They would have poured over the top like water through a broken dam and flooded HeartHolme. Even if your dragons came, it would have been too late to battle the infestation. They would have already invaded every home and alley, killing the Runes in their sleep. The Ice is the greatest hope you have against Necrosis. It gives every Rune a fighting chance against my kind. Your trust isn’t worth everything I’ve already offered you. Your paranoia is misplaced.”
His words humbled me because I knew HeartHolme would have been lost without him. “I think it would go a long way if you met him at the castle. If you request to move the meeting, he’ll only grow more suspicious, and that suspicion will cloud everything you say.”