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)
“If the duke cares about his people, he’ll surrender immediately. The battle will be over, and we’ll have another force to take to the Capital. And then we’ll do it again—and again. I don’t expect the Capital to be conquered so smoothly. They’ll have a trick up their sleeve.”
Her hard stare quickly dropped, and then her features tightened into a look of fear. “Shit.”
My eyes narrowed.
“Ryker…I totally forgot.”
He was probably at the Capital by now—Necrosis in his midst. “You can’t warn him.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?” she asked incredulously. “Just not tell him that he’s walking around with a bunch of dead things that want to eat his soul?”
“He has information about us, so he’s the last person they would consume.”
“Not if they don’t believe him…”
“And if that’s the case, it’s already too late.”
Her eyes immediately dropped, and she gave a quiet gasp. “Fuck.”
“Baby, I’m sure he’s fine. They have no reason not to believe him.”
“What if this was your sister?”
My answer was immediate. “I wouldn’t be worried. She can handle herself better than anybody.”
She looked away, as if she didn’t believe me. “What if I travel to the Capital—”
“No.”
“Huntley—”
“You’ll blow his cover if you get caught. I know this is hard, but you need to have faith that he’s okay. I’m not worried about him. His story is solid, and Rutherford and your father knew each other a long time. He’s not going to hurt his friend’s son. You’re overreacting.”
She stared at me for a while before she nodded. “You’re probably right…”
“When we receive his first letter, you’ll get the assurance you need.”
She gave another nod.
I ate the rest of my dinner as she stared at a random spot on the wall behind me. Her eyes glazed over as she remained deep in thought, the consternation subtle on her face. She eventually turned her attention back to me. “How do you feel about your mother leaving?”
“She can take care of herself.”
“I meant not having her by your side.”
I’d stayed at the outpost for long periods of time to help Ian, so we were often apart. But now that I ruled Delacroix and soon the Kingdoms, we would always be far apart from each other. It would be hard for her to leave her people. It would be hard for me to leave mine. Ian could go back and forth and visit, but not her. “Everything has changed—and it saddens me.”
Her eyes softened.
“The distance between us will be so great that I’ll probably never see her. The only connection we’ll share is the missives we send back and forth. She’ll make a special trip to see our children when they’re born, but that’s it.”
Her eyes remained sorrowful, saddened for me. “When she gets to a certain age, she’ll need to retire, right? Hand the throne to Ian? Maybe she can live with us then.”
“There’s only one way my mother will leave the throne—through death.” I’d watched my father die right before my eyes, and then my mother became two parents. My attachment to her had grown since she was the only parent I had left. She raised me to be the man I was today, and not seeing her anymore would be like losing her too.
“I’m sorry, Huntley.”
I grabbed the bottle sitting in front of her and brought it to my lips. “Things change. My children will need me the way I needed her, and they’ll become my priority. I won’t be a son anymore. I’ll be a father. That’s the way of life.”
“I know this isn’t the same thing…and it doesn’t mean as much, but you’ll always have me.” She watched me with heartbroken eyes, and her hand reached across the table to rest on my wrist. Her fingertips were callused like mine now, so her touch was abrasive.
I stared at her hand before I rested mine on top. “It means a lot, baby.”
My hand gripped her by the back of the neck, and I shoved her face into the mattress, her ass high in the air, the curve in her back pronounced because of the way I pinned her. Her wrists were together in my hand and fixed in place with my grip.
I fucked her deep and hard, listening to her muffled moans as they tried to escape the mattress in her face. I fucked her like she didn’t have a choice. I fucked her like I’d picked her out of a lineup and paid top coin. We left for war in the morning, so I should spend that time making love to her, but I wasn’t in the mood for that, not after the dry spell she’d put me through.
I’d fantasized about all the dirty things I wanted to do to her all day long during our separation. When I walked to the military barracks, I imagined my dick in her mouth. When I ate breakfast alone, I imagined her pinned down just like this, taking my big dick with tears in her eyes.