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)
I knew she loved it, so it didn’t matter.
The screams came next, her tears soaking the sheets against her face.
This wasn’t the first round of the night, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. I added another load to the previous and gripped her hard as I finished. The moan that escaped my lips was unstoppable. It felt good to release, to fill my wife with all the seed she should have been getting the last few weeks.
I finally let go of her and lay on the bed.
She stayed that way for a few seconds before she rolled over and joined me. She was on her side facing the other way, her skin moist with sweat even though her only job had been to lie there and take it.
My arm hooked over her stomach, and I dragged her into my chest, the two of us sharing a single pillow. The body heat was uncomfortable because I was already warm, but I wanted her anyway. My chest to her back, my lips to the back of her head, I held her. “I missed you.”
Her body softened against me. “I missed you too.”
“I’m glad you’re coming with me.”
She turned her face over her shoulder to look at me. “Where you go, I go.”
My body was fitted with the heavy armor Elora had made just for me.
For a king.
The armor was midnight black with the feather crest in front, but it was a masculine version of the image. The design was monochromatic, making me blend into the darkness when the sun went down. It had to add fifty pounds of extra weight for me to carry, but swords and arrows wouldn’t be able to penetrate.
Ivory had her own armor, and the second I saw her in it, I had to do a double take.
She’d never looked sexier.
Her armor matched mine, the same color and same design, and it was fitted to her small body perfectly. Her brown hair was pulled back in a tight braid so she could tuck it inside her helmet, and that was sexy too.
When she noticed my stare, she met my look. “What?”
I looked her up and down and walked out.
I crossed the castle until I made it to the entryway. My mother was where I expected her to be, fashioned in her traveling gear, ready to return through the secret tunnel back to HeartHolme. Her expression was stern and heartless, devoid of all emotion, back in her role of authority.
But that expression disappeared when she saw me.
Her eyes softened. Her lips pressed together. She looked grief-stricken, this goodbye as hard for her as it was for me.
I walked up to her, soldiering the pain like a man. “Travel safely.”
Her eyes flicked back and forth between mine, her emotions right on the surface. “Take back the Kingdoms. Burn all that resist you.”
“I will.”
Her hands cupped my cheeks, and she brushed her thumbs across my skin. “I’m so proud of you, son.”
My eyes dropped because it was too hard to look at her. “I know.”
“I can’t wait for you to return to HeartHolme and help us defeat Necrosis for good.”
I nodded, her hands still on my face.
“I just wish your father were alive to see this.”
“I wish that every day.”
She withdrew her hands. “I’ll wait for your missive.”
“I’ll send it whenever I can.”
“Take care of your wife.”
It meant the world to me that Ivory was included. It was something my mother would have said about Ian—because he was family. “With my life.”
“Good. Because she will give you powerful sons and daughters raised to be powerful sons.”
I nodded. “Goodbye, Mother.” I’d said goodbye to her before, but this was different. Our world had forever changed, and we both knew it.
“Goodbye, son. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
She gave me another look of longing before she turned around and walked off with Commander Dawson and the men who would escort her back to HeartHolme. Her dress trailed behind her, and her long hair ran down the center of her back. She held herself tall and proud, like she was the queen of the world.
I continued to stand there, watching her move down the hill toward the stables at the bottom.
Ivory came to my side and followed my gaze. “Are you okay?” Her hand reached for mine, our fingers interlocking.
“My mother was devastated when she lost my father. It could have broken her, and no one would have blamed her. But she became the most fearless woman I’ve ever known. Strong. Resilient. Powerful. I wish my father knew everything that she accomplished. I just…wish he knew.”
Her hand squeezed mine before she drew near. “I think he knows.”
I turned to look at her.
“And I think he’s proud of all of you.”
Commander Brutus had the soldiers organized in their lines outside Delacroix on the field. The two dragons were there, part of the army with their matching armor. Ivory was already at Pyre’s feet, her helmet covering most of her face, but the rest of her curves were still noticeable.