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)
“Then I’ll come with you to stand guard.”
“I don’t want to implicate us both—”
“I’m going with you. End of story.”
“Is that how this marriage is going to be?” I asked. “You bossing me around?”
She looked at me with a straight face. “Damn right.”
It took all my strength not to let the smile break through, but it did, like the sun poking out from behind the clouds. Once it was unleashed, it took up my entire face, a full-on grin. “That’s pretty hot, so fine by me.”
The aviary was at the very top of the castle, so I had to make it outside without the guards spotting me. That was easy because, at this time of night, the security was pretty relaxed. The guards were ready to be relieved by the morning crew, so they weren’t exactly paying attention.
With Effie behind me, I made my way up several floors before I reached the staircase on the outside. It wrapped around the tallest tower until it wound up to the highest roof. Cannons and guards were spaced along the different rooftops, having a great vantage this high above the gate.
We stuck to the wall as we walked up the staircase, our shoulders brushing along the wall as we moved farther up. Once we were close, I raised my hand and told her to stay back.
Her eyes flashed in anger.
My hand cupped her face, and I gave her a kiss against the wall before I left her there and kept going. I nearly made it to the top and peeked over the edge of the stairs to count the number of guards watching the messenger birds.
There was no one.
The birds were in their cages, inside replicas of the Kingdom they were trained to visit. There were several Minora castles, each with a different kind of bird. One was a falcon, one was a crow, and another was an owl. I glanced around again, surprised no one else was there.
I let a minute pass, just to make sure my assumption was true, and then proceeded forward. The sky was lightening with every minute, slowly passing from sheer darkness and into twilight. The birds gave a stir when I drew near, sitting on their perches inside their replica cages.
The falcon was the fastest, so I opened the cage and slipped the scroll inside the little casing at his ankle. I twisted the cap into place so it wouldn’t fall then watched him hop onto my arm, ready to fulfill his duty.
“Thanks, buddy.” I walked him from the aviary toward the edge of the rooftop.
“Ryker!” Effie’s scream split the night. “They’re coming!”
My heart somersaulted into my stomach. There was no one on the rooftop, but they had eyes elsewhere. It’d been a setup the entire time. “Don’t let me down. This has to be worth it.” I heard the thumping boots behind me and threw my arm up, watching the falcon jump and take flight.
“Shoot it down!”
I grabbed my bow, nocked an arrow to the string, and shot the archer before he could release his arrow.
Now I was in deep shit.
The guard fell while the other unsheathed his sword.
I pulled out my broadsword and prepared to fight, knowing more were coming. “Effie, run.”
“No—”
“I said run! I’ll meet you where we consummated our marriage.”
With that, she took off, taking the other set of stairs.
When the guard turned to grab her, I struck with my sword, slashing him along the brace.
He couldn’t do both, so he had to focus on me. He spun his sword around his wrist then came at me. Steel on steel. Man versus man. Our blades danced for a moment, but I was the superior fighter, and his throat was sliced a moment later.
I turned to leave, but the way was blocked.
By Rutherford and his army.
The other stairway was blocked too, so there was nowhere for me to go, not unless I threw myself over the tower wall.
Fuck, it’d be really convenient to have a dragon right now.
Rutherford wasn’t armed, but he was the first one to approach. He didn’t even wear armor, probably stirred from bed by his men. He apparently saw me as no threat because he walked right up to me, wearing the same disappointment my own father had worn from time to time. “Ryker, I couldn’t believe it when my men told me the news, yet you stand before me, sword in hand. I pray you have an explanation for this.”
I didn’t hear Effie’s screams, so I assumed she’d slipped from their grasp. That was all I cared about. I was totally fucked. “I sent a message to my father in Delacroix.”
“You said he was dead.”
“I said I assumed he was dead. His allies were supposed to break him out of prison once the Runes departed their lands. I wanted him to know they were in Minora, so he could flee to the Capital if he had the chance.” I wasn’t much of a liar, but my life was on the line and I had no respect for Rutherford anyway—not anymore.