Total pages in book: 210
Estimated words: 200096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1000(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 667(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 200096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1000(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 667(@300wpm)
“I do not doubt that.” I spare a glance over my shoulder to offer her my best smug grin. By the way her eyes flare with annoyance, I’d say it’s effective.
Fates, how does a female who’s been dragged through Azo’dem look so good? Annika’s hair has dried into plump ringlets that cascade down her back. I’ve felt the itch to fondle them more than once—to test if they’re as soft as they appear. Her dress is in soiled tatters and yet still flatters her feminine curves.
“What?” she snaps.
And the momentary fog of stupidity I caught myself in dissipates.
I turn back. “Nothing.” Her mood is especially foul today. I can’t decide if it’s our dire predicament or the likelihood that her twin brother is dead, or that she’s craving her blood fix. If the two of us are truly the only living creatures in this fates-forsaken land, it will only worsen as the days pass. Eventually, she might decide to feed off me just to end her suffering.
A few moments of silence pass before I hazard conversation again. “Unless I’m mistaken, that is a mountain range.” I draw a line against the horizon with my finger. “Or it’s the clouds.”
“That could be days away.”
“At least you have shoes to weather the distance.”
“You would, too, if you hadn’t stolen all my jewels and stuffed them in your boots like the idiot you are,” she scolds, but I catch the hint of raggedness in her breath, the beads of sweat on her brow. We’ve been walking for hours over difficult terrain and, while I am accustomed to lengthy treks, Princess Annika certainly is not.
“Would you like to stop?”
“For what?”
She’ll collapse before she admits to needing a rest, and then I’ll have to carry her stubborn arse. Shoving my ego aside, I ask cordially, “Would you mind if we pause here for a moment so I can give my feet a rest?” Each must wear at least a dozen cuts.
“Since you need it … fine.” But a soft sigh of relief follows her bitter tone.
Shaking my head, I steer us toward a smooth outcrop of rocks shaded from the sun by a ship’s hull. A half-rotted wooden crate sits nearby. I perch myself on it, groaning with the momentary respite.
A tiny green bird flutters past. A good sign that there is more than rock and water nearby.
“It is like a graveyard here.” Annika ropes her arms around her middle as she studies the moss-covered ship. “Do you think these are all from Ybaris and Islor?”
“I don’t know where else they would come from. Skatranan and Seacadorian sailors are too smart to sail with our kind.” I add quietly, “So are captains like Aron, it would seem.”
She hesitates. “I saw something large heading straight for the ship moments before they threw us overboard. It had at least ten fins sticking out of the water. Maybe the tale of the sea monster wasn’t so far-fetched.”
“If a sea monster had struck these, they would have sunk, not washed up here.” I consider the alternatives. “I’ll bet the sailors dove to their deaths with the sirens’ song and then the ocean’s current carried the empty ships here, where they broke apart on the rocks.” If that’s the case, this merchant ship might still have something useful inside. Who knows how long it has sat here, though, steeping in seawater.
Still, my curiosity gets the better of me. With a wince, I stand and pick a path through the cool shallow water. It’s a blessing to my wounded feet.
“Where in fates are you going now?” Annika exclaims.
“Inside.”
“You can’t go in there!”
“Why? Are you worried for my safety?”
“No.” She scoffs. “But it’s pure idiocy. You may as well climb into a coffin.”
I smile at her, perched on a rock, looking regal. “Do not fear, I will return and our wedding will go forward as planned.” I ease past the ship’s wooden frame before she can throw a barbed retort. Surely, she’s grinding her teeth.
It’s dark inside, the air ripe with a damp, earthy aroma. As I expected, the wooden crates are submerged and long since rotted. If these merchants were hauling anything of use, there is likely nothing of value now.
Splashes sound behind me. “Anything useful?” Annika’s voice echoes in the cavernous space.
I stifle my surprise that she would venture inside here. “No, and there is not enough light to explore.”
“For you, perhaps.” She wades in until all I can make out of her is her golden hair in the last few tiny streams of sunlight.
And then she’s too deep for me to see even that.
“Find anything?” I squint into the pitch-black as I edge forward.
“Not yet,” she mutters as if annoyed. A moment later, she yelps. It’s followed by a heavy splash.
“Annika?”
“I’m fine. I tripped over this stupid piece of wood. Now I’m soaked again, thanks to you—ah!” Her bloodcurdling scream has me running blind into the darkness.