Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 127722 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127722 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
He kept his eyes down on his food and took another bite.
I never got an answer to that.
“You’re the most jealous woman I’ve ever been with.”
“Because I’m your wife who doesn’t appreciate other women hitting on you? When I’m ten fucking feet away?”
He chewed his food, the amusement in his eyes.
“This isn’t funny.”
“Look, when we’re done here, I’ll fuck you so hard that you’ll forget about the whore at the bar, alright?”
I rolled my eyes. “Fuck you.”
“You want me to fuck you right here? Because I will.”
I ignored him.
He dropped his fork and got to his feet.
“Alright, sit the fuck down…”
He got back into his chair and resumed eating.
We ate our lunch in silence, and Ian walked in a moment later. He said hello to a few people before he made his way over to our table. His civilian attire still denoted his status, wearing a crisp black shirt with matching trousers. His eyes glanced back and forth between us, as if he could detect the hostility. “Is this a bad time or…?”
“No.” Huntley finished his food and pushed his empty plate aside. “My wife is just pissed off at me right now.”
“What’d you do?”
“I didn’t do anything,” he said. “A whore tried to book me for the night.”
Just hearing that pissed me off all over again.
Ian gave a slight nod.
“Told her I was married. Then she asked if you’d be interested.”
Ian perked up at that. “Yeah?”
“She’s the blonde at the bar.”
Ian scratched his jaw before he gave a discreet glance over his shoulder. “Is she any good?”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I dogged my husband hard, because if he answered that, he really would get stabbed again.
That subtle smirk was on his lips, and it was infuriating. “Baby, you’re the best I’ve ever had. Don’t act like you don’t know that.”
That made me feel a little better, but I was still simmering beneath the surface.
Ian glanced at her again before he faced us once more. “Elora is almost done with the armor. I imagine you’ll leave in a few days.”
I dreaded leaving HeartHolme. Not because we’d have to travel the entire way on foot to protect the location of the dragons, but because I’d have to look my father in the eye before I betrayed him. I would strip him of his throne, and Huntley would imprison him for the rest of his life.
None of that would have been possible if it weren’t for me.
Maybe he deserved it. That didn’t mean I wanted to be involved with his punishment.
“I don’t know how long we’ll be gone,” Huntley said. “You’ll need to keep an eye on Elora.”
Ian gave a slight sigh. “I always keep an eye on her.”
“No offense to either of you, but she seems like someone who doesn’t need to be watched.” Elora had the mouth of a soldier and the stare of a falcon. She could build weapons and dragon armor. Just as capable as a man, if you asked me.
Huntley stared at me. “She’s our sister. We’ll always keep an eye on her.”
Huntley made good on his word and made me forget all about that blond bitch at the bar. He kissed me everywhere. Made me tug the sheets off the mattress. Made me writhe as if it was our first time rather than our hundredth. When the fun was over, he fell asleep right away, one arm behind his head, the sheets pulled to his waist.
Sometimes I just stared at him, admired his hard body with chiseled lines, the dark hair on his chest, the prominent V at his hips. Even when he was at rest, his body was flexed like he was in war.
This was a man.
And everyone before were boys.
I pulled on one of his long-sleeved shirts and moved to the dying fire. I added a couple logs without waking him then sat in the high-back armchair that faced the fire. With one knee to my chest, I watched the flames dance. They were wild and unbridled, unlike the fire that Pyre and Storm produced, which was purposeful and straight like an arrow.
I knew our time here was limited, and I wondered when we’d return after we reached Delacroix. In order to take the Kingdoms, we’d have to remain in those lands, so this home would be abandoned.
I’d miss it.
Two dragons would fly high over Delacroix, casting shadows the size of clouds on the ground, blocking out the sun entirely in some instances. Citizens would scream in fright, assume their doom had arrived. Commander Burke would notify my father of the siege, but he would have no idea I would be the one leading the charge.
Pyre would land on the ground—and my father would see that I was the rider.
The guilt was like bile in my throat. It made my stomach roil the way it did when it was desperate with hunger. Acid had replaced the blood in my veins. As if I had been corrupted, I felt the tentacles of darkness wrap around me and pull me under.