Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 85552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Ian ignored him and continued, “After my father’s death, Nai and I became kings of Capitol City, even though we were only ripening princes. We shared the throne and, to the shock of the land, we made Phinova the city’s only ruling queen.”
I parted my mouth in shock.
“From the moment we placed the crown on her beautiful red hair, the entire kingdom knew we shared her.”
“What did everyone think?” I asked.
“Our people were disgusted. No one understood our love for each other. They called us abominations.”
“I bet.” Xander frowned.
I considered Phinova’s power and Ian’s status as king. “Hold on. The punishment spell. The blood chains. . .Who else could have done that but. . .Phinova?”
“Yes.” Ian nodded. “My brother ordered my execution over a misunderstanding—”
Xander tilted his head to the side. “What was the misunderstanding?”
Ian spoke through clenched teeth, “Again, it’s not related to you or your queen.”
“Go ahead and finish,” I instructed.
“It is none of your concern. What you should know is that. . .Phinova, as the rightful queen of Capitol City, interrupted my brother’s order of execution on me, calmed him down, and convinced him to let her spell me instead.” Ian closed his eyes. “Right before they dragged me down to the sewers in wooden chains, she hypnotized me into a deep sleep. I was supposed to remain asleep until she either woke me up or died. I woke up a month after I was put down in the sewer. That was when I realized that she was dead.”
Silence filled the wagon as it traveled over a rocky path. I bounced a little in my seat. My heart broke just like his must have when he realized that.
“But that’s not what’s important to you.” Ian cleared his throat and opened his eyes. “What you need to know is how Nai became the Quiet King and why he was so desperate to have your blood, Camille.”
“Perhaps, he wanted to take Camille’s blood to make a bigger army.” Xander moved his attention back to me.
“I’m not convinced. My brother has been winning wars for years with no problem.” Ian focused on me too. “He’s had Camille for two years. Have you heard of his army growing or getting bigger, or even missing humans? If he’s changing humans, where are they?”
“Okay then, how did your brother become the Quiet King?” I asked. “And when and how did Phinova die?”
“I don’t know how or when Phinova died.” Ian shrugged. “No one knows, but there are probably a few people who’ve lived in that castle who are old enough to have witnessed what happened.”
Xander shook his head. “How do you not know anything?”
“When I woke up, I spent years traveling through the sewers, listening to conversations through vents, and questioning the others that were trapped in the tunnels with me. The only thing that I learned is that one day Nai and Phinova walked into the castle after a mundane moonslit evening and the next night, a servant wheeled the Quiet King out and he spoke in everyone’s heads that he would be the sole ruler of the vampire nation.”
“We have to find out what happened.” I bit my lip.
Ian nodded. “There must be someone in that castle that knows something.”
An exasperated breath escaped Xander’s lips as he rubbed his eyes. “Sadly, I have a good idea who would know. If she doesn’t, then she’ll scheme and blackmail to get the information we need.”
Ian leaned forward. “And who would that be?”
The wagon stopped telling me we were back to our sewer’s entrance.
Xander frowned. “Just get some sleep today, and be ready to venture off to the castle tomorrow night.”
Ian rose from his seat. “And where shall we meet, King?”
“You’re good at popping up on us. You decide.”
Ian winked. “Then, I will see you tomorrow night.”