Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 117167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Yichen smirked. That had been his plan all along. He and Rei still had one last thing to discuss. They strolled to the back of the house to exit out a door off the kitchen. Rei seemed steadier on his feet as he wandered across the grass with Yichen a few steps behind him.
The wind kicked up, pushing aside some of the stifling warm summer air and rattling the trees. Crickets and frogs had resumed their evening song now that the battle was over and the dead were buried in the ground. Moon had a nice plot of ground here, but it was much too far away from where the rest of the clan was living.
A fledgling vampire had no business living on his own. At least not for the first century or two. There was too much to learn, and they needed the protection of their maker from stronger, more deadly creatures.
Not to mention, Yichen was starting to believe that it was physically impossible for Chen and Moon to go more than five minutes without being in the same room together.
When they were a comfortable distance away from the house and cars, Yichen dove straight into it. “Who was the elf you were talking to?”
Rei tipped his face up to the stars and there was a hint of laughter in his tone. “You mean the one trying to remove my head?”
“That’s the one.” Yichen picked up his pace so that they were walking side by side, their shoulders brushing. “You didn’t bother talking to any of the others.”
The devil widened his eyes and issued a sharp gasp. “Were you watching while they tried to kill me? You didn’t even try to help?”
“I was trying to get to you,” Yichen snarled, bumping into Rei. “Who was he?”
With a smirk, the elf threaded his arm through Yichen’s, pulling him closer as they walked. “Why didn’t you ask this in front of your family?”
“Because they’re still trying to decide whether to trust you. I already know how much I can trust you.”
Unbelievably, his smile grew even wider, and his eyebrows jumped. “And how much is that?”
“Rei! I’m serious.”
That at least got him to huff and pretend to be somewhat serious. “It was Trin, my half brother.”
That halted Yichen’s feet and tightened his hold on Rei’s arm, forcing the elf to stop and face him as well. “How do you have a half brother? You said your father killed off all your siblings.”
Rei made a face that was kind of like a wince, his sharp nose wrinkling before he tugged Yichen along again. “Bastard half siblings don’t count, because, by law, they can’t ever ascend to the throne. Only the offspring of the king and the queen can do that. Out of that lot, there’s just me. As far as I know, I’ve got about a dozen half siblings running about. Though Trin is the only one I’ve had encounters with. We’re somewhat close in age. Just a century or so separates us. The rest of them try to stay away from both my parents and the Silver Court.”
“Why? Does your mother not know about them?”
A sharp bark of laughter erupted from Rei and he stumbled into Yichen. “How could she not know? Most of them are hers.”
Yichen lifted his free hand and pinched the bridge of his nose while squeezing his eyes shut. He knew better than to ask. When he’d been trapped in the fae realm, he’d had a few conversations with Rei about the royal court and fae culture. Even then, the things he said had hurt his brain. The fae were too different from the world he’d grown up in.
“Monogamy is a human thing. Not a fae thing,” Rei needlessly pointed out.
“Yeah, I caught on to that. It’s a good thing no human has ever fallen for you,” he muttered as he dropped his hand to his side.
“I’m not saying we’re completely incapable of it.” The elf cozied up closer, tipping his head toward Yichen’s. “If I were to find the right person, I could see myself devoting all of my existence to the one who owned me heart and soul. You can’t expect that of two married people who don’t like each other.”
“Rei, I’m going to strangle you if you don’t get to the point.”
“The point is,” the elf said forcefully, “Trin is playing a dangerous game right now. Both my mother and father have killed plenty of the illegitimate spawn over the years for the sport of it. Moving into my father’s line of sight puts Trin in danger, but I think he’s hoping to prove he can be useful to the king by killing me.”
“Since the king places a higher priority on seeing you dead over killing your half brother,” Yichen filled in.
“Yes, but Trin hasn’t thought this through. What happens after he kills me? He’s stuck being a plaything target for King Ash and Queen Belladonna.”