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)
Another wild laugh jumped from Rei to fill the kitchen. What was with these vampires and their disbelief that he would have an issue with patricide and matricide? This human world really was a strange place.
His giggles at the end must have taken on a slightly mad edge, because Xiang had stepped away from the counter and appeared as if he were searching for a weapon to protect himself.
Rei held up his right hand and wiggled his three fingers and thumb. “A gift from my mother. I refused to fight Yichen, so she ordered guards to hold me down while she sliced pieces off me until I agreed to fight. Thankfully, she got just one finger. Yichen broke free and caused a ruckus.”
“Shit,” Xiang whispered, retreating another step.
“Ever seen an elf with a limp? That’s a gift from my father, who has been trying to kill me since I was born. I was lucky to have a few nurses when I was young who hid me for the first thirteen years of my life. But aside from those happy memories,” Rei murmured with a wave of his hand. “A member of the Silver Court organized a hunt for my father’s amusement. They set Yiyi and me free. We were supposed to have an hour head start, but as we left the castle, my father had his head archer put an arrow in my left knee. He tried to cripple me to make the hunt more fun.”
Xiang snarled. “He wanted to see if Yichen would leave you behind.”
“He didn’t. Yiyi carried me on his back while we searched for a safe spot to remove the arrow and wrap my knee. Yichen has never left my side, no matter how bad things were.”
The vampire’s smile returned and his chest puffed up with what was likely pride. Yichen was no fucking coward. He had more honor than pretty much every member of the fae, as far as Rei was concerned.
“Got it. Your family sucks and you wouldn’t mind killing them all. Good to know.” Xiang relaxed, leaning on the sink, his arms folded loosely across his chest.
“The question becomes, how the hell are we going to do that? Even while we were stuck in the fae camp in the human realm, I knew nothing of my parents’ plans other than they had no intention of leaving. To stay, they need to get rid of as many humans as possible.”
“That would match what we’ve been seeing. Hundreds of humans have either disappeared or been killed. The forest is spreading at an alarming rate, pushing at the human cities and towns.”
Rei nodded. “The more nature there is, the stronger the earth magic.”
“Which helps the fae.”
“Yep.”
He glared at the marble countertop, though he didn’t see the swirls of white amid the black. Maps of the area and potential plans that his father might pursue filled his mind. It made little sense that King Ash was wasting time hunting him when he needed to focus on crushing the humans. Eventually, the humans were going to face facts that they were up against some serious magic and bring out their bigger weapons. The fae needed to be in a position of strength before that happened.
All he could figure was that his father was insane and obsessed with him, or he truly believed that the person most likely to have a shot at killing him was Rei.
That was fine. Rei very much wanted to be the person who killed King Ash.
“We need information. Reconnaissance. We can’t make any effective plans until we have an outline of where my father has set his forces and where he’s making moves,” Rei grumbled as he tapped an index finger on the counter. Unfortunately, since he was the only member of the fae who’d sided with the vampires and humans, he was their best option for sneaking through the forest. It was just that he was one person. How much ground could he cover? Not enough.
“Winter Varik has been monitoring things during the past month, making notations on a map when it looks like the fae are shifting their forces. When Shixiong wakes up, we can see if he’s received an updated version,” Xiang stated.
Rei’s head snapped up. “What? How? A vampire has watched them undetected? That shouldn’t be possible.”
Xiang’s grin was positively wicked. “Winter Varik’s power is walking through the dead realm. He can move past most of the fae undetected. There are a few who can sense him, but he can get closer than the rest of us.”
Rubbing his hands together, Rei cackled. “Brilliant! That could come in handy. With that information, we can make plans to kill King Ash.”
“If he’s dead, will that stop the fae’s plans? You know, cutting the head off the snake.”
Rei was quick to shake his head. “Maybe, but unlikely. Queen Belladonna can easily wield the might of the fae army and she seemed as eager to take over the human realm as King Ash. Killing the king will force them to retreat and regroup, buying us more time. But, most importantly, it gives us the bloodstone Yiyi needs to be free of me once and for all.”