Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
The hag on the right giggles. It’s a terrible sound. “Yes, you’re a smart one to have figured that out. So smart.”
I have the distinct impression I’m being taunted. “What do you know, hag?”
Torin reaches around and slaps the female. Her head snaps back with a vicious crack. A thin line of blood runs down her chin, but there’s a smile on her face. Her sister gets to her knees and rubs her head on the king’s lap. I’m nauseated at the sight.
“Don’t mind them,” Torin says, dismissing the hags. “They’re useful, but they enjoy causing chaos. We have excellent intelligence that it was the warrior half of the twins who slaughtered your brother. Your brother was a threat to them somehow. I had a spy there. They killed her as well.”
The hag with blood on her mouth leans in. “Our sister.”
The other smiles a vicious grin that shows shiny teeth. She looks vaguely reptilian. “The twins will pay, and so will their bitch. They think we don’t see. We see everything.”
“Then you saw how my brother died.” I need to know.
“Oh, yes, dear,” the hag on the left says with her hollow laugh. “We saw the it. Such a messy thing when a vampire dies.”
My fists clench, and I vow to kill Beckett Finn slowly. If Kinsey exploded, then the bastard caught his heart. It’s the only time a vampire explodes. It’s said to be a horrific, barbaric death, and one not fitting my brother. Yes, the twins will pay, and their bitch and their bastard cousin. “I’ll get you their heads.”
“And I’ll reward you,” Torin says in a soothing voice. “All of the Seelie Fae will bless your name. Trade will flow through our people. You’ll be a hero, Chalen Palgrave. Now, is there any way I can help? Did the ogre do its job?”
The ogre was a gift from the king. Apparently Torin made deals with certain factions in the Unseelie plane. “Currently the renegades are on the Refugee plane in the forests. Those forests are vast, Your Highness. If you could, perhaps, spare a search party? My mercenaries will have trouble tracking them.”
“I have a few friends who might be willing to help. They aren’t really friends, of course. They’re stinking Unseelie, but they’ll do anything for gold. Tell your mercenaries to expect a group of goblins. They can be quite devious. And, Chalen…”
“Yes?”
“I don’t expect to see my friends again. Do you understand?”
I’ll have to tell Roan to kill the goblins when the mission is done. Of course, perhaps the goblins could kill Roan. I’ll have to think on it. Treachery is a difficult business. “Absolutely, Your Highness.”
When the tablet blinks off, I lie back down in my bed, my dreams filled with blood.
Chapter Seventeen
Kaja
“Dante, get off the poor girl.” Meg stands over us, her eyes rolling as she looks at Dante.
I smile up at her. It is easy since Meg is my friend. My first friend.
“I do not mind.” I like how Dante lays his head in my lap. I let my hand drift down to rub his scalp. The clothing I wear feels odd, but he assures me I need it. He gave me some of his clothing. Like magic it became a skirt and shirt for me to wear, and Dante’s own clothing grew, creating more so he lost nothing by giving to me.
His eyes drift closed. “That’s nice, Kaj. As for you, Meg, don’t you have something to do?”
Meg’s hands are on her hips. “Well, I thought the point of this exercise was to flee and attempt to survive. You’re the one who’s turning it into a honeymoon.”
I am mightily confused. “Why does the moon need to be sweetened?”
Meg gives up and sits down beside me with a laugh. “I don’t guess the translators are completely up on all the Earth lingo. You see, on the plane I was born on, when a couple gets married, they take a trip together. It’s time for the couple to celebrate their union.”
Dante yawns, his arms stretching and then wrapping around my hips. “We call it bonding time. It’s a special and sacred time between a vampire and his consort. It shouldn’t be interrupted by a harpy.”
Meg’s eyes narrow. “Harpy? Have you forgotten that we were taken prisoner yesterday? I am not overreacting. Torin is making his move.”
I learned a bit listening to Meg and Dante argue all morning. Meg is a queen. It is something like being the First among women. Her husbands are the kings of their plane. There are many planes and many doorways. I was taken through one of those doorways by a creature called a demon. Dante is going to take me to his plane to meet his pack—family.
I am going to meet Dante’s family.
My heart speeds up at the thought. What if they do not like me?