Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 132138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 661(@200wpm)___ 529(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 661(@200wpm)___ 529(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
It is, perhaps, better to see her only in dreams, but like many things in my life, I have no choice. I must find her. My powers are flaring, going wild.
And Shim...
I sigh as I realize where my brother is. I turn and jog toward the beach, praying my idiot brother didn’t fall asleep where selkies will take him.
I jog across the grounds, reaching the highest point. From here I can turn back and see the Dark Palace shining like a jewel in the distance. To the east I can see the road. A small party is approaching. My father’s advance guard already confirmed it’s my cousin Julian leading the rebel Seelie kings.
Her brothers.
Gods, I’m going to meet Bron’s brothers, and I haven’t figured out if I plan to tell them a damn thing. If I tell them the truth, they’ll scoff and tell me I’m bloody insane. My father will shake his head in a way that lets me know how disappointed he is. Only Gillian and Duffy in all the plane believe our secret—that we already bonded to the Seelie princess. Without permission or even her real knowledge. It was instinctive, a cry that crossed two planes, saved her life, and inadvertently ruined my face.
I shake off thoughts of that terrible day and turn back to the sea. I can’t see my brother, but there’s a small figure awkwardly moving on the rocks that make up the beach.
Little gnome. Big axe. That’s Duffy. And where Duffy is, my brother can’t be far behind. The gnome hefts the axe Shim gave him months before on the date they mutually decided on for the celebration of Duffy’s birthday. Duffy wanted an axe. The damn thing is nearly bigger than the gnome, and more than once he fell on his ass from trying to swing it. The year before, Shim and I bought our lifelong friend a set of custom-made armor. The blacksmith laughed the whole time he made it.
It isn’t that no one told Duffy that gnomes aren’t warriors. Duffy is just terribly hard of hearing when he wants to be.
The dog at my feet yips and pants as though waiting for the fun to begin.
“Go away.” I start down the trail that leads to the beach, the dog at my heels. I try to give the dog the command to stay, but it isn’t a well-trained thing. More than likely his lack of discipline is what led to his untimely death.
“Duff!” I yell the minute I hit the beach. Now I can see Shim, lounging with his back against a boulder, one hand over his heart. His legs and feet have sunk in the pebbles beneath, telling me that he’s been here for a while. No soft, warm, sandy beaches on the Unseelie plane. Everything is hard and deadly. I’ve been to the Vampire plane, with its tropical beaches. I stood looking over the peaceful sea in someplace my cousin called Hawaii, and I wanted to bring Bronwyn there. I imagined sinking into the soft sand and reveling in her body. Bonding time, the vampires call it. First bite. Oh, that first bite would be amazing. First blood.
My fangs descend. The damn things do it at the worst times, but I’m used to it. And I’m used to ignoring the hunger. When I want real blood in my mouth, I go hunting and gorge myself on predatory creatures. The hunt feeds me as much as the blood does.
My brother has another coping mechanism.
Shim lays with his eyes on the ocean, but I know damn well that isn’t what my brother is seeing.
The dead dog barks, warning Duffy of our approach since apparently my yelling his name didn’t do the trick. The gnome shrieks, and his axe comes down on the pebbled sand, barely missing his feet.
“Lachlan. You scared ten years off me life.” Duffy leans over, resting his hands on his knees and dragging cool air into his lungs.
I narrow my eyes, standing over the gnome. At six feet five inches, I know I can be intimidating to the four-foot gnome. “And what do you think you’re doing to me, Duff?”
Wide blue eyes look back up. “Ain’t doing nothing but protecting Shim.”
I point out at the sea. Not forty feet off the shore is a telltale froth of water. That white churning proves how reckless my brother has become.
“Were you going to use that axe on the mermaids?”
Duffy turns quickly, his hat falling off his head. “Mermaids? Bloody hell.”
“Yes, bloody is the key point. It’s going to be your blood and then Shim’s all over this beach, and all because my brother here can’t deal with reality.” I nearly growl when I turn back to my brother and roll my eyes. Shim has a smile on his face, his eyes blank. He doesn’t even notice that half a dog is licking at his chin.