Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 64571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Not a warning bark. A predator’s snarl, coming from above. From the second floor. We both drop our heads back and stare up.
“Minnie,” I breathe out.
We exchange a look, and no words are needed. We pivot toward the stairs, taking them quickly. The second-floor hallway is darker, with emergency lights spaced farther apart. Minnie’s claws skid on marble somewhere ahead, followed by a woman’s sharp cry.
We round the corner and freeze on the edge of the conservatory. Almost all the walls are glass, including the stained glass window with peacocks that Teddy’s grandma loved.
Minnie has someone cornered against it, sixty pounds of muscle coiled to spring into action. Blood stains the woman’s sleeve where Minnie caught her once already. Minnie’s growling, teeth bared, ready to strike again.
It’s her. The queen. The cunt that not only had both of my fathers killed but also sent men to kill me!
She looks up. When her eyes land on us, she smiles, as if this is all a delightful surprise, running into each other.
“There you are, little swan.”
“Wow,” Teddy says. “The wicked queen vibe is immaculate. Tell me you practice that smirk in the mirror.”
“Hours in front of a mirror,” the queen says, not breaking eye contact with me. “Your cat is going to get hurt if she doesn’t back down.”
“Are we talking about the same cat?” I ask. Because of how much Minnie’s teeth are bared, I’m not sure we can stop her.
The queen’s smile flickers. She edges along the window, but Minnie shifts with her, ears flat, a low growl rumbling in her chest. Whoever said dogs are more loyal was gravely mistaken.
“You think this ends with me?” the queen says. “You have no idea who you’re up against.”
“Right.” Teddy snorts a laugh. “Like we don’t know what crazy looks like.”
The queen keeps going, and I’m starting to think she’s not the fun kind of crazy; she’s a pure form of it. “I have resources. Networks. You kill me, someone worse takes my place.”
“Like me?” I chirp. “We’ll kill them too. We’re building a collection.”
“Like Pokémon,” Teddy agrees. “But with more blood.”
The queen’s eyes narrow. “You think you can just take the crown from us? I have given my life for this, and one man who can’t keep his dick in his pants is trying to rip it from me. It’s ours. You have no idea what you’ve involved yourselves in. The monarchy of Grandeurs—”
“Is that the actual name?” I cut her off. I was sure she was about to be stomping her feet. “That sounds like a theme park. Do you have a castle? Please tell me you have a castle.”
“We have several.”
“Oh, fancy.” I look at Teddy. “We should get a castle.”
“You have a penthouse,” she reminds me.
“Not the same.”
“Definitely not the same.”
The queen’s hand moves.
“Don’t you think about it,” I warn her; her hand freezes. “You killed my dad, and I don’t mean the cowardly king.”
“I killed your mother too.”
“Well, you thought you killed me too, so you’re not that great at it.”
“You think you’ll make it out of here?” she asks with a confidence I admire.
“I think you did all of this for nothing. I don’t want your crown,” I tell her.
“We have a whole vault full of them,” Teddy adds. “Every color and gem you could dream of.”
“Lies, you want it. The bastard child of the king thinking she can swoop in and claim what’s mine.”
“What are you talking about? Julian is over there running things, trying to find your crazy ass.” The mention of her son must set her off. Her whole expression changes, and she reaches again, pulling a small blade out.
She tries to lunge toward me, but Minnie is quicker. The giant lynx launches herself at the queen, claws extended, momentum carrying them both backward. The queen screams as they crash through the stained glass in an explosion of blue and gold shards.
“Minnie!” Teddy screams as she and I run to the broken window, glass crunching under our shoes.
Below, the queen lies sprawled on the lawn. Minnie stands over her for a moment, then bounds away toward the tree line. Tristan and Killian stand at the edge of the garden, guns still in hand, looking up at us.
“Well,” I say, leaning out the window, “she really dropped by.”
“Uninvited,” Teddy adds.
“Rude.”
“Very.”
The queen groans. Twitches.
“Damn,” Teddy says. “She’s alive.”
“For now.” I shrug.
“Hey! Are you alive down there? You fell for us pretty hard!” Teddy calls down.
No response.
“That’s kind of disappointing,” I say. “I had so many more window jokes prepared.”
“Like what?”
“‘That must have been a painful exit.’ ‘Shattered expectations.’ ‘See right through you.’”
“Solid.” Teddy nods. “I was thinking ‘clearly broken.’”
“Glass half empty?”
“Transparency issues.”
Tristan doesn’t hesitate. He hands his gun to Killian and starts climbing, finding handholds in the ivy and broken window frame.
“Oh my God,” I laugh. I was kind of teasing, and I thought he’d use the stairs.