Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 115347 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115347 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
A bellow of fury cut through the air, seeming to come from everywhere at once. Kaysar had learned of her existence, and he was indeed coming for her.
“Micah?” she pleaded. “Do you still seek a future with me?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
AND THE BLOWS keep coming.
Micah stood rooted in place, silent. A warm breeze blew past. Its citrusy, flowery scent brought no comfort, only agitation. In his veins, blood froze. In his lungs, air crystallized. The betrayal he’d feared had already come to pass. Weeks ago, in fact. He just hadn’t known it.
His wife had betrayed him from the beginning. Fresh start? No, they’d enjoyed no such thing. Not when she’d harbored such a costly secret. She’d tried to warn him at least.
Only a few feet away, she peered at him with vulnerable, questioning eyes.
Vulnerable? Lie!
Her lips parted, as if too many words crowded her tongue. She held a small toy like a mother with her firstborn child. Maybe she was. The thing had spoken to her. Was still speaking while examining him with porcelain irises.
“Who is he, Momma?”
“He’s...Daddy.” Viori chewed on her bottom lip. “Isn’t he?”
Not knowing what to say, he remained silent. Viori hoped to smooth over the bumps created by her duplicity and continue as if nothing had changed. But everything had changed. How was he supposed to reconcile this new revelation with Fayette’s vision?
His wife, holding hands with Kaysar, killing soldiers who’d once served under Micah’s command. Micah, dead as his wife’s children ravaged the campground. A real possibility now. Viori and Kaysar were siblings. Of course she would work with him.
Puzzle pieces of information locked together, forming a complete picture for Micah. More calculated than he’d realized. The timing of her arrival. Her reaction to seeing Kaysar. Her determination and ferocity to protect him from war.
Her willingness to wed Micah—and stay with him.
He understood the reason for keeping quiet about her familial connection. He did. It had been a smart move on her part. Very smart. Every foolish move had been made by Micah himself.
“He’s big,” Drendall remarked, pulling him from his thoughts.
“Yes, he is,” Viori rasped. “But he’s wonderful, too.”
Wonderful. His mouth turned down. Did this female genuinely desire him? Maybe. Did she wish to be his forever? Again, maybe. But it didn’t matter anymore. They had no future. How could they? The first time Micah and Kaysar disagreed—and they would—Viori would side with her brother, her real family, as she’d done from the beginning. Micah would never be the recipient of her loyalty. Never be her first choice. The scale would only ever skew in his disfavor. He would give, and she would take. He would always wonder, Does she stay with me to stop me from turning on her sibling? Every day he would expect the next betrayal.
Can’t live that way. Yearning for a future that Fate seemed eager to deny him. Wanting what he couldn’t have—what he gave. Loyalty. He was desperate for it, willing to compromise everything he held dear. So...no. No, he couldn’t be with Viori and survive. Even now, hope, joy and peace were dying inside him.
Better to be on his own. Erwen had lived alone most of his life. Had even warned him. No kingdom. No people or friends. No risk of betrayal. The downfall of every chimera.
No more leering looks. No more incomparable pleasures. No more cuddling throughout the night.
Pain seared him, and he nearly doubled over. Too bad the elderseed couldn’t heal a heart destroyed.
Revealing nothing, he set his sights on escape. This wasn’t a time to present a verdict about next steps. No, this was a time for battle preparation. Any moment, Kaysar would arrive; the king wouldn’t welcome his brother-in-law with open arms but closed fists. Micah had no doubts of it. That enraged bellow...
“Micah?” Viori asked, a tremor in her voice. She petted the squirming doll’s hair. “Talk to me. Please. Tell me you understand why I did what I did. Let’s settle this before Kaysar’s arrival.”
“There’s nothing to settle,” he replied, shockingly calm. Eerily so. “I do understand.”
Tides of relief and hope seemed to pour over her. She clutched the doll tighter, tears welling in her eyes. “You do? Truly?”
“I do. But my understanding only hurts your cause,” he explained softly, and her expression fell. “Kaysar is your brother. He will always come first for you, as you’ve proved time and time again, leaving your husband to make do with leftover scraps.” Careful. “Tell me honestly, Viori. Would you be willing to accept so little from me, if I constantly chose someone else over you?”
She gulped. “A-are you asking me to choose between you and Kaysar?”
He canted his head. “If I am? Would you do it?” Stop! Do not push this. But...he must. A foolish part of him still wanted to be with her, and there was no other way.