Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 165618 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 662(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 165618 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 662(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
And because of that, did I sabotage all my relationships before, not because they weren’t good males, but because they weren’t Tanyn?
I’d always wanted a partner, and not because Dad had started pressing me to find one in my early twenties (as demon dads did). I wanted that for me. I was the kind of female who dreamed about what my wedding would be. How many children I wanted. A life lived sharing it with someone else.
But every male I’d been with, for one reason or another—and yes, I could now admit some of those reasons were petty—wasn’t right.
Was that because they weren’t Tanyn?
Even if fate was not in play, that didn’t mean destiny wasn’t.
A nuance of difference, but there all the same (said me).
Or was this wishful thinking?
On this thought, I lifted my hand, hesitated, then touched the snowy wall beside the window.
There was an odd spark of electricity that left a residue of heat, but that could be anything.
Mostly it was just odd because it was snow, but it felt like a wall.
“So, not the perfect match to the king. A female who comes to him in a time of trouble and breaks the curse on Berg Castle,” I mumbled to myself.
I was a little dejected about this, but lore was lore. It could be true. It could not. Or it could be partially true.
What couldn’t be avoided was that I was in love with Tanyn, and I was going to be his queen.
Even if I’d made the moves to start this process, I hadn’t yet allowed myself to settle into the decision.
In this time of quiet, when everyone else was seeing to other things, I settled myself into that decision with a sigh.
I would miss my old life. I would miss daily being involved in the art world.
But farg it.
I was going to be an excellent queen, and Tanyn and I were going to be an unbeatable team.
A knock came at the door.
I turned to it and called, “Come in,” and was surprised when it was Tanyn who strolled through.
Maybe I did have magic, if I could conjure my male just thinking about him.
“You don’t have to knock in your own castle,” I told him as he made his way to me.
“If you were in the middle of something, I didn’t want to disturb you.”
So sweet.
He made it to me and rounded me with his arms right before I declared, “I’m mad at you.”
His brows shot up. “What, my beautiful Catla, could I have possibly done when I haven’t even spoken to you today?”
“That,” I stated. “You left me in bed and haven’t spoken to me all day.”
“It’s only ten in the morning.”
“And?”
His lips curved up. “I didn’t want to wake you.”
“Okay, let’s get this sorted right now. You don’t have to knock. Even if I’m in the middle of something, just walk in. And I don’t mind if you wake me. I can go back to sleep. But wish me good morning before you go.”
“Noted. And the same goes for you.”
I scoffed. “I’ll never wake before you.”
“Okay, then don’t knock on my study door. You’re always welcome.”
“Right then.” I smiled a sunny smile. “I’m not mad at you anymore.”
He started chuckling.
I enjoyed the sound and feel of it.
His humor died, though, and I wasn’t a fan of that.
“I’m afraid I have something not all that great to share,” he said.
Fantastic.
“What now? Oh, wait. Did you get the warrant to take the bloods?”
“Yes. For the males in Gehenn. The bloods were drawn. The control drug was not detected, but an unknown preparation was. We have chemists analyzing it. However, in Night’s Fall, they first asked Arnaud to give blood willingly. He declined. Stridently. They’ve submitted the request for the warrant, but it hasn’t been granted yet.”
“As such, we can assume he’s hiding something,” I deduced.
“Yes.”
“So your theory that they’re under the influence of something that beats truth serum is proving true.”
“Perhaps. We’ll have to wait and see.”
“Well, you’re correct, this isn’t all that great, but it isn’t all bad either. If those chemists can find out what it is, they’ll know such an agent is out there and bloods can be taken before truth serum is delivered.”
“That isn’t the news I came to share.”
Oh boy.
“What news is that?”
He let me go to pull out his Palm, he brought something up on the display and handed it to me.
I looked down at it.
It was an article from a well-known tabloid newspaper in the Edge.
And the headline screamed, He’s Made His Choice.
Under that was a picture of Tanyn, looking amazing in a suit, walking into a building.
I’d seen that picture before. He’d been attending one of the hearings on his succession.
Next to it was a picture of me, taken direct from the staff section of Tempera’s pane. I was standing just to the side of a large painting by Deekor. It was a bright, mad, demented canvas covered in thick slashes and thicker drips of paint.