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)
“Unless the gods speak, those beings will save our blade of realms—” Elleliese began.
“Or they’ll die trying,” Calisa bit. “Yes. Yes. Save the grand clichéd proclamations. We know. What we’re saying is, we were made warrior for a purpose. We are not made simply to watch. We are made to defend.”
“We are made,” Juliliel began soothingly, “to perform the will of the gods.”
The white oval fell silent.
For they all knew this to be true.
Calisa, Felenia, Elspeth and Salyna looked at Monique.
She lifted her chin nobly.
Monique was a consummate sister.
At least there was that.
With another stamp of her staff, Clover declared, “This assembly is closed.”
Once this was done, without another word, the Sisters of the Tribe blinked out of the oval one by one.
But it was Monique who vanished first.
Barret
Being very careful not to be seen, something she excelled at due to years of practice, Barret watched the female confer clandestinely with a male Barret did not know.
Therefore, he was a male who should not be on castle grounds.
But he was.
Further, both of them were in a spot that was not covered by the security cams that were monitored by the castle guard.
And Dyrdyn was speaking to him.
No.
It was the male who was doing most of the talking.
Barret watched as he handed Dyrdyn something. She then watched Dyrdyn quickly hide it in her bag.
The male spirited himself away.
She knew Dyrdyn would be on her guard, so Barret could not follow her.
However, as noted, Barret had this down.
Thus, she scurried to the kitchens.
She picked up the tray of tea and chocolate custard twists she had at the ready.
And she took it to the guard station down the hall.
As the guards drank tea, ate twists and chatted in friendly ways with Barret (because Barret came in there often), she scanned the screens that showed the angles of the castle, inside and out, and watched Dyrdyn tuck something away in a cupboard in the medi-unit.
Of course, being a nurse there, no one would suspect anything untoward.
But Barret knew it was untoward.
All right, she didn’t know.
But with the odd way King Riland had acted, especially in his last days, when he did not seem physically sick at all, so much so, she was shocked to her bones he’d died (and as such, she was perhaps the only one in the realm who was not surprised to find out he’d been murdered), she knew something was happening.
However, in those last days, behind his eyes was panic.
And rage.
Such rage.
That wasn’t the first time she’d seen that from the king.
But it had been the strongest.
She wished she had the courage to go in that medi-unit after hours and see what that was.
However, the medi-unit was not her province. They had specialized cleaning staff for the medi-unit. Unless she was hurt, there was no reason for her to be there. And the guard would see her in there and wonder why. Especially after the news of what befell King Riland.
This had, for years, stymied her.
Because Dyrdyn wasn’t the first.
It broke her heart. Camaryn adored her. They were planning a happy future together. And since Barret watched, she knew Camaryn had no idea.
He could even be a front for Dyrdyn, and not her beloved new husband at all.
Yes.
That broke her heart.
But now, there was Catla Truelock.
Thus far, it seemed Barret could trust that female.
It seemed that female had nothing but the king’s best interests at heart.
And it seemed this king had the best interests of Sky’s Edge at heart.
So maybe she could tell them.
Tell them and hope she was not wrong.
Tell them and hope they weren’t in on it (whatever it was) too.
Tell them and not cast suspicion on herself.
It was early days, though.
It frightened her, whatever Dyrdyn put in the medi-unit.
But she had to be sure.
Therefore, she had to wait and see.
Catla
Three weeks later…
I stood in the closet in the citadel, putting away my new citadel wardrobe.
Or it was a room that was now a closet.
Before, it had been the king’s dressing chamber.
Through a newly constructed open double doorway was Tanyn’s closet, a space that had once been the king’s valet’s room.
I wasn’t a big fan of our closets being separated. I’d grown accustomed, on occasion, to getting ready with Tanyn around.
I liked it.
Then again, I liked anytime my male was around.
Of course, that doorway was big, and I’d been told, if they removed the wall, the entire citadel would fall down.
So there was that.
It still sucked.
I finished with putting the last sweater on a newly fitted shelf, moved to the double doorway to peek in at my efforts with Tanyn’s clothes that had been moved from his old room (and new ones I’d purchased besides), then I walked into the bedchamber.
Zyra was there, fluffing the gold-fringed bolster pillow on the tester bed.
I had to admit, with no humility, the room was smashing.