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)
Tanyn took a sip of his drink and kept speaking to the fire.
“They took to boats. After many months of searching, they discovered Sigil. It was almost perfect. The journey to it was treacherous. It could easily be defended, but there was no reason to venture here. However, since there was never a thaw, they couldn’t grow food and would have to subsist on fish and wildlife. Even then, they knew a body needed fruit, vegetables and grains. But he didn’t forget Sigil and passed the knowledge of it along to the next generation. Chieftains, and then kings became fascinated by it. In war, it was a perfect place to retreat or strategize, if it was amply supplied. It was also a quiet place to get away from the rigors of rule and contemplate. Construction on this castle started only a few years after the Demon Rift.”
When I’d read about it, I’d been startled by that fact, considering how far away this island was and how much effort that would take using antiquated means of transport and construction.
However, beings back then got stuff done regardless that they hadn’t yet harnessed electricity or created construction bots.
“And then there was a female. A fae,” Tanyn continued. “Lauded as the most beautiful female on the continent, and this would seem true, because she was hounded by royals, aristocrats, merchants, sorcerers. All of them wanted her, none of them she wanted. To escape their romantic pursuits, she ended up running from Land’s End all the way up to Sky’s Edge. And of course, she came to the attention of the king, who was different in one way than the others.”
He took another sip of his drink.
I waited.
He swallowed and said, “He didn’t mind capturing her and imprisoning her to keep her for himself.”
All right.
I’d read up on Sigil, and the whole war-weary-chieftain-discovering-it story was easily available to find on panes.
But there was no mention of an imprisoned fae.
“Even if he was married…” Tanyn went on.
And…
Did I detect a hint of bitterness in his tone?
“…with three children, he became obsessed with her. This obsession turned to paranoia. He was certain someone would steal her from him. Or she’d fall in love with one of her guards and they’d make an escape. In order to keep her only to himself, he devised a plan. He put her on a boat with a contingent of female guards. He shipped her to Sigil. He settled her here in this citadel with her guard. He then left to go back to ruling his kingdom, with promises he’d return frequently, and obviously send supplies in the meantime. This he did. Until being away from her dulled his obsession to the point he nearly forgot about her.”
Oh boy.
Tanyn kept going.
“But he remembered. And sent another supply ship, with him on it. However, when they arrived at Sigil, they found she, and all her guard, had perished from either cold or starvation. They noted they’d tried to build a boat, but it’s likely they were so weak from lack of sustenance at that time, they couldn’t. It’s also hard to hunt and chop wood when you have no fuel to sustain your bodies. However their tragic last days came about, all that led up to it had to be a very prolonged form of torture.”
I sat still and said nothing after he finished his sad tale.
Tanyn wasn’t still.
He downed the rest of his drink, got up and moved to the cabinet.
On a little whine (also feeling his daddy’s mood?), Hurley left me and went to him.
I found my voice.
“Did anyone use this place after she and the rest died?”
“Yes. But it went into disuse in the early eighteen hundreds,” he answered, returning to his chair, also returning his attention to the fire.
“It seems like a…well, a mighty big place for just a female and her son,” I noted carefully.
At that, he looked at me. “The majority of it is still closed off. When I said my father restored it so we could live here, he restored it only to what we might need. Electricity. Plumbing. Bedrooms. Bathrooms. Kitchen. Manually supplied Cook-Companions and Chill-Cupboards. And a few extra rooms for us to live in. The rest, in order to assist in keeping it warm, has been closed off. Once I have the time and attention, though, I’ll be refurbishing them.”
After I took another sip from my drink, I remarked, “If you do, it’s a lot for a lone male. And the citadel caretakers, of course.”
“I’m no longer a lone male, am I?” he asked.
I walked right into that one.
“And we will have children,” he stated.
My heart squeezed with anxiety, and my stomach with something else.
Ummmm…
He cocked his head to the side. “Do you want children?”
“Yes,” I said like it was pulled out of me.