Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71403 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71403 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
A faint blue outline of Sebastian’s handprint now decorated my chest, tiny runes hidden within the lines. The second mark.
He gripped my hip with one hand and used the other to trace over the lines of the brand, primal satisfaction etched in his face. “I wanted to share with you my favorite sight,” he said, and bent and kissed my throat, right where my pulse hammered. “You. Like this. With me.”
I raised my hands overhead and combed my fingers backward, into his silken hair. “I would like it very much if you would do that thing with your—” I stiffened as knowledge downloaded straight into my brain. “Shifters have breached palace grounds.”
“Já.” His hand flexed on my hip. “Per my instructions, shifters are making camp in a hidden grotto to prepare for the convergence ceremony. I’m due for a meeting with Jon and his leaders to accept the rune stone.” He growled against my shoulder before kissing it too. “Join me when you’re ready.”
“I will,” I said, grateful for the time to recover from the delights of last night. This would be my first showing as kraken queen, and I wanted to be in top form.
He released me and strode into his closet, emerging minutes later wearing a plain black T-shirt and leathers. His step faltered when he found me exactly where he’d left me, naked and soft.
His growl came again. “I was never going to have the strength to resist you.”
Chuckling, I caught him by the shoulders as he passed me on his way to the door. I kissed him, quick and claiming. “I won’t be long.”
Before he could sling his arms around me, I darted into the closet.
Humming under my breath and dancing with every step, I showered and changed into a pale blue gown with ebony threads sewn to resemble tentacles and sheer golden panels falling from my shoulders like wings.
After strapping on a pair of shoes, I raced from the chamber. I sensed Sebastian’s location. And his emotions. He wasn’t happy.
Gunnar waited in the hall. He bowed low, as he’d never done before, saying, “My queen.”
I grinned even as I picked up the pace. “I love hearing that. But I’m not stopping to chat. This queen is in a hurry.” I had a solution to find.
Following the tether to a part of the palace I’d never ventured, I sailed down a quiet corridor not far from the throne room and the king’s study, past a stretch with multiple offices and conference rooms encased in glass walls. This must be where the business of the realm took place.
And there was Sebastian, inside one of the conference rooms, and my blood sang.
He sat at the head of a long, rectangular table, crafted from the polished wood of an ancient shipwreck. Harpa perched herself at the other end, regal in a way I’d not witnessed before. Along each side waited two shifters. Jon, with three men I’d never met.
The shifters were shouting while Sebastian and Harpa remained unbothered.
Heads turned as I entered with Gunnar behind me. Sudden quiet fell, the incoherent rants ending. Something about… the risk?
The brand on my chest heated, glowing through my gown. Everyone stared at me with varying degrees of astonishment.
Sebastian raised his chin, stood, and motioned me over. “I suggest you do not raise your voice in front of my queen, Jon. Truce or no truce, I will gut you.” There was no missing the menace he radiated. “Bronwyn, my treasure. The shifters have decided to return to the grotto rather than bleed on our table.”
“I appreciate the kindness, gentlemen. I prefer my honeymoon gut free.” I moved to Sebastian’s side.
Jon and his men also stood. He adjusted the retracted spear sheathed at his side, glancing between us. “If you fail—”
“And now you insult our ability after your failure?” the king snapped.
Jon gave a clipped nod before striding from the room, his men right behind him. Gunnar followed him out.
Sebastian looked to me and smiled, his mask flawless, but I’d learned him. Knew him. There was no hiding the meeting’s lingering effects: a low simmer of anger.
He sat and pulled me onto his lap. I pressed my fingers to his palm, speaking without words as taught by our tutor. I choose you above the tide. My way of saying all was well.
He rewarded me with a press of his own.
“What did I miss?” I asked.
“The truth, for one thing.” Lady Harpa rose to her full height. For the first time, she appeared utterly put together, not a single strand of hair out of place.
Rather than a gown, she wore a tunic and battle leathers. Even her eyes were sharp, and the sight threw me. Where was chaos walking?
“There is no other means of killing Jokull,” she snapped. “Accept what is to come and help me reclaim the rune.”