Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 111353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
“What the fuck did I tell you about answering on the first ring?”
“Yes, boss,” he cried, waking the fuck up. “Sorry, boss.”
“You’ve got twelve hours.” My eyes fixed on her as the door swung shut, lingering until the very last second. “You get her to make that phone call, or I’ll show you what I do to useless shits.”
“Yes, boss,” Kazuya said. “We are your loyal servants, Prince Sloth. Your will is our life.”
I cringed at the slobbering devotion in the fool’s voice. All it took was a peek behind my glamour to get the three of them to fall to their knees, begging to pledge their loyalty to House Sloth. I needed unpledged demons that already had a grudge against my Charlotte to harass her, so that neither she nor the mutt would guess I was manipulating things behind the scenes.
But still, I blamed her for me having to associate with these disgusting pawns. If only Hunter had the sense to take my offer the moment it was given.
“Before twelve hours are up,” Kazuya said, “I promise we’ll have that mortal screaming and begging to take whatever bond you give her.”
“Promises are nothing,” I replied. “Action is all.”
I hung up on his reply, my booted feet carrying me silently down the hall and into the shadowy recesses of the manner.
“As you’ll find out the hard way, sweet little Charlotte.”
ERLIK SLAMMED AND LOCKED the library doors behind us, leaving us to begin our pointless hunt for the shade.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Charlotte grab her sister’s hand and run off—leading her to a safe place that did not exist here or anywhere else.
Immediately, I conjured up a chaise and made myself comfortable, stretching myself out as I pulled out the mirror. To anyone else, it would look like I was looking at my reflection. No one would or need know the face I was truly gazing upon.
“Oooh, good idea, Ro-Ro,” Kama purred. She had recovered fast from her impromptu ejection from my bedroom. “It’s not our job to hunt down Erlik’s lost pets. We’ll relax while the peasants play.”
The other princesses gleefully latched on to the idea. I didn’t pretend to be listening while they set up the library’s new lounge, and claimed new possible pledges like they were picking teams for hellball.
It was because I wasn’t listening that I missed one of them ordering some random little Others’ spawn to join in with my mortal.
I sat up a little straighter, my frown deepening as Charlotte’s suspiciousness quickly melted away as the reject Nik spun his tale of persecution and woe.
“Clever little mouse,” I hissed as they hatched their crackpot plan. “All these other fools see a red-blooded freak. But you...”
Nik smirked at Charlotte’s and Dora’s backs. Flipping open his notebook, he jotted down one more bullet point on the page newly titled Humans.
Beautiful
Reckless
Funny
Gullible
“You see a prize.”
The mirror drifted away from him, following its true subject, and with growing fury, I watched as the ridiculous woman plopped down in the dark and offered up her soul and life to the first shade passing.
I bit off a curse when Charlotte suddenly stiffened. The blood brained from those rosy, plump cheeks as the shade dug her claws in. “Fuck’s sake,” I gritted. “You’re going to die just to save that mouse from a run?! He wields dryad magic. He’s been using the lower lifeforms to cheat his way through the academy since day one. He was never going to run anywhere; he’s just using you as bait to win!”
“Hmm?” Sauda slid over and laid her head on my chest. “What did you say, baby?”
I tensed like a bowstring, no longer pretending to sleep. Not only did Charlotte not hear my heated warning, she was also... losing the white of her fingertips.
Where the fuck are you, fools? It was your idiotic plan to run in with the flames and chase the shade into a box, so what the hell are you waiting for!?
Eyes dropping shut, Charlotte slowly fell forward.
“No!” I swung my legs down, readying to run down there and shred that shadow to ribbons. You’re not killing my new pet before she’s even mine! I bolted up—
—then stopped.
I couldn’t run in there without an explanation of why and how I knew she was in danger when I was supposedly sleeping in the lounge a dozen stacks away.
Just as suddenly, another idea occurred to me.
Pressing my thumb and forefinger together, I blew soft but sharply through the tiny “o” of my fingers—sending the magic on. A dozen stacks away, Charlotte’s voice—the magic exact in its mimicry—bellowed “now!” in Nik’s and Adora’s ears.
“Argh!” they roared, charging in with the torches and freeing my pet from the shade.
I LEISURELY STROLLED around the manor as the race began—not even pretending I was going to do something as undignified as run. Mirror gripped tight in my hand, I watched as Charlotte’s screaming quickly morphed into laughter—laughs she shared with her sister, and that sneaking rodent Nik as they soared above the manor.