Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Her whole body started to shake.
Fuck. This was a risk. A big fucking risk.
But she was making a choice, and that mattered. Come what may, she would get this done. If she had to take a break from reality to distance herself from her body, so be it. Her family was worth it, and she realized with a start…so was Tarian. He was worth all of this. Because she loved him.
She fucking loved him.
She loved his mind and his humor, his brutality and the softness he showed only her and his Fallen. She loved being with him, touching him, and the gentle caresses he trailed across her skin when they were spent and snuggling in bed. He’d weaseled his way into her heart and taken root. She would do this, do anything, to free him. To save him…and save her family and his.
Taking a deep breath, she finished putting on the mostly see-through garment and bent for her clothes. Needing a distraction, she shuffled everything around, stood up, and “accidentally” dropped the stolen knife. Then, in mock terror, she whimpered and backed up quickly, shoving the magical knife into the strap at the back of the garment.
But the garment wasn’t tight enough to hold it.
She juggled it as the guards looked in confusion at their knife. They startled. The owner quickly bent to fetch it, and the other looked at his sheaths to make sure his weren’t missing. She tried to twist her knife in the straps, then tried to find another strap with which to hold it. Her towel, blocking the view of all this, slid from around her bust as she maneuvered.
She gritted her teeth, fumbled the knife, and prepared to attack. Her options were limited.
Instead of falling, though, the knife stopped in its slide. It caught on the middle of her back, within the satin and lace, and magically stuck to her skin. It hadn’t wanted to stay put when only half was tucked into the strap, but now that it was covered, it was happy. That female had given her knife a new trick.
Who the fuck was that female?
By the time the guards looked up, she’d lifted her hands, backed to the wall, and let the towel fall down around her ankles.
“You d-dropped it so I grabbed it, just in c-case,” she stammered.
Guard Two’s face closed down in wary uncertainty. He wasn’t sure when he could’ve dropped it. Guard One, however, looked over with a you’re an idiot expression before advancing on her. He didn’t seem worried about her in the least. Her performances in the court battles must’ve been convincing. The last certainly had been, with how that other slight champion had handled her.
He grabbed her hand while smirking down at the loose garment, too roomy in the bust and not fitting properly around her hips. If she hadn’t been human, the king wouldn’t have bothered with her at all. She didn’t fit the mold he was looking for.
She tried to slither away, pushing at the guard, begging and pleading with him to let her go. The other guard hastened over. He grabbed her free wrist while the other was clasped into the metal manacle. Then the second hand. The leather kept the chill of the metal away. Its well-worn nature brought in the waking nightmares.
They didn’t mess with the chains. They didn’t worry about her reaching forward and grabbing them or her discarded items at her feet, even though one of their knives had come out of it. With her dealt with, they hurried out of the bedchambers like their asses were on fire. They clearly didn’t want to be here any more than she did.
She’d been right, though. They would’ve been missed.
But now she had willingly allowed herself to be caught. She was at the king’s mercy.
32
Daisy
The door opened, and a masked and robed figure walked in with their head bowed. Another entered behind, their faces not visible within their hoods. They peeled off to the sides, making way for the king to follow on their heels. From his neck to his ankles, he wore a strange black bodysuit with a light sheen. A deep red robe was draped over it, dusting the ground as he walked. In one hand he held an obsidian scepter, and balanced on his other palm was the diamond chalice.
He didn’t say a word as he covered the space between them. His magic flowed over her, its vileness seeping into her pores. Her heart quickened as he stopped in front of her. He held out the items he carried, and his minions glided forward to take each.
“Hmm.” The sound sent disgust shivering across Daisy’s skin. His gaze took in every inch of her. “I have always detested humans.” He held out a hand. One of the minions supplied him with a whip. Her breathing grew shallower, but she didn’t show her growing trepidation. “Detested, but desired.”