Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
I felt Weston through the bond, his emotions turbulent, matching mine.
Would he go to the fairy kingdom with me? Standing by me didn’t mean he’d want to leave his home and his job and go somewhere without a pack. I wondered if he’d enjoy the chance to be around people of his status, to be able to open up a bit more and join the parties.
Maybe that was wishful thinking.
Was this why he hadn’t yet claimed me? It wouldn’t make sense to claim each other if I was going to leave and he didn’t want to go.
My heart hurt with that thought as Leala led me up the stairs and down a hall, stopping before a set of double doors.
“Good luck,” she said, smiling supportively, and turned to leave.
The attendants opened the doors, and I stepped through, finding the king and queen already seated at the table. The queen sat at the head and the king was on her right, leaving an open place setting in front of him.
“Aurelia.” The king stood as I entered, then circled around the table to pull out my chair.
“Thank you,” I murmured, taking a seat.
Someone came around with wine just as Nyfain sat back down, pouring us each a glass.
Nyfain wasted no time getting to the point. “I heard you had a meeting with Calia.” His gaze was hyper-focused.
“This morning, yes.” I leaned back so the attendant could put my napkin in my lap for me—a little overkill.
“She identified you as an Emoter, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And of course you know that you are also a very powerful wolf.”
“Right. I need training for both.”
The soup was put in front of us, and I reached for the salt without tasting it. The castle chef was pretty consistent with the lack of seasoning. Calia had said the fairy cooks were some of the best in the world. I should’ve asked her what she thought of the food here. I would love to meet with people with a similar culinary passion and trade secrets with one another. Another hobby, perhaps.
Nyfain delicately dipped his spoon into the soup and then ran the bottom of it against the far edge of the bowl. He brought it up to his lips slowly, then sipped from the side of the spoon daintily.
My stomach churned as I picked up my spoon. I’d never looked even remotely that sophisticated when I ate. I wouldn’t even know where to start.
I noticed Finley staring at me. When I glanced that way, she winked before unceremoniously dipping her spoon into her soup, letting the drips on the bottom fall back into the bowl, and slurping it into her mouth.
I smiled gratefully and nearly laughed. Nyfain glanced up at me and then noticed Finley.
“Excuse me.” He gave me a little smile. “I was forgetting myself.”
He dropped the poshness immediately, and my anxiety eased a little.
“I’ll just get down to it,” he said. “I know what her offer was. We cannot match even half of the yearly gold allotment. This kingdom was ailing for many years. It’s tiny in comparison to some of the other kingdoms. We are trying to expand and fortify. Most of what we make is pumped back into those efforts.”
“We’re looking after the people,” Finley added, “making sure those without much have proper housing, medicine, and education. We’re expanding communities—training teachers and healers, installing recreational centers and instituting various programs for the youth. We want to make this an amazing place to live, and the steps we are taking have been positive. Because of that, though, we have less discretionary gold. Nearly every coin is put to work.”
I finished half of my soup and laid down my spoon. “I understand that.”
“Your status here would be similar to what Calia is promising,” Nyfain said.
“But as a re-established and therefore new kingdom, one with a common queen and a king without a longstanding royal bloodline, your status across kingdoms wouldn’t be as high.”
Nyfain’s jaw clenched. He did not appreciate his mate shooting down his bartering chip.
“You’d be granted an apartment,” Nyfain said. “Something large enough to house the family you so clearly want.”
I felt my face redden as a server cleared our bowls.
“What about my status as a captive?” I asked. “What about my freedom? The fairies would let me come and go. Their kingdom doesn’t despise me for who I am or what I’ve done.”
“When they find out, and they will find out”—Nyfain gave me a pointed look—“they may very well despise you. You’ve created a lot of problems there, same as here. They might not say it outright, given your status, but you’ll be able to tell that they are thinking it. You can’t outrun your past with Granny, Aurelia. Here, we will help you work through it. We’ll integrate you into our pack. You already know some of them, and they like and respect you. Weston thinks it would be an easy transition.”