Total pages in book: 210
Estimated words: 200096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1000(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 667(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 200096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1000(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 667(@300wpm)
He seizes her wrist before she can touch him, the vein in his forearm rippling with tension. “I did not ask for a demonstration,” he growls before pushing her aside and stepping backward into me, goading me farther away.
“Your mate is protective,” she croons.
“He is not my mate,” I blurt, earning Tyree’s warning glare.
“No?” Her hairless eyebrow raises and she steals a glance toward the king. “Your defender, then. That is good.”
If only she knew our history.
“No harm is to come to our kal’ana, I assure you.” King Hadkiel’s eyes have never left me. “She is a gift from the sea and the stars and serves the highest purpose to the people of Udrel. She is to be honored and revered.” He hesitates. “And, if willing, she will become their queen.”
I inhale sharply as the king drops to one knee and bows his head as his words take hold.
The flock of red conjurers mimic him, and a clatter of metal at the doorway hints that the guards have as well. Soon, Tyree and I are the only two left standing in the grand hall.
I have never seen a king kneel before anyone. And was that a proposal?
He rises with a sheepish smile that is boyish, despite the etched lines around his eyes and forehead. “I apologize. I was so excited to meet you that I have forgotten my manners. You must be famished.”
My stomach grumbles in answer.
“May I have the privilege?” He holds out his hand, palm raised. I feel myself gravitating toward it, his words a soothing balm after all I’ve endured these past days. Finally, someone treats me with the respect I deserve.
“It has been a while since we last ate.” I shrug off Tyree’s hold and slip my fingers into the king’s.
A warm buzz of conversation churns in the dining hall. Well, hall is not the appropriate term for this room and the lengthy, oval-shaped table that fills most of it. Twenty strangers sit around it with us—certainly nothing like the nightly affair in Cirilea—sharing jovial stories of children and grandchildren, and the latest household gossip that servants giggled about during daily tasks. It’s all very quaint and familiar, and nothing like I am used to.
Beside me, King Hadkiel has remained mostly quiet, listening and smiling, stealing glances at me often.
I find myself wanting to strike up conversation. “So, these are your advisors?” I pick off a piece of succulent meat from the bone. The table is laden with platters of various roasts drenched in gravies, root vegetables, and breads, and endless carafes of wine. I’m so ravenous, I’m struggling to remember decorum.
“Mostly.” King Hadkiel dabs a napkin at the crumbs on his lips. “Plus a few special guests who heard of your arrival and rushed to the city to see you for themselves.”
“No family?” Tyree watches us evenly from across the table, having barely touched his meal, sparing a frequent glance at the conjurers who stand sentry around the room as one would expect of the royal guards. His distrust seeps into the air.
“I lost my children and wife long ago. I am alone, unfortunately.” Blue eyes land on me. “Though I hope to change that soon.”
He is a brave and assertive mortal, I will give him that. He is a king, after all. But would the Skatranan boy-king my mother promised me behave with the same confidence?
Tyree scoffs. “You don’t even know her name.”
I take a deep, calming breath to keep from snapping at the buffoon. It’s as if he’s trying to insult the king, who has fed and clothed us, and shown nothing but kindness. And this is after he killed four of his royal guards! “It’s Annika.”
“Annika,” King Hadkiel repeats, my name lovely on his deep voice.
“You have no idea who we are or where we have come from, and yet you are so sure she is your savior. Why?” Tyree challenges.
“Because we have beseeched the sea and the stars for her, because she arrived on the heels of Azokur.” There’s an edge to the king’s tone now. “And because my people have been without a queen for too long. They need hope.”
Tyree is undeterred. “And mercy, apparently. Why do they need that?”
“Because they live in shadow.” King Hadkiel’s sinewy forearms tense as he meets Tyree’s steely stare with one of his own.
I remember the farmers’ children, clinging to their parents’ legs with fear, and the peasants outside the gate, their forlorn expressions. Was that poverty or something more?
“A ship once arrived at our shores, carrying explorers from a distant land.” Yidara steps forward, cutting into the growing tension. Everyone falls quiet to listen to the conjurer’s words. “They had traveled a great distance to reach us, and their hull brimmed with fine gifts from their ruler. They wished to open means for trade. They stayed as guests, learning all they could of our realm, our people, and our customs, and the way of shadow and light. And we in turn learned much about them—about the various realms of their lands, and the peoples who inhabited it. This terrible blood curse, as they called it, a punishment by their gods.”