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)
She hooves my shin with her new boot—a gift from Uda, along with a fresh tunic, breeches, and cloak that were not pilfered from a corpse. The mortal must have traded the others for clean clothes.
I chuckle, even as I wince. I guess we’re going to pretend that didn’t happen last night? So be it.
She wraps her arms around herself as if she’s cold. “How long do you think we will travel for today?”
“We will stop in Basinholde,” comes a grumbled reply from the wagon floor. “It is a small city deep in the valley.”
I gently nudge Destry’s thigh with my toe. “You are awake, my friend.”
“It is impossible to sleep with all your gabbing.” She adjusts, curling up into a ball. “And mead makes my head pound.”
“Really? I quite liked it. And the honey. You will have to express my deep thanks to Ezra for the jar. I can promise, it was much enjoyed.” I study Annika’s reaction as I add, “Perhaps we can have another tonight.”
The corners of her mouth twitch, ever so slightly, but she refuses to relent to me.
I grin, letting her know that I see through her little charade. There is no point in pretending it was anything other than an unexpected but pleasurable night for her as well, not when I had her naked body undulating beneath my touch.
“Ezra is stingy. You will need to fight off another attack for that.”
Panic fills Annika’s face. “Will we be attacked again?”
“Not by bandits. We have moved away from Thievers Highway. If we are attacked, it will be by soldiers. May the light help us in that case. Ezra has fresh bread and cheese if you are hungry.” She groans, as if the mention of food stirs her nausea.
Annika’s nose wrinkles with disgust. “Do you always drink yourself to sleep?”
“Only when I am fortunate.” Destry tugs her cloak over her head, dismissing any more questions.
Annika frowns at me.
Who are we to judge, though? Clearly Destry is running from demons of a sort, but as long as she helps Annika and me escape this place, she can stay inebriated. “Hungry?” We didn’t get the chance to eat before we stuffed ourselves into this coffin.
“Famished.”
I draw the curtain back. The sun is shining—a welcome respite from the dense fog and misery of the last few days, but also an opportunity to see more of this realm we were brought to. The horses plod along a snaking road that cuts through forest, moving downhill. In the distance is a range of jagged mountains that reach beyond the cloud cover.
A dark shadow weaves around one of the pinnacles, earning my shock. “Is that a wyvern?”
Ezra spares me a shrug.
I point ahead and flap my hands, mimicking wings. “A wyvern.”
He follows my focus and then nods as if understanding. “Wroxlik.”
I repeat the word, committing it to memory. He doesn’t seem shocked by it or concerned. “What is it doing there?”
He shakes his head, then juts his chin to Uda, who digs out a loaf of bread and hunk of cheese from her satchel.
“Many thanks.” I wink as I accept it from her, and her cheeks flush with her smile.
Ezra rolls his eyes at his daughter.
“Do not give her too hard a time. She can’t help herself. I am far too appealing to ignore.” They have no idea what I’m saying. “Isn’t that right, Annika? I believe you said that very same thing last night before you climbed onto my—” I grunt from another hard kick to my shin.
“What did you say this place was called again?” Annika peeks out of the curtain, having swapped crate seats with me earlier so she could get air.
Destry pulls herself up off the floor with a stretch. It took the entire trip for her hangover to subside, but she seems more energized now. “Basinholde. Ezra usually spends two or three days here, selling his wares at the market and resting his horses before the steady climb up the other side of the valley. Given our purpose, he will sell what he can this afternoon and evening, and we will leave in the morning.”
We’re certainly somewhere far busier than where we’ve been. The sounds of life—men shouting, babies crying, horses plodding—carry outside.
“Here, let me have a look.”
Annika pouts. “But I like this seat.”
“That’s fine. You don’t have to move.” I tuck in behind her on the crate, my chest pressed against her back as I watch the view. She stiffens but doesn’t pull away. We’ve continued this charade all day, where she pretends nothing happened between us last night. I shamelessly flirt and she studiously ignores, and every time my gaze is somewhere else, I feel hers dissecting me.
The streets of Basinholde are narrow and crowded, lined with shops below and half-timbered homes in the stories above, the windows draped in greenery and blooms. Stables of horses are plentiful.