Total pages in book: 220
Estimated words: 205637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1028(@200wpm)___ 823(@250wpm)___ 685(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 205637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1028(@200wpm)___ 823(@250wpm)___ 685(@300wpm)
Fabulous.
“Why are you here?” I asked, refusing to run my hand down my face because it would show my sudden exhaustion.
“I was given matewealth by the late king. A dowry, essentially—”
“A bribe to marry that mad fool, that’s what you were given,” Dee mumbled.
“We agreed on a large sum of gold. It was supposed to be transferred to me on the day we mated. Instead, he sectioned off part of the reserve for me. He never allowed me the workers to have it dug out, though, nor the tools to do it myself. Before I left, I secured it with a spell purchased from the faeries. I didn’t want him to have access to it any more than he wanted me to.”
That spell was clearly what had kept Dolion from taking it. He’d thought it was an ancient form of magic. And maybe it was. Faeries could be wily. My mother obviously knew that.
My heart sank a little more, if that were possible.
“You came back for the gold,” I said evenly.
Her eyes flicked over my shoulder. She knew we had an audience and didn’t want to voice a truth I might not like. She’d done that a lot when speaking to my father in front of their subjects or guards.
In defeat, I turned away. I couldn’t take being treated as though I were my father’s son, some sort of tyrant to be feared and pacified.
Though maybe I was. Hadn’t people always told me I had a terrible temper? My rage made people quail. A moment ago, I had threatened to rip someone’s tongue out. Surely that spoke of an unhinged individual, made worse by sixteen years of struggling to survive. Sixteen years spent constantly fighting.
Those sixteen years had made me harder, I knew. Less able to bend. Less reasonable. My mother was obviously responding to what I had become. A nightmare in the flesh.
A beast.
“Take whatever is yours,” I said, and I couldn’t hide the misery I felt. “I’ll supply you with the crew and tools to get it. When you have what you need, you may go.”
“I would still like my audience with you,” she replied as I stepped out of the mine. “You owe me an audience.”
I laughed sardonically and then felt my gut churn.
If she thought I owed her something, she believed I’d wronged her. Although she was the one who urged me to leave the kingdom all those years ago, maybe she’d expected me to take her with me.
Pain vibrated through me. Anguish.
I didn’t have the strength for more of this.
“You’ll get your audience.” It came out a growl. “Tomorrow. Then we can be done with it.”
I shredded my clothes as I shifted, letting my dragon take over and run us out of there. I didn’t want to look at the others. I feared I’d see pity in their eyes, or loyalty to my mother, even though she’d essentially told me she’d take the last of the kingdom’s wealth and leave. We were on our knees, and she was taking her money and walking.
Our mate is there to distract us from the pain, my dragon thought as he ran through the trees. Let her calm you before you do something foolish, like scare the whole castle with your temper. If you don’t impress the people with your leadership, they will gravitate toward your mother. You can’t let that happen, not when she has the remainder of the wealth of the kingdom.
My father had scared people with his punishments, not his temper. He hadn’t had the power to really make people quail. He’d relied on his commanders and whips for that. But my dragon had a point. People surely remembered the atrocities my father used to dole out at the smallest slight. They might think my temper would easily devolve into that sort of behavior.
If I raged, they might turn to her, as they used to. It would feel comfortable to them.
Damn her for forcing me into this position, I thought. Damn her for making it even harder for Finley to gain traction.
Finley is a hero. She’s the warrior queen we need to defeat Dolion for good. They will remember that if all goes well. We just need to make sure your mother doesn’t win them to her side before Finley can claim their hearts.
Go to her, I thought.
But in the next moment, my dragon caught a whiff that pulled out a growl from deep within our throat.
Demons.
SEVEN
Nyfain
My dragon changed course in a moment, putting on a burst of speed.
We crashed through the trees, breaking off branches. We caught sight of a wolf, loping off to the side. One of Weston’s. The wolf alpha had said he would help keep us secure until I had things in hand, and he was keeping his word. My dragon huffed out a burst of fire. Come to me.