Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 127026 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127026 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Isa shrieked behind her, and that drew a smile on Kerrigan’s face. A blast of water magic shot toward Kerrigan, but she dodged it, redirecting it backward. And then she was across the threshold and inside the Wastes. She put her hands to her knees, her breath coming in ragged bursts. Isa stepped into the lamplight, furious and waterlogged.
She raised one hand and pointed at Kerrigan.
The promise was clear: this isn’t over.
Kerrigan couldn’t agree more. The fight had just begun because Kerrigan would do anything to stop the Red Masks. Kerrigan flipped her off with a laugh, and Isa stalked back out of the light.
“Good riddance,” she said through a gasp as she straightened.
“What a spectacular entrance,” a voice said behind her.
Kerrigan sighed and turned slowly. “Dozan.”
Looking at Dozan was like accidentally looking directly into the sun—blinding and mesmerizing. Six years ago, he had saved her life, and her world had been tipped upside down. To say she was infatuated with him on sight was an understatement. It was an utter obsession. That was before he was the king of the Wastes, before he killed his family to get his title, before any of it.
Then, with another vision, she returned to his side at sixteen, hungry to prove herself. Instead, she had ended up falling back into his orbit and eventually his bed. Her obsession had faded as the reality of who he was settled in, but the tension that simmered under the surface never fully disappeared. He saw her as a weapon to be wielded. It was nothing personal … until it was. Too many times over the last year, he’d helped her with no benefit to himself. That would all have to come due one day.
She hoped today was not that day.
“Hello, Red,” he said, twisting a lock of her hair around his finger.
She glowered at him. All six feet of gorgeous man before her. And he just grinned, a feral, dark twist of his lips. He straightened the blood-red cravat at his throat and shot her a licentious look from his amber eyes. The R for Rook glinted from a pin on the lapel of his black suit. And the light caught the red threaded through his burnished-brown hair. He could have still been her world. It would have been so easy.
“Waiting for me?” she teased.
“A little birdie said you were running. That usually means you’re running to me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, Dozan.”
“Tell me what happened.”
She shook her head and looked around the Wastes. They were inside the main body of the Wastes, where anyone could see or hear them. The Wastes went down, down, down. Level after level below their feet for gambling, prostitutes, loch dens, and at the very bottom was the Dragon Ring, where Kerrigan had fought her magical bouts for Dozan for the better part of a year.
“My office then,” he said and swept her upstairs.
She had a drink in her hand and was seated in a cushioned chair almost before she could protest. She was still bouncing from the adrenaline of her run, but the day had worn on her. Between her dream and March and the Red Masks, it was nice to have someone take care of her.
“Well, princess,” he teased.
She glared. “Don’t call me that.”
“My apologies,” he said without an ounce of regret. “You are betrothed to a prince of the realm. Though the wrong prince, I’m aware.”
She ground her teeth together. Of course Dozan would needle her about both March and Ford, all in one easy statement. He’d made his distaste of them quite clear.
“If you already know everything that I’m doing, then why bother asking me?”
His smile was lethal. “I keep informed on what I find important.” Then, he gestured to her. “But I do not know everything. For instance, why exactly were you running to me?”
No point in lying. Dozan had more spies in the city than even the Society. He would have found out soon enough.
“The Red Masks had a meeting,” she confessed with a sigh. “And I went.”
Dozan blinked. “Why would you do that?”
“Because the Father made an appearance.”
He went deathly still. “So … Lorian Van Horn was not the leader of the Red Masks. A pity.”
“We sentenced him to death for his actions. Based on information you provided,” she said, her anger flaring. “The whole thing was a setup.”
Dozan shrugged. “Don’t tell me that you’re losing sleep over the death of that man. He tried to have you kicked out of the Society. He had you arrested. He was intent on upending your life, princess. A man like that deserved everything coming to him.”
No, she didn’t exactly regret what had happened with Lorian. He hadn’t been the leader of the Red Masks, but he had been just as bigoted, and he’d had more power than sense. She did, however, feel bad for Alura. Perhaps execution was the wrong call, but they couldn’t change that now.