Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 119158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
My mind shut down as Nylian cuddled against me, his longer body spooning mine while we wrapped ourselves in our cloaks. It was cold out, but I wasn’t in danger of freezing to death. I opened my mouth to tell him to give me some space, yet the words never left my tongue. I passed out, which wasn’t the best idea, since I likely had a concussion from all the trees I’d rammed with my head that day.
All too soon, there were voices arguing around me. The only good thing was that they were familiar voices. The ogres hadn’t returned to harass us some more. My thoughts were foggy, my body ached, and my head throbbed. Not the best way to return to consciousness.
And the worst of it was, I was still in the forest with an elf. I was not in my bed or even on my couch, where I’d pass out after writing well into the night.
“Coffee…” I groaned and tried to roll over, pulling my cloak up over my face. It was too early to greet the day, particularly when I was already outside where the sun could get at me. I wanted my tiny apartment loaded with books, pillows, and coffee. God, I missed my coffeemaker!
“Who’s coffee?” Nylian’s voice sneaked past my weak defenses to slip into my ear.
I shot up and pointed a finger at him, my voice trembling. “That isn’t funny!”
There was no way I would ever create a world that didn’t include coffee. Nope. Never. I don’t care how medieval or fantastically different it was supposed to be. It was that thing that bound all the worlds together. Not love, sex, or even death. Coffee was eternal, and I was ready to curse Nylian in the worst way for even insinuating that coffee didn’t exist.
“Wow, he isn’t a morning person, is he?” I knew that voice, too. My hand fell to my hip, and I glanced over to find the crazy woman and the wizard sitting on the other side of a low fire that was now between us. The woman grinned at me, not looking as if she had suffered any damage from the ogres.
Part of me wanted to know what the hell had happened with the ogres and that bright light, but the bigger part of me wanted to return to sleep. I wasn’t ready to face this world or the elf or any other craziness that might wait for me. Sleeping also meant that I wasn’t in danger of running into any more trees. My head couldn’t take the punishment.
So that was what I did. I lay back on the ground and pulled my cloak over my head, intending to pretend these people weren’t here until I fell asleep. Maybe this was all a long, painful nightmare. When I woke up next time, I’d be in my bed and that whole thing with the coin and falling off the bridge would never have happened.
“He simply needs to eat something.” Nylian’s hand squeezed my shoulder and gave it a shake.
“Go away,” I grumbled.
“We need to get moving soon. If you don’t eat, I’ll leave you behind.” Considering how he’d shown no qualms about leaving our rescuers behind, I had little doubt that Nylian would be happy to abandon my ass, too.
Groaning, I shoved upright and started to toss my cloak off me, but stopped the moment I noticed that I’d been covered in my cloak and Nylian’s. When had he…
Nope. Just fucking nope. There was no way in hell I was going to think about any nice things the elf did for me. I didn’t have the brain capacity for it right now, and it would make me feel guilty about getting us caught by the ogres…and maybe guilty about plunging his life into hell by writing about the murder of his brother.
Without looking at the elf on my left, I plucked his cloak out of the tangle and handed it over to him before climbing to my feet. I stretched and grunted at the morass of aches and knots that filled my body.
“That’s a hell of a bruise you got,” the woman commented.
“What?” I turned toward her to find her grinning and pointing at the middle of her forehead.
My hand reached up to touch the spot on my forehead, forcing out a curse as fresh pain coursed through my head. I had a fucking knot in the center of my forehead from hitting a tree. Of course. That was great.
“Ignore her. Sit. Eat,” Nylian admonished while holding up something that appeared to be a biscuit.
“Where did you get this?” I accepted the food and dropped onto the log next to him.
“I had a bit of flour left in my bag,” the wizard admitted with a crooked grin. “It’s not much, but it’ll at least fill the hole in your stomach for a few hours.”