Total pages in book: 210
Estimated words: 200837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1004(@200wpm)___ 803(@250wpm)___ 669(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 200837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1004(@200wpm)___ 803(@250wpm)___ 669(@300wpm)
“Bell?” My gaze darts to the Matrons hovering all over the place. “Isn’t there a Matron Bell?” She looks up at me, mouth opening, ready to answer, when I put up a hand. “Never mind. I don’t even care. You were in my quarters last night.” My eyes narrow down in the ensuing silence, and I glare at her, daring her to lie.
“So what?” Her chin is tipped up in defiance. And she is glaring right back at me.
I scoff. “So what? I could have you kicked out, you know.”
She shrugs. “So do it.” I’m just about to snap my fingers for the footman when she leans in and says, “But if you do, then I won’t be able to come back tonight and let you have your way with me again.”
The guffaw comes out of my mouth before I can stop it, drawing the attention of the entire room. Especially the Matrons. They start rushing towards my table, but I put up a hand and dismiss them. They are not pleased about this, or my outburst, but what can they do? I’m the fucking Extraction Master. I might as well be the god in that stupid tower, that’s how much power I have around here.
I look Jasina Bell straight in her blue eyes. “You brazen little whore.”
“I’m not a whore.”
“No? Then why the hell were you bent over my couch last night?”
“Because you put me there.”
I laugh again. Not as loud this time. “Fair, I guess. But how did you get there?”
I wait for the lie. Fully expect a lie. Because there’s something going on with this girl. Something secret. Something dangerous, maybe. Like… was she sent to seduce me? Kill me? Both?
But she doesn’t lie. Because the most fantastical words come spilling right out of her mouth. “There’s a secret passage on the top level of your tower. On the inside, the door looks like a bookcase. But it opens up.”
“And where does this passage lead?”
“To the Little Sister dorms.”
“How did you find it?”
“I guessed. I mean, it was a strange door in a strange part of the dorm. It looked out of place. So I opened it and found you at the other end of a long walk and a long climb.”
“Keep going.”
“So I decided to enter and take a look around.”
“Did you find anything interesting?”
“Well.” She smiles at me, but it’s an uncertain one. “I found you. If that counts.”
“Did you like what I did to you?”
She bites her lip, but doesn’t answer.
“Well?”
“Excuse me?” The girl and I break eye contact and look up to find a Matron has approached my table.
I’m annoyed. I was very much interested in hearing Jasina’s opinions on what we did last night. Eagerly anticipating her squirming. “Yes?” My tone is curt and was in no way meant to hide my anger. “What is it, Matron?”
“Is there a problem here?” The weird thing is, the Matron is looking at Jasina. Not me.
“Why would there be a problem?” I am, however, the one who answers.
The Matron drags her poisoned gaze away from Jasina and directs it where it should’ve been all along. Is that… contempt I see in those eyes? And actually, do they have the same eyes?
“What is your name?” I ask the old woman.
She presses her lips together and huffs air through her nose. “Matron Bell.”
“Bell?” I smile at the creamy-thighed girl across the table from me, raising my eyebrows. “As in Jasina Bell?”
“My niece.”
“Your aunt?”
Jasina shrugs, but doesn’t say anything.
“Well, Auntie Bell, I hate to disappoint you, but things are just fine.”
Matron Bell, however, flat-out ignores me. “Come along, Jasina. Your time is up.”
I stand up, point at Mitchell—who is watching this whole exchange, since that’s his job—and he comes over. “What’s up?”
“I’m not done here.” I nod my head towards Jasina. “Can you escort Matron Bell a suitable distance away so this Little Sister and I might finish our conversation?”
Mitch’s eyes are dancing, his brows up. He really wants to ask me what the fuck is happening here, but deep down, he’s a professional. So he doesn’t. Instead, he bows to me. “Yes, Extraction Master.” Then he turns to the Matron, grabs her hand, and hooks it on his arm as he turns her around. “Have I ever told you the story of how I became the Extraction Master’s valet, Matron Bell?”
I wait until he’s a good distance down the center aisle—which is plenty of time for Matron Bell to shoot me not one, but two death glares—before sitting back down at the table.
“Now, where were we?” I look at Jasina. “You were in my quarters.”
She stares right back at me. “Your fingers were between my legs.”
Ohhh. She wants to play, does she? “You found a secret passage.”
“You have a Looking Glass.”
My eyes narrow. “What do you know about it?”