Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 117167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
While the shifter and earth witches were flowers, the fae magic that had permeated the area was more like the dirt and rain from which these powers grew. The only catch was that he wasn’t sure who had dared to come to the Zhang compound. If he wasn’t confident that this person had come alone, he wouldn’t have dared to leave the protection of the grounds.
Deep down, he hoped it was Trin. Too much time had passed since his last encounter with his half brother. He could be dead for all Rei knew. His father could have reached the end of his tolerance—or sanity—and killed Trin, leaving Rei with no “safe” inroads back to the fae palace.
With a sigh, he leaned on a tree and pulled a dagger from a sheath on his belt, using it to pick at the nonexistent dirt under his nails as he waited. Someone was close, watching him between the tree branches. Time ticked by and neither of them made a move.
Sweat slid along the nape of his neck and soaked into the collar of his shirt as the heat and humidity climbed with the sun in the sky. Birdsong filled the air as more creatures woke to start their day. Yet, even as peaceful as it all seemed, tension crawled along his skin with tiny pinprick claws.
“This is a waste of my time,” Rei snarled as he shoved off the tree. He wanted to know what this person wanted, but he wouldn’t continue to make a target of himself. His time was better spent cuddled with his adorable vampire.
He didn’t get more than a few dozen meters, the wall surrounding the Zhang grounds just coming into view when someone called out.
“Your Highness! Please, wait!” A man’s voice. It somehow managed to be both sharp and light. He knew that voice.
“Sarya,” he hissed. He turned to face the tall, thin man as he walked out of the shadows, a sword hanging low on his hips and lips quirked in a smug smirk. Gods, he wanted to peel his skin from his face and feed it to a wild boar.
The elf was one of his mother’s many attendants. He would run errands for her, ferret out the juiciest bits of court gossip, and see to all her needs. Sarya had lasted longer than most, but that was largely because the idiot was smart at one thing—keeping an enormous distance between himself and King Ash.
The king and queen didn’t care that their spouses were having affairs. Everyone knew about them. They just didn’t want to see any obvious proof of them.
But that was all part of their twisted games. They’d engage in their lurid acts until they grew bored with their lover. Then, either the king or queen would start putting that lover in more and more dangerous situations, risking exposure at every turn.
Naturally, when the royal discovered the lover’s identity, the injured party would act jealous and wounded, killing the lover in the most gruesome fashion while the cheater professed their undying love and promised to never stray again.
Lies. All of it lies.
This was one reason he adored Yichen—he didn’t lie. Even if it hurt one or both of them, Yichen always told him the truth.
But despite all the rounds of this stupid farce, Sarya remained. He either had the luck of a cockroach or he possessed a brain that no one had ever seen him use.
“My mother sent you,” Rei stated, his tone flat and as unwelcoming as he could make it.
Sarya offered a partial bow with an extra flourish of his hand that Rei considered pinning to a nearby tree with his dagger. “Her Majesty has thoughtfully requested that I come to check on the well-being of her only son.”
A harsh bark of laughter broke from Rei’s throat, sending a few blond strands falling in front of his eyes. “Forgot about Trin already, did she? Gods, are there others still about too? I can’t be the only one left.”
Lines dug into Sarya’s face as he cleared his throat. “Yes, well, the only royal son.”
It was a battle to not roll his eyes, but Rei didn’t trust Sarya and refused to let the elf out of his sight for even a heartbeat. “Whatever. Let’s cut the nonsense. She didn’t send you here because she cares about my well-being. What does she want?”
At last, Sarya’s smile twisted into something more wicked as his eyes narrowed and his chin dipped to his chest. Yes, this was more of what he expected of the worm. “She would like to offer you her most gracious and benevolent forgiveness for past transgressions against her and the Twilight Thone.”
“Uh-huh. On the condition…”
Sarya’s smile widened until it reduced his eyes to thin slits. Rei half expected a row of sharklike teeth to fill that evil smile. “That you kill King Ash.”