Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 151630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 758(@200wpm)___ 607(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 758(@200wpm)___ 607(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
And a thrill of pride run through him. His Marta hadn’t been some simpering thing. She’d been fierce. When he went missing she went up against a corrupt system to find him, and when that system came for her she ensured their daughter survived.
She was always a warrior.
“She’s trying to escape.” Though he knew Myrddin couldn’t hear him, his voice went to a whisper.
“But where would she go?” Bibi asked, her eyes wide with worry.
Myrddin only had eyes for Devinshea. “I was talking about my plans and how you fit into them. My point is I will keep you and that bitch wife of yours alive as long as I need to in order to get the king to do my bidding. Or I can kill you all now and try to find some backwoods version of her who will likely last all of two days before he realizes no goddess can power a god who gave up his magic. It’s your choice. As long as he’s torturing you, he’s likely not raping her.”
“Told you it’s all a con,” Neil whispered.
“You can’t pull Bris off me,” Dev said boldly.
“I can,” the wizard assured him, “but unfortunately I can’t make him do the new and insane Devinshea’s bidding. Even if you tell him, he won’t believe you. So if you want to survive, you won’t try that psychological shit when I’m not around to calm him.”
“Why don’t you kill him and take whatever the fuck you want?” Dev’s eyes narrowed. “It’s attached to him. You need him. Is it DNA? Because if it is, you could use me. Get my wife and partner out of here, give my people safe passage back to our timeline, and I’ll do it.”
“I almost believe you.” Myrddin looked him over as if trying to decide what to do. “I might be willing except Daniel is out there. I really hoped he would die or get caught. I have certain spells going that will weaken him, but he is still the king. It would have made things so much easier if he simply died. Now I didn’t tell you all of this simply to entertain you. I am well aware how resilient Daniel can be. But your group is split now, and the kiddos are locked in the temple. I’ve already got soldiers looking for those tunnels. I’m not a complete fool. They’re also looking for Daniel. I could flee and give up my plans and leave you here. It might be the easiest thing to do.”
Dev let a moment go by. “Or?”
“I could get what I need. I can only do that if you allow your wife to pull the king under her spell. I will tell you that woman is already working her magic on him. I need a day or two.”
Dev’s head shook. “So I get tortured and you leave us here to deal with the fallout.”
“Or I get what I need, take care of the king, and you and yours have a new kingdom to rule over,” Myrddin offered. “Think about it. It’s not bad. I can find a way to ship the rest of your clan over and then we all get what we want.”
“Like I would trust you,” Dev replied.
“If you distract him, I will keep my word.” Myrddin’s gaze was securely on Devinshea. “If you don’t escape and allow the queen to play her part, I will destroy the king and leave you be. I will send my witches to tell your children and your people how to join you here. If you are still here in the morning and do not attempt escape, we will make this bargain. If you are still here in the morning, we will make it official. It will be a promise to a Fae king on Fae land.”
“Fuck.” Neil let out a long huff. “He’s serious. Dev has to take him seriously because if he doesn’t follow through, Dev can call Herne down on him.”
“Only if he stands in the same space and calls him out.” Bibi obviously knew the rules. “He’s betting Devinshea won’t be able to find his way back.”
“Any Quinn would be able to call the Wild Hunt.” Sasha had heard the stories. The Wild Hunt was a way to enforce promises both to and from royal Fae. Led by Herne the Hunter, the Wild Hunt could be called down on anyone who lied to a royal or a royal who lied to them. They were something of a check and balance in a world that had few of them. “All we would need to do is find a way to get word to Lee or Evan. Even to Devinshea’s brother. If Myrddin can find the right magic, so can we. But he’s trying to buy time.”
“And we have to as well,” Neil replied. “We have to buy time for Rhys to get Shy out of here. To get my kids out of here. Then we can figure out how to force Myrddin to take us home. If nothing else we take the stones and go back to the mountain and find another door. At least one of us does. But it would be better if we simply forced Myrddin to take us.”