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)
I can hear Myrddin’s inner growl but to his credit he merely sits back. “All I want to say is she is not safe as long as that vampire prowls around. My question is why wasn’t Daniel at dinner?”
Dangerous territory. “He doesn’t eat. Your Majesty, how much do you know about vampires?”
“Well, I’ve been to a whole plane of nothing but vampires,” he replies, his hand finding my knee as though he can’t help but touch me. “I happen to know they only drink blood and tend to eschew things like dinner parties, though their consorts are often Fae or human.”
“And the wolves?” Myrddin asks, his tone begging me to come up with an explanation. “I assure you the wolves will eat you out of house and home if you allow them to.”
“The wolves are guards. I do not dine with my employees.” I’m betting heavily on the fact that this version of Dev doesn’t. “And I honestly felt safe here. Sasha is a guard as well. Which is why he was patrolling. I believe the wolves had their dinner in the kitchens. As they would in our own home.”
I can feel the approval coming off of Devilshea. He smiles my way. “You know that is the only thing we ever fought about. You…Zandra believed in a world without class or boundaries. It was naïve at best. This proves she would have gotten over it had my brother not killed her. You understand that society needs structure.”
Myrddin’s expression goes twenty kinds of frustrated. “She is lying. She is playing you. The wolf is her closest friend. He is always at her side. And in our timeline, she is beloved by all manner of lesser creatures. She is constantly feeding the brownies whatever creams her demon butler purchases at Costco.”
It’s true. They love Yule because the peppermint comes out. And eggnog flavor. “The brownies clean better when they are happy with their cream. It is a minor consideration.”
“Demon? You have a demon butler?” the king asks.
I feel the need to tread carefully here. There’s an expectation to his tone. A certain prejudice I have to manage. “Your counterpart does. He purchased him at auction. Albert is excellent at cooking and scaring the crap out of anyone his master doesn’t want near. He’s half demon. You have to be careful but if you get the right one, there’s no better servant. Do you have a problem with the Hell plane, Your Majesty? Because you should know Myrddin is in open negotiations with them.”
“Yes, I know he’s working to cut us off from the celestial planes so we can finally do as we please with no interference,” Devilshea murmurs. “But I suppose I didn’t think about the implications.”
“The implications are power, Your Majesty,” Myrddin points out. “The power for the inner planes to be free. The power for your planes to be free of celestial influence. If you had no celestial influence, you would be in your temple right now. You wouldn’t have rebels holed up in there.”
“The celestial planes don’t control the temples. Fae magic does,” I say.
Devilshea turns my way and gives me a placating smile. “My love, you don’t understand the way things work.”
“I understand how he works,” I reply.
“And I understand the burden you carry, Zoey,” Myrddin says, his eyes narrowing. “Shall we discuss that?”
My baby. He knows I’m pregnant. Goddess, the last time I played this game, Louis Marini tried to beat my babies out of my body.
I’m saved from responding by the door coming open and the head of the guard requesting a talk with his monarch. The king studies me for a long moment and then leans over and kisses my cheek. “I will want to know about all of your burdens. I will take them from you and they will burden you no more. I’ll be back.”
Yes, that is everything I am afraid of.
When the king is gone, Myrddin leans forward, his eyes black as night. “You understand what will happen when I tell that man you’re pregnant.”
I’m shocked he hasn’t already. “I think it would be an excellent way to murder me. You wouldn’t even have to get your hands dirty.”
“Oh, if I thought he would kill you, I would tell him in a heartbeat, but he is obsessed with you. He’s hunted the planes for you,” Myrddin whispers. “And I think he’ll do what he did last time if you die. He’ll lose his fucking mind. Tell me what you do to him, Zoey, that he cannot be whole without you.”
“I’m his soul mate and his goddess, and don’t think Daniel doesn’t play his part. This Devinshea was doomed when he wouldn’t accept this version of Danny. We all were. What the hell is your endgame here? You could murder the king and take whatever you want from this timeline.” It’s beyond clear that this is our Myrddin and he can jump timelines. “Or you could find yourself in this timeline and literally fuck yourself. You should do that.”