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)
Ladies, when a man’s gift to you is not murdering your son, you need a new man. However, when you’re trapped in his palace and he’s been known to burn people he doesn’t like alive, it’s best to give him your most vacant smile and thank his evil ass, which I do now. “Your kindness goes a long way with me, Your Majesty. As did that lovely meal and your company. It’s been a long time since I felt so…welcome.”
Welcome to steal. Welcome to turn all your servants against you. Welcome to decimate your whole life and not feel a moment’s regret.
He reaches for my hand, taking it between both of his. He looks so like my Devinshea, but there’s an intensity to his gaze that speaks of some form of madness. I have to be careful with him. “I’m glad. You relaxed once the wizard was gone. I am sorry for your discomfort. He did not explain the animosity between you. He merely told me he knew you.”
I consider telling him all about the times Myrddin has tried to murder me and my family. Just weeks before he sent assassins and killed Lee and then locked me in a room with him thinking Lee would turn and drain me dry. Thankfully, Lee was truly his dad’s son or he would have. But I think a little lie here might help my cause. There’s a reason that might suit me better, even if it’s not true. “He does not like me. I sometimes worry I caused all of this trouble.”
I still remember how to make my bottom lip tremble. Gotta sell the drama.
“How?” He brings my hand to his lips and kisses my palm with a reverence I know I can use. “How would someone so sweet cause trouble? You were simply caught in a war not of your own making.”
Who the hell was I in this time? I surely wasn’t myself since no one even once asked me that question. I was probably careful, played my role with as much perfection as I could. I silently thank the Zandra who had lived in this time for setting me up so perfectly. If there is one thing I know a man like this can’t stand, it’s jealousy. “You don’t know everything. When Myrddin and I first met, he offered to take me away with him. I refused. I was married and pregnant at the time. Beyond that, I didn’t trust or want him in any way. I loved my Dev. I think my refusal might have hurt my whole plane. He has hated me ever since. I worry this is all some form of revenge for him.”
And I see it. The burn of possessiveness. The anger that some other man might touch what he thinks belongs to him. My Devinshea would laugh and tell me to kick his balls in, but this one lost me once and will not have it happen again. “He wanted you?”
I don’t wince as his hand tightens around mine. “I did not want him. I only wanted my husbands.”
A bit of satisfaction creeps in, and he brings my hand to his chest. “You wanted Devinshea and Deinny. You know he was nothing but a servant here. He worked for your father. He was your friend but you never wanted him. Only me.”
“He was my childhood friend, too,” I explain. “Life is different where I come from. We went off to college together, and it was easy to be with him. Until I met you. By then it made sense for the three of us to be together. Danny was so powerful.”
“I suspect that might have happened here, too, had I not shown up at your father’s tavern when I did,” he murmurs. “But your love story was always with me. Fiery and passionate. Only with me.”
Oh, Danny and I have a shit ton of fire between us, but I’m playing to his narcissistic side. “It’s true. My Danny is a vampire, and that was exciting for a while. You know what a companion is? I believe on the Vampire plane they call them consorts.”
He nods. “That explains much. He used you for your blood. You loved your Devinshea, but he was weak. And now you do not have to worry. You will be my queen, and once I give the wizard my end of the bargain, we will be done with him. He will not darken our doorstep again. I will make sure of it.”
“Does your end of the bargain include closing us off from the celestial planes?”
I realize I made a mistake when his eyes grow sharp and he drops my hand. He turns slightly, and I realize my other mistake.
When his coat rumples a bit with his turn, I see it. The amulet. The one I intended to ask Miria for. The one Danny went searching for tonight. He won’t have found it. The king is wearing it as a pin on the tunic he has on under his coat.