Total pages in book: 197
Estimated words: 186911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 935(@200wpm)___ 748(@250wpm)___ 623(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 186911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 935(@200wpm)___ 748(@250wpm)___ 623(@300wpm)
“Elva will be cleansed, my queen, and yes”—he inclined his head—“there will be grief and tears and wailing, but you and I will lead our people out of the dark into the new age. All of Elva will be like Lumenfell,” he said, throwing out his arms. “Harsh, cold, brutal... but equal and free.”
I stared at him amid the shouts and barked orders from Foalan and the soldiers. “A return to the matriarchies,” I said slowly. “That is something you want?”
“Why would it not be? I was born in the old age, Princess. In the times of peace and equality. I can assure you,” he said, “it was a much better age than this one.”
“But, Alisdair—”
“You said you wanted the bindings, the oppression, and the wasting sickness to end.”
My throat tightened thinking of Mama slowly starving to death in a small, desolate room.
“That doesn’t happen without war. Without sacrifice,” he hissed. “So now is the moment you decide.”
I snapped up, eyes wide.
“Will you fight for your freedom, or die on your knees?”
I didn’t speak for so long, he turned away. “Can you undo the binding spell? Can you free my—?” The curse stole mom off my tongue. “Can you free the women of Elva?”
“I can’t,” he said honestly. “I’ve tried to unbind you every night since you got here.”
I started. I wasn’t expecting that.
“It’s a simple spell, but a powerful one. The magic it’d take to free you would kill me, but this”—he raised his clawed hand—“has no such limitation.”
It took me a second to understand what he meant. “The beast curse?” I whispered. “It undoes the binding spell? That’s why all the women in Lumenfell are free?”
He nodded. “The binding is put on the person you are. But when you change, you become someone else. When that happens, the chains that were once on your soul simply... fall away.”
I looked into his eyes. “Elva would be a better place if the curse consumed the land.”
I said it. I hated myself the moment it fell from my lips, but... I wouldn’t take it back.
“Until, of course,” I continued, “we all turned into mindless beasts—swinging from trees and flinging our feces.”
“One thing at a time,” he breezed. “First we conquer all in our path, then we save it.”
“Meaning only once everything and everyone is under your power, will you finally destroy the heart?” My blunt words went straight to the point. “At least it makes sense now. Why you’ve let this go on for centuries. It’s a ransom, and all of Elva are your hostages.”
“My queen, how many times must I tell you?” A slow, wicked grin twisted his lips. “All of Elva are our hostages.”
My fist balled, aching to punch that smile in. I hated what it revealed in myself. I hated even more that I couldn’t voice the denials screaming in my head.
“Unless, of course,” Alisdair continued, stepping back. “You’ve decided to die on your knees.” He gestured to the siren. “If that’s the case, say the word, and our only hope of complete victory will be returned to the swamp we fished her out of.”
“Send her back,” I said without a second’s hesitation. “I want Elva to return to the days of equality and freedom, but not this way. What you mean to do is slaughter, not mercy.”
“Hmm. No.”
“What?” Disbelief colored my tone. “You just told me to say the word.”
He shrugged. “Because I assumed you would choose correctly. You’re still not ready to do what needs to be done. That’s fine. When the change has taken you and all that simpering civility is smothered by the true beast within—you’ll see things my way. Even more, you’ll know what it is to be free again, and you’ll be willing to give that gift to all the people—no matter what it takes.”
“Oh, save your manipulative speeches!” I spat. “You’re not doing this to free Elva. You’re doing it to get revenge against my father!”
His grin went nowhere. “Why can’t it be both?”
“No,” I ground out. “You’re not torturing that creature in the name of wiping out half the population of Elva. I do want to fight for the end of the bindings and the freedom of the women of Elva, even if it means going to war, but you said this is our fight. If you mean it, you’ll stop making decisions without me.
“We rule together. We fight together. We decide together. Equals. Anything less and you’re no different than the shitty, evil bastards who held me down when I was ten years of age, and ripped my magic away from me while I screamed.”
His smile melted away. Slowly, he ate the distance between us. “If you’re saying this—if you mean this, you’re telling me our nightly runs are at an end. You’re forsaking Lyrica and allying yourself with me as my queen. My wife.”