Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 140780 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140780 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
His scarlet-ringed eyes found mine, tight with discomfort. “Don’t stop touching me.”
“I won’t.”
Forcing himself to walk, he slung his arm over my shoulders. I knew he used me as a crutch, but I couldn’t help throwing a glance at the girls who fancied him, hoping they saw, hoping they understood, that he was mine and no one else’s.
His arm spasmed around me as we made our way toward the open-air corridor and Auntie Mei who was waiting.
Her face fell as she finally took note of the state Lucien was in. How sweat rolled down his cheeks. How he trembled uncontrollably. How the air felt uncomfortably warm around him.
“Are you...are you okay, Xiao Lu?”
Xiao Lu.
What did that mean?
A nickname? A pet name?
Whatever it was, Lucien flinched whenever it was used.
“I’m fine,” he clipped, his voice as dry as ash.
Whisper snapped at the crowd one last time before coming to join us.
“This way. I’m sure you remember the way, Xiao Lu.” She threw him a doting smile. “I’ll bring you your favourite food once you’re rested.” Auntie Mei guided us down the corridor and blessedly away from the crowd. “Your quarters are just how you left them. I didn’t let anyone change a thing.” She sniffed, tears glossing her eyes. “You know, I never thought I’d live to see the day. We were told so often that you were dead, we even set up a memorial tablet in the ancestral temple for you. However...there was always the fact that Brimstone kept operating that kept us doubting.”
Turning to look at us over her shoulder, she never stopped walking. “Only Ashfall blood can turn on the reactors so...we’ve lived in hope. We tried to go to the company headquarters for answers, only to be told that operations had been moved to England.”
Her fists balled as her walk became an angry march. “That nasty snake Marcus Ward took over far too fast for anyone to stop him. Him and that good-for-nothing board.” She spat on the ground, revealing just how she truly felt. “The day he took you and your parents, I knew something was wrong. I watched those helicopters take off and fainted when the news came that you’d all died in a crash.”
Lucien tripped against me, burning.
I didn’t know how much he could hear beneath his agony, but my ears pricked with rapt attention. “So...you’re not working for Marcus?” I asked, doing my best to get answers that Lucien would undoubtedly need to hear. I’d felt how close he’d been to a panic attack when the gates had swung closed—trapping him behind yet another wall.
I’d felt the same way. The rush of claustrophobia at being imprisoned again made me long to call Dillon.
“Pei, pei, pei.” She pretended to spit as if warding off bad luck. “Don’t ever link me to that evil demon.”
“Then how...?” I glanced around the stunning estate—at the obvious running costs of such a kingdom. “If you’re not employed, then how—?”
“The Ashfalls gave us wealth beyond our dreams. The day Luxin was born, we were no longer their housekeeper and chief steward, we were family. And that man,” Auntie Mei hissed. “That parasite has tried to sink his claws into this place ever since. Spies in the guise of staff. Drones watching us from above.” She narrowed her eyes on mine, not looking where she was going as if she’d trod these winding open-walled halls a million times before. “None of his tricks work. This is Ashfall land. And regardless that we never believed we’d see another, we’ve stayed custodian of their home.” She exhaled heavily. “Hope is hard to cut out, you see. It’s like a weed that just keeps coming back so...here we are.”
Her gaze landed on Lucien with beaming pride, switching emotions so easily. “Here you are, Xiao Lu. Finally back where you belong.”
Lucien had given up trying to pretend he wasn’t on death’s door.
Crimson shadows danced beneath his skin, flaring up his neck and beneath his collar. Sweat poured down my spine from being tucked under his hot arm, and my skull threatened to crack open from our combined misery.
“Wait, is he okay?” Auntie Mei slammed to a stop. “Is he sick?”
“He’ll be okay once he rests.” I forced a smile. “Jetlag.”
She scowled, obviously not believing me.
Lucien groaned, his knees threatening to buckle.
“Do you mind if we keep going?” I urged.
She fell back into a walk, studying us both carefully. “You’re protective of him.”
I chose my words carefully. “Just returning the favour.”
“Are you his wife?”
I choked. “Eh...”
She studied me while I tried and failed with what to say. She took pity on me. “We can talk later. For now, let’s focus on Xiao Lu.”
“I agree.” I sagged with relief. “That’s—”
“You’ll tell me if he needs anything?”
I nodded, my migraine slipping closer to blackout.
Auntie Mei didn’t speak again as she led us deeper into the estate.