Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
By the time they got back to Tarian’s quarters, they were both exhausted from the carnage.
“Secure the worst of the nobles,” Tarian told Kayla. “What’s left of them, anyway. Tell Eldric to finish the setup tonight. We’ll use it tomorrow morning. Make sure no one stands in our way.”
“Yes, sire.” Kayla offered him a bow, and her eyes sparkled with joy and relief. She’d gotten her identity back as well.
“What about her wings?” Daisy asked when he had shut and warded the outer doors. “They’re Celestials, right?”
“They agreed to have their wings stripped when they stood forward on my behalf. They don’t expect it, but my aim is to rectify their sacrifice and return their wings.”
“How?”
He took a deep breath. “I have to travel across the Sea of Stars and up the Forgotten Mountain. The Oracle of Aethras, a being integrated into Faerie while still being removed, is there. That Oracle is not indebted to the gods and does not follow their will or their rule. The scripts say it is older than time. Older than the stars and the fabric they hang from. The Oracle can restore their wings, though I’ll need to trade something dear to grant the boon.”
“And that will be?”
He looked down at her with a heaviness in his gaze. “My life, though it won’t mean much to me at that point. Balance will have been restored, and so the last thing I will need to do is wipe myself from this land and allow my family to resume their lives in peace. That’s where I’ll trade myself for the good of the realm.”
Her heart filled with such pain that she nearly couldn’t bear it. Couldn’t think of a world that didn’t include him. Didn’t want the separation that death would bring.
“But I thought…you’d be appealing to the gods?”
“No. Something older and more powerful than the gods. Their creator.”
She had questions, but she didn’t have the ability to ingest any more information right now. Fatigue consumed her. She needed to relax. She wanted quality time with Tarian, the last she’d have. This was it. Her time was done. They had this one night left, and she intended to make the most of it.
First they took a bath, washing and soaking and making love. Then Tarian brought in a royal inker, as they were called, to apply the tattoo that had better fucking glitter.
They’d decided on a design together, something to integrate his royal Celestial chest design so that the finished product would encompass the part of him he’d lost, regained, and would trade himself for. The part of him that would soon be lost forever. And something she thought was really pretty.
The finished result was breathtaking, dainty and intricate at her bust and dipping between her breasts. It was, indeed, diamond dusted. Once finished, the royal inker stared at them both with a pale face and shaking limbs. At one point, he’d picked up a knife, looking at Tarian like he wanted to kill the Celestial. A burst of magic had made him reconsider, and his tense posture over leaving had indicated he wasn’t comfortable with what he’d done.
“It’s that diamond-dusted myth or whatever, right?” Daisy asked as she looked at her tattoo in the mirror. “He’s afraid we’ll ruin the kingdom?”
“Something like that.”
“Well…” She turned to him, running her hand across his matching design. It didn’t bleed like a human tattoo. It didn’t hurt. It was almost like he’d simply painted it on. “We will, right? We’ve already started.”
“Yes. And they’ve brought it on themselves.” He bent to kiss her. “Anything left on your trucker list?”
She furrowed her brow. “My trucker list? What’s that?”
He cocked his head. “Isn’t that what humans call the, like, last things they want to do with their time?”
She laughed. “Bucket list. The things you want to do before you die. Trucker list? Where did you get that? Do you even know what a trucker is?”
He smiled, his hands drifting over her hips. “Your mind just told me. I have no idea where I heard it. I picked it up wrong.”
“Clearly.” She reached for the buttons on his pants, backing him out of the room. “Yes, there is one thing left on my trucker list. I want to fuck you on all the seating areas the Fallen think is safe and not tell them until after they’ve used them.”
A river of diamonds ran around Tarian’s pupils. She watched in fascination. With each new reveal, this Celestial became more handsome, more interesting to look at.
“Before we do that, it’s time to set some things straight.” He led her to the couch and settled in. “I owe you answers.”
She took a deep breath and nodded. She didn’t need to voice the questions again. She knew he remembered.
“I always could’ve stormed the king’s chambers,” he admitted, and her middle tightened. She wondered if she wanted to ruin her last night with the truth. “I always could’ve come for you—tried to save you—but it wouldn’t have done any good. Because of his hold over me, I couldn’t hurt him. With those obsidian discs in my back, I couldn’t hurt any of the royal family. If I could’ve killed them, believe me, they would’ve been dead a long time ago. The Fallen couldn’t either. Nor could any of us tell someone else how to free me—and them through me.”