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)
Because of that, it seemed like no time had passed when she heard her cell door open again. More light trickled in through the window, but she couldn’t judge what time of day that might mean. Lennox was the first to walk through, his hair cascading down the shaved sides of his head in a glorious, loose wave. His beard was tied with a fresh toggle, this one showing a sun design. He’d had time for a shower. And probably food. And water. Fuck, she was thirsty.
He halted, his gaze on her pants. Well, that was embarrassing. Her stripteases were usually voluntary.
He was shoved forward but hardly budged. Kayla came out from behind him, and her eyes lit with fire. Her step didn’t hitch, though. If anything, she got slinkier as she walked, like a predator sighting its prey.
7
Daisy
Are you okay? she asked Daisy, stopping right in front of her. Her eyes jogged back and forth between Daisy’s. She must’ve been reading the memory of what had happened and known the relief mixed with blind rage Daisy was feeling. Daisy had escaped, but some other poor female probably had not. She waited, though, for Daisy to answer. She was allowing Daisy to have a voice about the situation.
Warmth filled Daisy’s middle at the care and attention. She was not treating Daisy like a prisoner, but as an equal female. It was…endearing. It thawed Daisy’s built-in mistrust of strangers a little.
Yeah, she said, nodding to accentuate her answer. They weren’t looking for me.
Kayla nodded as well before lifting her hands to the manacles. Lennox has turned around. Go ahead and fix your clothes, and then we’ll go.
The manacles popped open without a lock, Kayla’s magic releasing them. Daisy pushed forward to stand on her own before adjusting everything. When she was done, Kayla split the flat black, robe-like cloth she wore to reveal crisscrossing straps and weapons across a slick black leotard. She pulled out Daisy’s knife and handed it over.
Hide it, she said. Quickly.
Daisy didn’t waste any time, and Kayla stepped away before grabbing Daisy’s upper arm. She yanked Daisy toward Lennox, who glanced over and reached out to take the other.
Just one arm, Daisy said, pulling away from Lennox. It’ll make me look like less of a threat.
Kayla glanced at Lennox, who paused before stepping away.
Sorry about…you know, Lennox said as they started walking. Staring, I mean. I wasn’t…looking. I was dumbfounded by the level of rage that hit me. I froze. It was a shitty reaction. I’m sorry about that.
Kayla shook her head and spat to the side. This court is diseased from the top down. We’re running out of time to make a difference. At this rate, we’ll have to kill the entire court to keep the twisted magic from bringing down Faerie.
Daisy kept from looking around, her gaze directed straight or a little elevated. She didn’t want to put a face to Mr. Screamer or know what else went on in that dungeon. She didn’t want to know what she’d possibly face.
They didn’t go back the way they’d come, nor did she see any dungeon personnel. The tunnels opened up, and the smell receded. The dim blue lighting turned into orbs of various colors, contained in beautiful sconces bolted to the walls or dropping from arching ceilings. Bright sunlight streamed through rows of windows.
Farther still and the ceiling continued to rise. Stone was now painted or wallpapered, adorned with weaving black designs or shiny obsidian. Fae dressed in a similar garb as Kayla and Lennox hurried on their way, heads down and hands often full with chamber pots or water pitchers or something else indicating they were at work.
Kayla jerked Daisy this way and that as they walked, as if annoyed with her. She fell into the treatment, a mask of fearful fretting on her face and an occasional tear rolling down her cheek. All the while she took in every detail, every servant rushing by.
Up a flight of stairs and they stopped in front of double doors in a stone frame. Lennox opened the door and Kayla shoved Daisy inside.
Your mind is safe in here, she said, following.
Three cots lay spaced out within the room. Couches and cushions lined one wall and a rack of various instruments lined the other. A short bookcase made of metal scrollwork leaned against the back wall.
A fae with a deeply lined face and wearing a black apron advanced from the side wall. His hair was cut short except in the front, which fell across his forehead. His dark eyes surveyed Daisy before he looked at the others.
“What have we here?” he said in a light, playful voice.
“His Highness Tarianthiel requests the mind shiv be applied to his slave,” Lennox said haughtily.
Shiv? Daisy asked. That means shank in the human lands. Is that what it means here?