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)
The chalice is a team sport, she told Tarian, sighing in relief to be out of the king’s gaze. Both parties working together. A unit. Not you using me, or me nulling and acting alone, but two halves of a whole. I need you to magically get things done, and you need me to carry it out. A partnership.
Yes, I know that. You are making it very hard to ignore you, though. I can see your strain. What happened? Can I touch you?
Daisy leaned back, watching the king, making sure he didn’t look her way again.
Tarian pulled her against him, wrapping his arm around her defiantly. It was welcomed and comforting and a terrible idea. They didn’t want to provoke that bastard just yet.
It hadn’t clicked for me. We are a team, yes, but we have to be for the chalice’s magic to be most effective. We were always meant to be. I need to be on board with your decisions. You need to earn my trust. Given I can null you and kill you when you’re not looking, you need to trust me, as well. She looked over at him, drinking him in, feeling her heart move deep within her. We formed this bond before we knew everything the chalice could do. Before I knew I was the chalice. We were always meant to do this together, Tarian. We were always meant to find each other, both hardened by our lives, unused to giving up, willing to do anything to protect that which we hold most dear. This makes us the most unlucky fuckers I’ve ever heard of, because this is really fucking awful, and I have a distinct feeling it is going to get a whole lot worse.
23
Daisy
The rest of the royal family soon entered, but they didn’t get to use the dais. That, alone, held the king, which was very telling about how the family operated. The king called the shots, had a big fucking ego, and didn’t give up much control. He was the head of his operation. Cut off the head and the rest would fall.
So many thoughts dumped into her mind that she had a hard time choosing one to notice. That was the problem with learning to split conversations and focus on multiple threads of people’s thoughts at once—it opened her up to more avenues of information gathering and things got jumbled. She’d need to sit down and sort it all out later.
The queen was first to walk in, coming from the right and draped in another of the billowing dresses so many of the infected females wore. She didn’t have as much magical rot etching her face, with her cheekbones lined, her eyes circled, and her pinched face outlined. Her throne, significantly smaller than her mate’s, sat at the side of the dais on the right. The daughter came in next, her gaze never drifting as far as Tarian. Daisy couldn’t tell if that was good or bad.
“Bad,” Tarian murmured, his words only for her ears. “It means she is incredibly angry and plotting her revenge. I’ve traveled this road a great many times.”
At least she was predictable.
From the other side walked two males, one nearly as covered in the black lines as his father and the other not terribly affected at all. Somehow, he had escaped the worst of the twist overloading his family.
“He’s the baby of the family,” Tarian said, sitting back and crossing an ankle over his knee. He turned Daisy so she was heavily resting against his side and slung his free arm across the back of the couch, getting comfortable. “He’s never been ambitious, doesn’t partake in the family dynamics very much, and is gentler than the average fae.”
“Which means his father thinks he’s weak.”
“Exactly. It might save his life. If the magic is cleansed soon, he should be able to come back from it.”
“But his family is…”
“Utterly fucked. They are too far gone.”
She wouldn’t even have to feel bad when she burned this place to the ground.
He laughed softly. “As if you would anyway.”
Instruments in an unseen corner came to life, the first notes floating up and hanging in the air before more joined them. A collection of fae took to the dance floor in odd groupings, each dance organized but changed a little depending on the number of people they had. She watched in fascination, quite liking the look of their flow and movement.
“I can teach you,” Tarian said, looking down at her with a smile. “I’m sure you’d pick it up quickly.”
“Learning and practicing the magic is much more important.” Which was a real shame, because she would’ve loved the opportunity to dance with him, her hand in his, his body close, his focus solely on her.
“One day, then.”
Sure, why not?
Those not dancing sought out food and drink, holding obsidian plates rimmed with gold and decadent glasses sparkling with a ruby elixir.