Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“Absolutely not,” Caidrik said, his teeth sounding like they were grinding together.
“I don’t mind,” Bulwark murmured. “That might be fun.”
Isaac shook his head. “I don’t really like the idea of that.”
“I’m all right with it,” Luca said. “Let’s see who wins. If I mate one of you, I’d want you to be a fierce fighter.”
“Oh, I’m definitely a fighter,” Taryn said, somehow making it sound sexy. She looked at Nadia. “How about you?”
Nope. Not at all. “I’m more for peace than anything else,” Nadia said. “But if you want to die, that’s fine. Just tell me.” Yeah. She was full of crap and talking big. But what else was she supposed to do?
“All right. Enough of that.” Solomon took a deep breath, clearly re-centering himself. He planted both hands on the edge of the slate conference table and looked around the room until he had everyone’s attention. “The procedure for today is this.” He straightened and gestured first toward Bussy. “The names of the challengers are in the envelope Bussy is holding.” Then he nodded toward Margaret. “The different possible challenges, all twenty of them, are in the envelope Margaret has.”
Margaret gave the envelope a little shake and the contents rattled loudly.
“So, Nadia,” Solomon continued, turning back to her, “you’ll go first. You’ll choose the name of a challenger and then choose a challenge. You’ll put them together, and you’ll do a challenge with each of the four.” He paused, apparently thinking it through again. “After that, you’ll give the names back to me. Taryn, you’ll then choose a challenge for each challenger as well. That’s how we’ll do it.”
“Yep,” Bussy said briskly. “That works.”
Nadia looked at Solomon, her brows drawing together. “Did you know this was a possibility?”
He hesitated, one shoulder lifting slightly. “Sure. It’s in here.” He tapped the grimoire. “But I didn’t think it would come up.” He focused on Taryn. “How did you find out?”
That was a very good question.
Taryn smiled, calm and confident, as if she’d been waiting for the query. “I didn’t know the possibility existed for sure. But I’m a scholar as well as a fighter.” She folded her hands loosely in front of her. “I’ve read plenty of grimoire records through the years. I returned home to find Luca gone, heard about this situation, and figured there was a good chance the trophy could be challenged as well.” She lifted her chin and glanced around the room. “I would very much like to be the Alpha female of this pack.”
The room felt heavier somehow. Nadia wanted to throw up.
“The Slate Pack is known far and wide,” Taryn went on. “It’s one of the protected packs. That means stability. And let’s face it, the price of slate is on the rise.” Her gaze flicked briefly to Solomon. “You’re all going to be very wealthy very soon.”
“What about the people?” Nadia asked.
“I’m sure they’ll love me,” Taryn said easily. “Most people do.”
Yeah. Well. Nadia didn’t. She turned toward the envelopes before she could overthink it. If this was happening, then it was happening now. Her fingers brushed the edge of the paper as she reached into Bussy’s envelope and pulled out a folded slip.
She unfolded it to read. “Bulwark.”
Great. Of course. Start with the jackass.
“All right,” Margaret said, lifting her envelope and giving it a decisive shake. “Let’s choose a challenge, shall we?”
Chapter 8
That afternoon, Nadia found herself standing outside the entrance to an abandoned mine with a backpack over her shoulder.
Snow drifted steadily from the sky, soft flakes settling into her hair, clinging to the shoulders of her coat, melting slowly at her collar. She blinked against the cold and stared at the dark slash in the mountain ahead. The opening yawned wide and uneven, framed by sagging timbers and splintered beams that looked one hard breath away from giving up entirely. The rock around it was darker than the surrounding stone, stained by years of moisture and neglect.
“Are you sure this is safe?” she asked.
Bulwark snorted beside her, his breath puffing white in the cold.
Solomon stood a few feet back with the ladies on either side of him, his posture straight, his expression maddeningly calm. “No,” he said. “It’s not safe. None of this is supposed to be safe.”
Well. That was just fantastic.
Nadia shifted her weight and looked up at Bulwark. He loomed beside her, broad shoulders dusted with snow, his expression unreadable. “You’re on board with this?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I like danger.”
Yeah. Obviously.
Solomon stepped forward and handed Bulwark a portable diamond core drill. The weight of it looked substantial even in Bulwark’s hands. “You need to find a sample of roofing-grade slate with a seventy to eighty percent usable yield,” Solomon said. “It’s in there. Even though we don’t use this mine very often, we’re close to reopening it. We’ve already found promising samples.” He gestured toward the entrance. “Now you need to find one that proves it.”