Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
I screamed internally. “He’s a liar, Cyrus. You know that. You hate that. Why would you believe him? I’d already agreed to marry you. I would have stayed with you forever.” Now . . .
A muscle jumped beneath his eye. “His visions corroborate what I read in Soal’s books.”
“That’s because you’re missing a puzzle piece. But it’s not too late to undo this.” Please, don’t let it be too late. “Renounce Astan. Refuse to host him a minute more.” Could he? If all things were possible, then yes. “Please.”
“I have no desire to do so.” Cyrus released me and stepped back. His head tilted up, and his eyes closed, as if he were savoring something sweet. “The power bubbling inside me . . . I’ve tasted only a fraction of what’s there. As soon as my body is used to it, I’ll have access to the full measure. The things I’ll be able to do . . .”
My hope began to wither, but still I clung to what remained. If he’d tasted only a fraction of the god’s power, it absolutely wasn’t too late to free him. The problem was, he loved this. The power-hungry man before me would never willingly relinquish an ounce of the god’s ability.
Cyrus strode to a table in the back, lifted a tome, and read the spine before setting it aside. “Briar Rose requires an answer, sweetness. She’s eager to enjoy her freedom, and she won’t wait much longer.” As he stretched his arms high in the air, the hem of his shirt rose, revealing the patch of tattooed skin between the garment and his fatigues. A never-before-seen scar, thick and raised, extended from one hip to the other.
“What happened out there?” I asked, sick to my stomach. “With Felix, I mean.”
Voice harder than stone, he said, “It’s not worth discussing.”
As if only then noticing the blood on his hands, he frowned. With a wave at a far wall, he somehow transformed that portion of the room before my eyes. From wood panels to an open bathroom with a shelf of towels, a sink, a mirror framed in gold, and a matching shower stall, water already raining.
A bold display of the very power he praised, and a blow to what little remained of my optimism.
Cyrus gripped the neckline of his shirt from behind and pulled the material over his head. One glimpse of his familiar torso usually sent my heart skittering into a wild rhythm. Today, I looked upon a stranger. Oh, I knew those rock-solid muscles cut by years of training and battle intimately. Knew the treetop tattoo, with its branches riding the length of his arms, displaying flower buds that appeared to bloom before my eyes.
He stripped completely, utterly unabashed, and walked into the spray. Winking at me, he all but purred, “Join me. I’ll make you glad you did.”
My nails cut into my palms. “Only yesterday, you preferred to wait until our marriage.”
“We can be married today, if you’ll agree to host Briar Rose. There’s no reason to wait.”
There was no reason to reiterate my refusal of Briar Rose either.
“You should clean up, if nothing else,” he said, undisturbed by my silence. “We have much to do.”
Remembering I was streaked with blood, I stalked to the sink, where the mirror hung. I flinched. Oh, yes. Scarlet smeared my cheeks.
Mouth dry, I swiped and wet a rag, then soaped my face. “Worth discussing or not, I’d like to hear the details of what happened inside the energy field.”
“Very well.” His indulgent tone suggested he did this solely to please me. He shut off the water and snatched a towel. Drying off, he grated, “As I grappled with Felix, I couldn’t bring myself to deliver the killing blow. My reluctance allowed him to gain the upper hand, and he injured me. I was dying, we both knew it. He bragged that the first thing he would do as king is make you an example and take your head. That was when Astan showed me your future if I let myself die.”
My insides flash froze. Cyrus, dying. How close I’d come to losing him. “Go on,” I croaked.
He tossed the towel to the floor, withdrew clean clothing from a rack that suddenly replaced a wall, and dressed with stiff, forceful jerks. “He showed me you would escape death at Felix’s hand . . . and marry Domino.”
In other words, the god had used another lie to bait him. I growled internally. “My relationship with Domino isn’t like that.” I’d given Cyrus my heart. My loyalty. Faithfulness wasn’t an option but a certainty.
“Your relationship with Domino will never be like that. You are mine.” Cyrus swooped in, cupping my cheeks again. The golden stars lit up his eyes and stayed put as he studied me. “I am yours. Say it. Say those words.”