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)
Me. I would be chosen.
“I tell you this not to frighten you,” Domino said, facing me, “but to prepare you. In Theirland, the selection process escalates. Be on guard. Trust only me. Avoid Cyrus. He’ll be there, and when you see him, you’ll wish to aid him. Do not.”
I must have misheard. Avoid Cyrus—not aid him? Nope, not happening. The high prince needed me now more than ever, and I would help him, however possible. Nothing and no one would stop me, not even Domino.
“You understand that I’m privy to information you are not, yes?” he asked, tone flat.
I swiped up the reader and jabbed my fingers at the keyboard, then showed him the screen.
Cyrus told me to avoid you, but I didn’t do that, either.
Domino compressed his lips into a thin line. “I’m aware he asked you to dismiss me. He doesn’t want me to tell you what he has read in his book.”
Type, type, type.
What did he read? You can’t mention it and not share. That’s just cruel.
“That is a question for Cyrus.”
The bell announcing curfew sounded, and my cell door slammed shut, the metal bars slipping through Domino. Amid the commotion of trainees preparing for the night, he held my stare, his grim expression hitting like a punch to the gut.
“Some things you must do because you trust the one we serve, and me, not because you understand why.” The librarian’s fathomless eyes glittered with determination. “But you can know this. I will never ask you to do something meant for your harm or the harm of others.”
Between one heartbeat and the next, Domino vanished.
I threw the reader at my pillows and slammed my fist against the mattress. Jumped up and paced. Stewed. Dissected the librarian’s appeal and Cyrus’s request, and finally stretched out on the bed, energy depleted. Yet again, I tossed and turned most of the night, dozing lightly on and off.
All my life, I’d had trouble sleeping. Then Cyrus had come along and taught me the joy of being enveloped in the safety of his arms, the only place I slept well. And now, Domino expected me to give that up in Theirland, if given the chance to enjoy it. Not happening.
Whatever the librarian knew didn’t matter. I refused to be the rope in a tug-of-war between him and Cyrus. This came down to who I trusted most, and the answer was simple. Myself.
I refused to do something so potentially detrimental without a solid reason. Besides, I could guess Domino’s motivation. No doubt he hoped to prevent one of the gods from choosing me. Well, too bad, so sad. I didn’t care if I was chosen or not. I had free will; I’d say no. Not for any reason would I bail on the man who’d just admitted he loved me.
Decided, I let a wave of fatigue drag me into a turbulent sea of darkness.
I woke before the wake-up bell, beyond tired but cognizant of a strange sensation in my chest. As my brain kicked online, I sensed a presence . . .
My eyelids popped open, and I reached for the knife stored under my pillow. When strong fingers clamped around my wrist, I jolted upright and swung my free hand, intending to punch first and ask questions after. Mid-strike, I detected a familiar ambrosial scent.
Cyrus.
He caught my other wrist before the blow landed, and I gasped with surprise and pleasure.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, grinning.
Shadows couched him, giving his face a sinister sharpness. He didn’t speak but gently, insistently, urged me to lie down. Though confused, I offered no resistance. With my head on the pillow, I frowned up at him. He stared at me, somehow too harsh and too soft at once.
Hmm. His expression . . . How best to describe it? Crazed determination? Tender adoration? Mild irritation? Perhaps a tinge of all three.
“Cyrus, I hate to say it,” I muttered, “but this is kind of creepy.”
“Have you spoken with Domino?” he demanded in a quiet tone.
At the librarian’s name, I jerked my gaze behind the high prince. My guards were gone. “I have, yes.” It was the truth, though not the truth he sought. I didn’t offer any other information, and he didn’t ask.
But he did narrow his eyes. “Do you love me?”
Okay, I should’ve expected such bluntness from him. Never mind Domino’s orders and my concerns for the future. Here, with Cyrus, there was only this moment. “I think I do,” I admitted, speaking just as softly. “I must.” I felt more for him than I’d ever felt for another. “But I’m afraid to say the words.”
Far from upset, he flashed a sultry smile and caressed my cheek. “That’s okay. You’re falling. You’ll never leave me.”
Heat bloomed where his fingers brushed. I flattened my hand over his and leaned into his touch, the creepiness factor fading. “Will you leave me?”