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)
The librarian’s expression turned pitying. “A much-desired wife doesn’t promise marriage but longing, Arden.”
Oh. Oooh. Talk about a dagger to the gut! “You should have explained better,” I snapped.
“You should have trusted me.” The gentle rebuke defused the worst of my anger.
He wasn’t wrong. “You told me I was still learning you. That you would earn my trust.”
“Exactly what I attempted to do.” He paused. “Do you wish you’d made a different decision?”
Yes. No. Maybe. Tears singed my eyes and blurred my vision. My chin trembled. “What can I do?” Because I wouldn’t abandon Cyrus.
“Exactly what I must do. We will learn from our mistakes and start fresh.” He stepped closer. “It’s not all bad, Arden.” Extending his arm, he said, “Come. Let me show you a benefit.”
I hesitated only a moment before pressing my solid hand against his misty one. Somehow, he clasped my fingers and tugged me to a stand. I stood but left my body behind. No longer did I smell the base, feel the brush of air, or contend with the whirl of anxiety. There was only peace and Domino.
“I’m a spirit like you,” I stated, awed.
“Yes.” He maintained his hold on my hand and led me through the foyer.
I cast a glance toward the kitchen, where Cyrus puttered about, before I followed the librarian, curious. Domino ghosted through the door, and though I stutter-stepped, I slipped through it too, right on his heels. A little laugh escaped me as we traversed the hallway, leaving behind the two men guarding my door.
“Where are we going?” I whispered, and yes, okay, I really dug this perk. No denying it.
“You’ll see.” Domino offered me a fleeting smile that lit his entire face, the sight momentarily blipping my brain. “Ready?”
We floated down, down, through the floor and into a bedroom.
Spotting Lolli cuddled up next to a contented Roman, who glistened with sweat as he shifted strands of her hair between his fingers, I wheezed a breath. What! First, only, like, ten minutes had passed since I’d seen her. Which meant she’d come straight here after Cyrus and I passed her upon our return to the palace, and Roman had been waiting.
Second, mere hours ago, this woman had attempted to murder me. She would have succeeded, too, if not for my fellow Soalians. Now she enjoyed herself with my friend?
“—find so fascinating?” she was saying, petting his ripped abs. “I get that she’s understated and pretty, but pretty doesn’t usually inspire such intense devotion.”
“According to the guy who dated her before the high prince, it’s her eyes. When she looked at him, he saw deep wounds and wanted only to heal and protect her. I don’t see it, personally. She’s a handful, that’s for sure.”
“They’re discussing me,” I cried, then slapped a hand over my mouth. Oops.
“They can’t hear you in this form.”
Right. Relief flowed into tense muscles, and I lowered my arm. As she questioned him about my fighting style, I muttered, “I’d really like to leave.”
“Very well.” Domino led me through a wall and into High Prince Summit’s room.
The prince reclined naked in a chair, grinning and sipping whiskey as two trainees kissed different parts of his body. “Good little war bunnies,” he praised, petting one’s hair.
Thankfully, we didn’t stick around here, either. We slipped through another wall, entering Felix’s suite. He was alone, standing at attention near the foot of his bed, all brawn and burden with his arms anchored behind his back and his feet braced apart. His eyes were closed, as if he were lost in thought.
We went through a series of walls and floors. Honestly, it was one of the weirdest things I’d ever experienced. The journey ended inside a gym where twenty or so young men and women exercised, pumped iron, and stretched. They wore determination like a second skin.
“These are the hosts already chosen by the gods,” Domino said.
Sympathy roused a determination of my own. If these people learned the truth, their acceptance would become refusals. Surely.
“Come.” My companion led me through other walls and floors, finally stopping inside a temple I’d visited before, with Cyrus’s father. Statues of Astan and his pet dragon lined the walls. Bala was her name, the namesake of CURED’s central base of operations.
The biggest statue featured a massive Astan behind a human-size golden throne, gripping its curved top. His wings, folded in at his sides, the tips brushing the arms of the royal seat. Before, his horns had curled downward. Today, they perched above the halfway point . . . and might have just risen another inch, right before my eyes.
A shirtless, bleeding Mr. Vyle dropped to his knees before it and began mumbling the same phrase over and over. “Grant me power, my master, and I will accomplish your will.”
Revulsion pricked me.
An old man in a gold robe sat upon the throne, cackling with his head thrown back in abandon and his arms spread high and wide. “It’s mine, it’s mine, it’s mine!” A wild, insane sight.