Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 153795 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 769(@200wpm)___ 615(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 153795 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 769(@200wpm)___ 615(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
“You know you don’t have to do this, right?” His face turns serious, eyebrows knitting, jaw setting.
“Yes, I do. I refuse to let my sister die.”
“That minotaur woman is right.” Thane blows a breath, standing close enough to block the sun from my view. “Taking this journey with me at your side is deadly—”
“Yeah,” I scoff. “I learned that back in Redclaw.”
“It’s deadly for the people who cross me,” he finishes. I meet his gaze. His eyes aren’t as serious as usual. There is a tenderness to them. Possibly a touch of sincerity. Or maybe I’m just imagining it, just like I had in the bunker, and hours before that, when he was using his whispershade. “I won’t let anyone or anything hurt you during this journey, Quinlocke.”
With a hard swallow, I ask, “How can I be sure of that?”
“Because I wouldn’t have agreed to do this if I didn’t think I could succeed. If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I hate failing.”
I purse my lips together while staring at my lap. My clothes have so many holes and rips in them now. It’s all a sheer reminder of the chaos surrounding me. I definitely need a bath. And possibly a nap. My adrenaline is slowly seeping away, leaving behind only weariness.
“Can I ask you something?” My voice comes out softer than expected.
He lifts a brow of approval.
“You seem really determined to make it to Elphar, and I know it’s not just for my sake. Is there something there that you’re after, too? Do you want treasure like Algar?”
He’s quiet for a second, eyes drifting to focus on a cluster of trees in the distance. “There is one thing.”
I perk up a bit. “What is it?”
He seems to contemplate telling me. “The Tome of Azidel.”
“The what?”
He sighs. “It’s a book of spells written by the firstborn sorcerer.”
“Oh.” I pause. “Why do you want it?”
“Because there are spells in there that can increase the power of my magic.”
I chew on the corner of my bottom lip. “You seem pretty powerful already. Why do you want to increase it?”
“I have my reasons.”
I wait expectantly for him to continue.
“I don’t care to explain them right now.”
“Of course not,” I mumble. “It would be nice to know, though. Might make this journey of ours a bit easier.”
“How so?” he asks, lowering those amber eyes to me again.
“Because we both want the same thing, and that’s to reach the temple for something we desire. Better to work with each other than against, right?”
“Hmm.” I can’t tell if that’s a positive or a dismissive “hmm.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I still loathe that I’m doing any of this with a person like you,” I say, teasing, “but if it’s my only option, I may as well accept it.”
“You’re basically saying you hate me.”
“Hate is too strong of a term.”
His mouth twitches at the corners.
I smile a little. After a few seconds, I ask, “So what happens if Maliek finds you again?”
His jaw ticks this time.
I push my specs up the bridge of my nose. “He caught me and Torjack in the inn before we made it out the back door. He was…choking me with this invisible grip—almost like the one you used when you tossed me out of the Tilted Crystal. Only his felt colder and sharper.” I shudder at the reminder of Maliek’s harsh magic, the fierce look in his eyes. “He came after me and called me the noble one. I don’t understand what he meant by that.”
Thane looks back toward the inn. “You don’t have to worry about Maliek or anyone else while you’re with me.”
“Because you won’t let anyone hurt me?”
“Glad you’re finally catching on.”
“Why does he want you so badly, though?” I prod.
Thane presses his lips firmly together as he steps back.
I stand up to scan the details of his face—those jagged scars and the dark flecks embedded in his irises. The hardness of his prominent features, the slightest hook in his nose, his sculpted lips.
“You’re a man of many secrets, Thane,” I murmur. “I knew that when I first met you. You were this big, blinding mystery, and I’m realizing you like it that way. You like that people don’t know much about you—you don’t want anyone to figure you out.”
“Your point?”
“I just can’t imagine all the things you’re hiding. Or who you really are under all that black and leather.”
He matches my stare, allowing several quiet seconds to tick by before stepping in closer. Leaning down, he brings his lips so close to the shell of my ear that a chill runs down my spine, and a tingle slinks from my stomach to my inner thighs. I clench my fists to chase away the illicit feelings that one action alone has brought me.
His warm breath spills down my chest, causing my nipples to pebble beneath my bra. I contain the desperate sigh brewing inside me as he says, “Don’t pretend my so-called secrets don’t intrigue you, Quinlocke.”