Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 120974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
“I’m talking about the net!” I insist. “Our magicians put it up—I’ve known about it since I was a child. It’s the only thing that keeps us safe from you!”
“The thing that keeps you safe is that we’re not fucking murderers,” he growls, the humor abruptly leaving his face. “There’s no fucking net—how could I take off and fly you out of there if there was?”
His words catch me off guard and make me think. I can’t deny his logic, but I’ve been told about the net all my life. Supposedly it stretches over the entire kingdom. Can it be that the magicians have been lying to us? But I heard about the net from my father and my brother—could they have been lying to me?
But why would they lie? Why would they portray the Dragon People as our worst enemies if they stay away from us of their own volition?
I have no answers for any of those questions, and it makes me flustered and cross.
“You didn’t have to give away my dress,” I repeat stubbornly. “You could have just threatened the Constable with your strength if she brought him into it. You’re bigger than any of the men in there—I’m sure you could have frightened him off, even without turning into your dragon.”
Valen crosses his arms over his broad, bare chest.
“Maybe. But why would I do that for my enemy?”
I open my mouth to snap back…and find I have nothing to say. We are enemies and I am still his captor—his Mistress—by virtue of the ring and collar. I suppose it makes sense he wouldn’t go out of his way to help me.
Although he did save me from getting raped. And why did he tell my attacker to take his hands off “my woman.” What was that all about?
I say none of this out loud. I just give him another glare.
“It’s not just that I wanted to save the dress because I like it, you know,” I tell him. “It’s also a lot warmer than just wearing a shift. I’m not like you—I don’t have a furnace inside me to keep me from freezing.”
Valen rolls his eyes.
“Relax, Princess, it’s not that cold—you won’t freeze. But here.”
He hands me something and I find that it’s the ragged shirt Maud gave him to wear along with the too-tight trousers he has on.
It’s dirty and ragged and I don’t want to put it on…but then a breeze from the forest swirls around me, making me shiver. I don’t care what Valen says—it’s cold out here!
Reluctantly, I slip the ragged shirt on, wincing as the dirty fabric scrapes across my skin. It’s not very warm, but it’s a little better. I wrap my arms around myself, trying to ignore the unsavory smell of my new garment, which makes me think that whoever wore it last sweated a lot while cooking copious amounts of garlic and onions.
Meanwhile, Valen is exploring the wooden outbuildings at the back of the inn. I go over and find him inside one of them that’s little more than a shack. He’s found a burlap bag somewhere and he’s in the act of putting something into it.
“What are you doing?” I ask, frowning.
“Getting us some dinner,” he growls. He reaches for something that looks like a long, round tube and I realize it’s a smoked sausage. In fact, there are several other cuts of meat hanging from the wooden ceiling and the whole place stinks of smoke. It’s almost strong enough to drown out the smell of my new shirt.
“What? You gave her my dress because you’re too good to use your dragon form to scare the innkeeper into letting me keep it, but now you’re robbing her smokehouse?”
“Please—you and I both know that room wasn’t worth ten gold,” he scoffs. “And we know your dress was worth more than what we got. So I’m just evening the score.” He cocks an eyebrow at me. “Or would you rather starve?”
“No, of course not,” I say sullenly. “But you’d better hurry—we don’t want to be caught out here.”
“Just finishing up.” He grabs a few other things I can’t see in the dark room and stuffs them in the sack. “That should do it—let’s go, Princess.”
I have no choice but to follow him out into the night—for it has turned to full night now and the moon is rising over the forest. I look at the foreboding shadows of the trees and shiver.
I have a feeling our troubles are just beginning.
25
VALEN
My little Princess is not happy with me right now. To be honest, I’m not very fucking happy myself. I had hoped to have at least one more night under a roof before we had to start into the forest.
Thornmere looks foreboding at night—even to me and I know I can Shift into my Drake and fly away if I need to. But actually, the tree cover might be too dense to allow that—I have a feeling that once we enter the forest, I’ll be stuck in my human form if I’m not careful.