Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 235897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1179(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 786(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 235897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1179(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 786(@300wpm)
“Hey.” He tilts his head down toward mine and gives me a soft—but real—smile.
I almost ask him how he is, since he can’t talk to Sgaeyl and our own bond is blocked, but it seems like a shitty thing to do after that smile. “Everyone is heading up to take naps before we ride out to find the merchant. Halden is set to meet the king at three, so we can get a good four hours of sleep in if you want.”
“I’m going to stay out here for a little bit. You go.” He turns toward me and cups the back of my neck. “You need the rest and definitely need to get out of the sun for a bit. Your nose is turning pink.”
“Tecarus gave us the same room…”
“Because he values his life.” He tucks the loose strands of my braid behind my ears. “Get some sleep. You need it. I’ll be up in a bit.”
“Do you want me to sit out here with you?”
His grin deepens. “When you clearly need to rest? No, love, though I appreciate the offer. It’s hard to explain, but I’m just going to take a little time to myself to soak in this view.” He grabs my hand and brings it to his chest, where his heart pounds in a steady rhythm that feels slightly more relaxed than it was in Cordyn—than it has been in weeks, really. “Can you feel it?”
“It’s slower,” I whisper.
“There’s no magic here.” He tugs me against him. “No power. No lure. No taunting reminder that I can save everyone if I just reach for it and take what’s offered. It’s only…peace.”
For the first time since fetching the luminary, I seriously debate Tecarus’s offer.
The uprising suddenly failed overnight on December 13, 433 AU, in what has been called the Midnight Massacre. The foreign troops disappeared, and the rebels were killed in their beds by Poromish forces. It is not their disappearance that strikes this scholar as particularly vicious but their obvious betrayal. There is a saying in Deverelli: The word is the blood. When they make a trade, broker a deal, it is considered law. I cannot help but wonder what part of the deal the Krovlan rebels did not uphold.
—Subjugated: The Second Uprising of the Krovlan People by Lieutenant Colonel Asher Sorrengail
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“This is a ridiculous way to travel,” Ridoc says for the dozenth time, hauling himself upright in the saddle after slipping yet again as our horses navigate the uneven stone streets of Matyas, Deverelli’s capital city.
I smother a laugh, but Cat doesn’t offer Ridoc the same kindness from two rows back with Mira as we ride the tree-covered fairways. We’re arranged mostly in pairs with the exception of Drake, who is solo ahead of Xaden and me.
The city is even more stunning than I imagined from the air. Built under the canopy of enormous trees, only its tallest structures are visible when flying. The rest feels like a hidden treasure, and we haven’t even journeyed up the hill where the palace—and Halden—is. The roads have been primarily residential until now, with structures far and evenly spaced, growing closer together the nearer we come to the ports and city center, and in the last mile, every single one of them has been built out of stone.
“I’m sorry, but I find it hard to believe that a dragon rider draws the line at a horse,” Cat says with another laugh as we pass what appears to be a tea shop, judging by the painted sign outside the door.
“Hey, horses bite,” Ridoc says over his shoulder, and a woman jumps away at the sight of us, placing a palm over the neckline of her embroidered white tunic.
“And dragons do what, exactly?” Drake calls back.
“You’ll never know, since you’ll never be allowed to ride one,” Mira snaps in a bored tone before returning to her usual side-to-side perimeter sweep. She’s been on alert since we left the manor, even though I’ve assured her Tairn’s within range and he can set this whole place on fire within minutes if I call for him.
What we really need is a freaking communication rune for the others—if such a thing exists.
Drake’s eyes narrow on Mira, then Xaden, whose mouth has curved into a smirk. “I’m surprised you didn’t fight me for the lead position, Riorson.”
Xaden scoffs, and the smirk transforms into a smile as we pass under a patch of dappled sunlight. I stare at him like it’s first year all over again. He’s in a short-sleeved uniform top like the rest of us, baring those gorgeously toned arms, but it’s really the relaxed posture, the ease of his smile that have me utterly transfixed and, I can admit…a little confuddled. Xaden Riorson is a lot of things, but happy isn’t usually one of them. “It’s perfectly fine if you die first, Cordella. I’m exactly where I want to be.” Then the man fucking winks at me, and I almost fall off my damned horse.