Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 89222 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89222 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Yes.
My trek from the library to the kitchen passes in a snap. One moment I’m ignoring the fading sounds of my siblings courtesy of the throbbing in my head and the next I’m face to face with a genie that I feel is waiting for me to answer a question I have no recollection of being asked.
Gene’s hands fold politely behind his back on a heavy sigh. “Master Draak, please, forgive me for being so…uncharacteristically candid; however, I feel this odd inclination to ask the following.” His face leans slightly forward. “Would you care to discuss what is troubling you?”
I lower my mouth to spew all that’s on my mind yet not a single sound escapes.
Not.
One.
“Very well then.” His curt nod masks his offense at my lack of openness. “Is there any way I can be of service at this time?”
“Griff needs a new cup of tea.”
“Sir Hutchison finished that faster than I was anticipating.”
“It…spilled.”
Gene does his best not to grin. “Understood, Master Draak. Anything else?”
“He could probably use one of those golden biscuits to lift his spirits.”
“I’ll put in a fresh batch before my afternoon exterior cleaning of Lady Pennington’s incarceration cell.”
The mere mention of my fate-in-law, the very being I have to pretend to sacrifice in order to save my mate, prompts me to shake my head in denial. “That won’t be necessary.”
“My apologies for overstepping, Master Draak, but I was under the impression relocating her to the guest wing would not be occurring before morning therefore a good glass waxing is indeed necessary.”
“I’m not so certain that she will need a guestroom, either.”
“Is she no longer staying?”
“I don’t know that she is not, not staying.”
“Pardon?”
Realizing I still need time to decide on a course of action is what causes me to inquire, “Did you feed her the fish as instructed?”
“Of course, Master Draak.”
“Did she eat it?”
“She licked the plate clean, sir.”
Knowing he’s not one for being facetious, I lift my eyebrows in shock.
“My Olatinrc is a bit rusty—although sharper upon having Lady Pennington on the property—but I do believe she said she did not want a drop to go to waste.” Another smile threatens to slip onto his face. “I do believe full orcs are often quite as literal as my own kind.”
His statement prompts other information I’ve studied regarding their natural instincts and impulses to slap me in the balls with an idea. “I know what to say to her.”
Gene tilts his head in confusion.
“Thank you, Gene.” I present him with a polite smile. “You were precisely who I needed to speak with.”
Perplexity remains despite his nodding. “It’s a pleasure to have helped, Master Draak.” Preparing to dart away to where Dai is being imprisoned is momentarily cut short by the creature we would truly be lost without. “May I offer a bit of advice for your pending one-on-one conversation with your fate-in-law from a being who has witnessed more than one go awry?”
“Whose went awry?”
“All of them, to be honest, Master Draak. And some—like those between the late Master Draak and the Frosts—were rather violent.”
“How violent?”
“They caused structural damage that brought me joy to fix but significantly inconvenienced the entire household.”
I’m gonna need details about that when I have more time.
His face remains professional as ever as he asks, “May I offer my suggestion?”
One hand slides into my pocket while the other gestures his direction to continue.
“Remember that you are a product of both of your parents.”
“Meaning?”
“Some conversations require strong talons, and other conversations require open palms. It will do you well to remember which is necessary for when while engaging with Lady Pennington.”
His words strike me harder than I’m anticipating.
It’s not that I wasn’t close to Mom.
I just wasn’t as close to her as I was to Dad.
It was his shadow I wanted to be in and then free from and then right back under after their deaths. Mom was just one of those dragons who never complained about her dragonlings wanting to be right under her mate’s wing rather than hers. She was there when we needed her. Stepped back when we insisted that we didn’t. She was…the best mom we let her be and now, that I reflect on it, I resent myself for not doing more with her.
Talking to her more.
Asking for her advice or blessing.
We will not make the same mistakes with this next generation.
No.
Dragons and Fated Mates will be active in being there for their brood.
And as head of the fucking clan, what I say, goes.
Upon my arrival at the facility, I’m met by the same sight I have been for the duration of her holding. Unlike her daughter who hates what she perceives to be “the cold shoulder”, I understand the tactic. With her back to us, we don’t know what she’s doing or thinking. We have a disadvantage and so do at least two of the cameras recording her movements. Despite no longer being brainwashed by Magitek, she’s still a being that makes strategic moves for survival.