Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Reeve of the Gentle Hills has the largest and most impressive tent in the marketplace. There is no question the gnome has done well for himself in the years since the civil war in Tír na nÓg.
Reeve’s tent is at the center of the small village, and everything built up around it. I like the marketplace. It’s filled with all the weird and wonderful things that can be found across the planes of existence. I even like the feel of dirt beneath my feet. The surface on this plane is radically different from my home. It’s closer to Tír na nÓg. This particular plane was deserted when Beck and Cian fled their home. It was used by vampires as a place to hunt in the old ways and to raise cattle.
There’s no smog here. The sun is bright and the world feels open and airy. At home, the surface is tight and confined. Sometimes, the sun doesn’t get past the clouds of pollution that cling close to the surface. It’s why most vampires who can afford it never leave their high-rise communities.
I adjust the hood of my jacket to better cover my skin. The sun is stronger on the Faery planes. My sunglasses have already adjusted to the light. The nanites in my clothing adapt quickly to keep my temperature in an optimal range and ensure the ultraviolet light doesn’t burn me.
But sometimes I wonder what it would be like to walk unclothed in the sunlight. What would it be like to laze about unencumbered by clothing while the warmth of the sun kisses my skin? I’ll never tell anyone, but that is what attracted me to the sunscreen project. It isn’t the money we’ll make. It is the possibility of experiencing something I never have before.
“What do you think you’re doing, cos?” Cian asks. He allowed Beck and Meg to get ahead of us.
Ci knows me far too well for comfort. “I wanted to come along. It might get dangerous. You never know. You and Beck might need backup.”
Cian’s gray eyes roll. “Yes, the warrior king requires backup. He’s not only the greatest warrior to rise from the Seelie in a thousand years, but he’s a Storm Lord, too. I think he can handle one small female. Now, spit it out, cos. What happened with your dad last night? Don’t lie. I know that look on my uncle’s face. I saw it when he caught me and Beck with his personal assistant ten years ago.”
This is news to me. How did I miss that bit of gossip? “You two did Helena? Seriously? How did I not know that? She’s twenty years older than you.”
Cian’s smile is slightly lecherous. “She was very experienced. We were just young lads looking to learn. It was a beautiful afternoon that we got our asses kicked for. Uncle Don had that look in his eyes last night. What’s going on?”
I shrug as we pass a goblin vendor selling all manner of odd items. “He was a bit upset. He thinks there’s going to be some bad press about the DL.”
“Yes, I caught some of that this morning. Meggie likes to watch the DLs. I believe the talk shows labeled you ‘Asswipe of the Year,’” Cian confirms. “I didn’t think that was a term serious journalists would use, but they seemed happy with it.”
“Stupid tabloids.” They’re always on my back. The paparazzi waits to capture my fuckups for the world to see. “What do they want me to do? I didn’t even like many of those women. Most of them weren’t looking for a mate. They wanted to be DL stars. Should I have asked one to marry me so I didn’t look like a jerk and then break it off later?”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have gone on the show in the first place,” Cian says with a sensibility that sets my fangs on edge. “I find it hard to believe you were serious about finding a wife from twenty females desperate enough to share one man.”
I wasn’t serious. I can admit it. It seemed like a fun way to waste some time while the bio-med unit works on the sunscreen project. I was surprised at how joyless dating twenty hot chicks is when there’s always a camera around.
“Besides,” Cian continues, “it works better the other way. You only have one dick, man. How are you going to keep that many women happy? It takes two of us to keep Meg satisfied. If you really want to go down that road, you should find a friend and get a woman between you.”
“I don’t want a ménage.” The last thing I need is some dude in bed with me and whatever woman I happen to be dating. It works for Beck and Cian because they share a soul. I never had to share anything, and I’m not about to start now. “I don’t want anything at all, if I’m honest. But I don’t have that choice anymore.”