Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 132138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 661(@200wpm)___ 529(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 661(@200wpm)___ 529(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
“No. I didn’t think we should both bite her,” I explain. My brother does look healthier, a fine flush to his skin where he was pale before. After that terrible day so long ago when the connection was cut between us and Bronwyn and Shim slipped into his long coma, I worried that Shim would never fully recover. He’s gotten healthier, but he never regained his full strength until this morning.
And now she’s gone.
Dellacourt jogs up. “I can’t find Kaja. I’m worried she’s out there eating crap she shouldn’t be eating.”
Roan smiles. “I bet she’s run with our princess. Your Kaja is a smart woman, and she has a definite nose for trouble.”
Duffy stands beside Shim, his axe at his side. “I checked out the window. It looks like she used the sheets to climb down the side of the house. Why do you think she would do that?”
“Because she’s probably scared,” Dellacourt says, his irritation obvious. He pulls out his tablet and punches in some numbers. “You should have let me talk to her first. But no, you two had to jump her. I would assume at this point that the marriage has been consummated.”
“It wasn’t properly witnessed, but she is our wife, and I’ll kill anyone who tries to take her from us,” I snarl. If Dellacourt thinks he can take my wife…
The vampire makes a gagging sound. “Who thought it was a good idea for an Unseelie king and a royal vampire to get it on and create symbiotic twins? They should have known damn well it would produce a ridiculously over-the-top asshole. You don’t have to kill me, Lachlan. Bronwyn already got away. You might have taken time to talk to her. Introduce yourselves.”
“The mating fever did not allow for much talk,” Shim admits.
The vampire’s head shakes. “Well, naturally. Are you part troll, too? I’ve heard they sometimes go insane and start eating brains.”
I flush. My cousin is a troll.
“I should have known. The Unseelie are not known for their pickiness when it comes to mates,” Roan says with a laugh. “Most Unseelie Fae have a bit of everything in their family tree, unlike your Seelie brethren where there is a stigma attached to having mixed blood.”
“Do you think she ran because she was disturbed that we’re Unseelie?” Bron had likely been raised to think less of the Unseelie and our acceptance of the dark things of the planes.
Dante shakes his head. “I think she ran because she woke up and found herself married to two strange men with next to no explanation. Also, her parents always thought she was a little touched in the head. She spoke of boys who played in her dreams. I suppose she meant the two of you.”
“Yes.” I’m not sure I want to hear more. My father didn’t believe me, but at least I had Shim. Bron had no one.
“What would you think if you had spent the majority of your life believing in one thing and you wake up and find out you were completely wrong and what you believed was imaginary is real and has two penises and two sets of hungry fangs? I think Bronwyn can be forgiven for running.” He turns as the tablet beeps. “My Kaj, on the other hand, is going to get her sweet ass spanked. She’s to the northwest. What’s up that way?”
“Our land,” Gillian says, her face sober as she stands under the awning. “She’s gone back to the tower. She wouldn’t leave without her knife.”
“She has her father’s knife?” Dante asks. “The one that matches his sword?”
Gillian nods, taking a moment as she looks on the edge of some unnamed emotion. “She does. It was next to her body. I recognized it. I took it with me because I thought it would prove her identity. She’s protected it ever since. She would never leave it behind. She intends to kill Torin with that knife.”
I stare at my sister. “Gillian, why would she have that thought in her head? Bronwyn is a princess. She doesn’t know how to fight.”
Gillian snorts. “I assure you, she does, and so do I. What was I supposed to do? Was I supposed to hire servants and continue to live as a royal? We were on the run and we had nothing but the jewels I managed to smuggle out. We worked for our food, and I wasn’t about to be at the mercy of any man. Before Torin started killing non-sidhe, I paid a couple of goblins to train us how to fight. They were the first. Wherever we would go, we would find someone to teach us. She’s quite good with a staff and knives and a bow. She needs work with a sword.”
“She needs to get to a place where she doesn’t have to defend herself.” I turn back to my brother. “Why didn’t we know any of this?”