Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
My father crosses the floor and stops short of the Phaelix, forcing him to crane his neck to look at my father. “To do what with?”
“To sell,” he says, writhing in my hold.
“Where?” I ask. “I destroyed the market.”
“A new market.” He spits at my feet. “New.”
“Where?” I ask again, melting the first digit of his index finger for making me repeat myself.
He howls in agony, twisting and throwing back his head.
“You’d better answer him,” my father says. “Before you run out of fingers.”
“An island on the lake.” He rocks himself while shooting daggers at me with his eyes. “The lake.”
“What did he say?” Elsie asks.
I tell her.
“The barge,” she cries out. “That’s where Sandy and the others came from when you found me on that shore!”
“I know where it is.” My mother gets up and walks to us. “There’s only one island big enough on a lake to house a slave market.”
“I’ll send Kian and a team of guards.” My father pushes a fist under the Phaelix’s chin, forcing the Phaelix to meet his gaze. “How many slaves are still on Zerra?”
“Not a lot.” The Phaelix bends his neck from side to side when my father lets him go. “Not a lot.”
“How many?” I bite out.
The Phaelix quickly lifts his free hand, showing three clawed fingers.
My father translates for Elsie.
“What are you selling them for?” she asks.
My mother tears her gaze from the Phaelix to face Elsie. “Is that important?”
“It could be,” Elsie says.
I translate the question and shake the Phaelix again. “Answer her.”
“For opals.” He pulls his eyes into slits. “Opals.”
I tell her what he said.
Elsie considers that for a moment. “To do what with?”
I ask him in his language.
“For war.” He utters a high-pitched laugh. “To buy weapons. For war.”
My father nudges him with the tip of his boot. “Against whom?”
I already know the answer. “Us.” I squeeze harder, making him mewl. “Isn’t that so?”
His silence says everything.
My father’s curse is quiet but lethal. He tightens his grip on the shaft of his dagger and curls the fingers of his other hand into a fist. His muscles tense as he prepares to pounce.
My mother touches my father’s arm. “Don’t kill him. We still need information.” Contempt radiates from her as she comes to stand in front of the Phaelix. “Who created that portal for you?”
He looks between us, grinning through his cooked teeth.
“Was it someone from Lona?” My mother’s upper lip curls. “Or from another kingdom?”
The moment seems to suspend in time as the silence stretches. For the first time, the Phaelix looks truly scared.
I melt another finger.
He howls and swears at me, spitting out curses with saliva.
“He’s of no use to us,” I say. “I’ll take him to the cell where I can melt him slowly over days.”
“No melting,” he whines. “No more melting.”
I put my face in his and melt a thumb. “That’s for the repetition.”
“It was Arix,” he screams. “Arix! Arix makes the portals. Arix!”
My mother and I look at each other.
“There’s no Arix in Lona,” my mother says. “That’s not even a name.”
“Yes,” the Phaelix cries. “Arix!” He resorts to sobbing. “Arix.”
It hits me at the same time as my father slowly says, “Tarix?”
“Yes!” The Phaelix bounces on his knees. “Arix. Arix.” He points a finger at my father. “Arix.”
My mother stumbles back a step, her cheeks deathly pale.
“Tarix?” Elsie says as if she has to push the name from her lips.
My father wipes a hand over his brow. My mother walks with stilted steps to the table. She trips over her own feet but rightens herself and carries on. She’s like a dead person, mechanically lifting a carafe and pouring wine into a goblet before downing the drink in one go.
“That son of a dragon,” my father says through clenched teeth.
Cold fury pushes up inside me. “Where is he?”
My mother whirls around. “Why would he do that? What could he get out of such an act of treason except a painful execution?” She looks at my father. “Do you believe him?”
Anger draws stark lines over my father’s face. “Why would he lie?”
I drag the Phaelix to his feet. “I’ll throw him in the cell, and then I’m going to get some answers. Where is he—Tarix?”
“I don’t know,” my mother says. “We finished our official business this afternoon. He could be anywhere in the palace.”
I exchange a look with my father. “Don’t let anyone leave.”
He sheathes his dagger. “I’ll tell Kian, Vitai, and Gaia.”
I don’t bother dragging the sack of shit through the hallways. I hold out a hand to Elsie and open a portal. We enter it, dragging the Phaelix along, and exit on the underground level where the cells are located. We haven’t used them in many moon cycles. There was never any need.
I throw the Phaelix into one of the cells. He kneels on the floor, cradling his injured hand against his chest while spitting and snapping his teeth. Not sparing him another glance, I close the archway and place a seal on the cell to prevent him from leaving and anyone else from getting in. We don’t want a rescue party—such as Tarix—to free him.