Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 137226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
“This is Dagger,” I tell her, flipping the blade over and over in my hand now.
She coughs. “You named your dagger Dagger?” she asks, deadpan.
“A knife can be your best friend,” I tell her. “Doesn’t your best friend deserve a name?”
Satisfied it’s dry, I bring the dagger down across the rope, cutting it in two like a hot knife slicing through butter, and then before Brynla can ask what’s happening and fight back, I grab her wrists and tie the rope around them tight.
I step back just as Lemi starts to growl at me, showing large, sharp canines.
Shit. I didn’t want the dog to turn on me but I suppose tying up its owner will do that.
I quickly bring out a small vial of tranquilizer I had tucked inside my armor and hold it out for Brynla to see.
“This brought down a dragon; it can bring down your dog. I don’t want to hurt him—and I won’t—but I have no problems putting him to sleep.”
I could add a few more threats in there, but frankly I’d be lying. The only animal I’d ever hurt is a dragon and even then it would be in self-defense, like what happened last night.
Lemi continues to growl, even getting up and stepping toward me. I quickly calculate if I can get the serum in his mouth without losing an arm.
“Lemi,” Brynla warns him with a sigh. “Sit.”
Lemi’s growls disappear and he sits back on his haunches, his tongue hanging out the side, going from a monstrous killer to a giant puppy in seconds.
Then Brynla lifts her hands. “Was it really necessary to tie me up?”
“I’m afraid you’ve taken me by surprise one too many times,” I tell her.
A satisfied smile flashes across her face.
“All right.” She clears her throat and leans back against the railing. “So now what?”
“You’re just going to gloss over the fact that I saved your life a third time?”
“I never asked you to,” she replies. “Not my fault you aren’t able to lose gracefully.”
I blink at her. “Lose gracefully?”
She shrugs. “You weren’t saving me because you wanted to. You saved me because if I died it would have meant you lost.”
“Lost at what?” I frown.
“Whatever game you think you’re playing. The one you’re so desperately trying to make me a part of.”
I suck on my lower lip for a moment. On the one hand, I don’t like how perceptive she is, even if she’s not entirely correct. On the other hand, she’s impressing me.
“I’m not playing a game,” I tell her, sliding the knife back into my boot. “Not with you, anyway. The only game I’m playing is the one we’re all playing.”
“Us against dragons,” she says, her voice going low.
“Us against House Dalgaard,” I tell her. “And in the end, they’re the ones who will lose. As for everything transpiring between you and me, well, that’s a deal. A negotiation that hopefully leads to a partnership.”
She snorts. “This isn’t a negotiation. You’re kidnapping and blackmailing me into working for you. Which will be your biggest mistake. As long as I’m in your care, you’re going to be looking over your shoulder, waiting for me to betray you. After all, if I work for you, I’m betraying House Dalgaard. What makes you so sure I won’t do the same to House Kolbeck? Highest bidder always wins for thieves like me, don’t they?”
Finally, something I can work with.
“Because I’ll make it worth your while.”
Chapter 6
Brynla
Two days later, land appears on the horizon. At first I just see the low bank of fog blanketing the water until it clears and mountainous shapes appear, piercing the sky from below like a row of serrated teeth.
“There she is!” yells Toombs from the helm. “Our fair Norland.”
I’m sitting on a crate of oranges, Lemi lying on the deck at my feet. He was napping but now his head is up at the sound of Toombs’s bellow, sniffing the air. To me, it smells like sea spray and the damp wood of the ship, which I’ve gotten used to over the last forty-eight hours, but I have no doubt that Lemi’s picking up the scent of distant lands.
He’s probably picking up on my energy as well. I’m sitting up straighter as my nerves prickle, looking down the length of the ship to the waves and the world behind in an anxious kind of wonder.
Norland.
I’ve heard about this place my whole life. Of course, I’ve only heard bad things. The government of Esland always made every other realm seem worse than the one we were imprisoned in. Norland was supposed to be a place where monsters lurked in the rivers and lakes, making the water poisonous and dangerous to drink. Where the east part of the land had fractured into a separate territory called Altus Dugrell and the two lands were constantly warring with each other. Legend said the entire north was covered in snow and ice so cold that nothing could grow there while bloodthirsty trolls lurked in the glacier caves, and the south was nothing but a blanket of constant rain and fog, enough that it drove people to slowly lose their minds. We were taught that Norlanders themselves were duplicitous people who would stab you in the back the first chance they got—if they hadn’t already drowned themselves in the sea or under a barrel of pine alcohol.