Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 171450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 857(@200wpm)___ 686(@250wpm)___ 572(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 857(@200wpm)___ 686(@250wpm)___ 572(@300wpm)
More monsters. More humans. A literal hotbed of activity and all to do with the Monster Treaty.
“Almost time. Just waiting for…”
Amberdash strode into the delegate lounge as if he had already been crowned the head of the assembly. His black suit was crisp, and his pale face was shockingly firmer in the daylight compared to the translucence of the night. This was a creature who was never supposed to have left the dark. He almost passed as human as he shook hands and shot genial smiles to others. He was a politician in his element and not the mobster she had worked with all these years.
His eyes found hers across the room, and he smiled. A real smile. Like her presence pleased him and not like he was calculating how to use her. Though she knew he was. She’d heard it firsthand from his attendants and himself. If he could get his hands on her, then he’d fully eradicate her race.
The thought alone made her blood boil. Oh, how she wanted to walk over and stick a knife in him. She didn’t have one, of course. No weapons inside the building. But that was okay. She was weapon enough.
“The assembly room is open,” a voice called over the din of conversation. “Please make your way inside. The convocation is about to begin.”
Amberdash nodded his head at her. An opening gambit to a game he thought they were playing. He had no idea that they’d changed games entirely. She nodded back.
“It’s a little dated,” Kierse said when they stepped inside.
The auditorium-style room was full of oak tables, white-backed chairs that were peeling at the edges, and a dark-green carpet that had seen better days. The oak paneling on the wall was reminiscent of a different era, and at the center, where a symbol of peace had once stood, was a logo for the Monster Treaty—a dove with a human hand on top and a monster hand with claws on the bottom. Kierse had always thought it looked a bit like humans and monsters were going to crush the peace the dove represented, but what did she know?
Graves barely suppressed a laugh. “It’s been here a long time, and all the decorations are gifts from other countries.”
“So they can’t just pull up this green carpet?”
“It came from Ireland,” Graves said softly.
“So did you and I, but we’re not keeping outdated carpet in the house.”
“We don’t have carpet in the house.”
She grinned. “Exactly.”
Graves shook his head. “The abstract art on the walls is up for interpretation, but I always thought the east wall meant peace and the west wall meant war. The duality of what this assembly stood for until the Monster War when the city was too destabilized to hold such a congregation.”
The delegates were arranged into their specific sections for each type of monster with humans intermingled. Kierse thought it was well done not to draw a big line between humans and monsters. A real promise for peace at least.
A hush came over the room as Amberdash swept inside. His hard gaze slid across those assembled, searching out a familiar face. And then he found her, his eyes predatory.
Kierse stared back at him. She had thwarted his plans. Jason hadn’t kidnapped her. For a moment, she wanted to hide her wrists behind her back as the thought of the cuffs made them involuntarily throb despite the pain having long disappeared.
But there was desire in those irises as well. Time and time again, she had escaped him. And he was not a monster who tolerated that.
Then he continued forward with security guards at his back, carrying a large black box.
“That’s it,” Kierse said.
“So overt,” Graves agreed with distaste.
“Good that his notes were still right.”
“Are you ready?” He grasped her hand once and squeezed.
“When he makes his move, I am.”
Amberdash stopped before the first row, and from the box came a large square stone. The crowd silenced at the sight of it. The smaller circular Stone of Fal was nestled inside the more ornate stone he’d used to carry the thing, but either way, it was impressive. The power was contained within the stone itself. That didn’t change the world from turning on its axis toward it.
And when Amberdash took his seat on the old stone, he did it with a smug smirk that had the air of a checkmate.
“Now,” Graves said.
Game on.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Kierse pulled her slow motion out of her trick box and slipped swiftly from the back of the room without a word. Not even the security guards noticed her move past them. But as soon as she let it drop, she had to pause long enough for a few pants, doubled over in a corner.
She checked down into her magic and found the tank lower than she had anticipated. Still enough for what she needed to do.