Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78886 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78886 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Dang. He was quick-witted, too. I tried not to be impressed. “I don’t know how you can get me willing to stick with you, but I’m happy to offer suggestions.” Would I bargain away my freedom for my sister? Yes. There was no way I could defeat a flight of turul-shifters on my own. But that would only gain my outward surrender. I wouldn’t be willing on the inside. “I’m really into good moods, being a man’s one and only, kindness, meals, and rescuing twin sisters.”
“We shall see,” he said, sounding as if he were already plotting my downfall.
“And with that, the conversation ends. Goodnight, Viktor,” I rasped, turning from him.
“Cuddle me like you’ve done every other night.” He rolled into me and dragged me against his chest, the big spoon to my little spoon. His arm remained a strong band, keeping me locked in place. Not that I was the teeniest bit tempted to break away. “Better.”
Much. “I knew you’d been sneaking into bed with me,” I muttered.
“Only because you demanded it.”
“Oh, that’s what happened, is it?” Other cracks of thunder ebbed and flowed, parts of the tent flapping with the wind, but I didn’t care. The rest of the world had ceased to matter. I closed my eyes, breathing deep, trying to forget the residual aches from his ministrations which had yet to fade. What would he do if I twisted around and kissed him?
I’d told him not to make a move. He’d said the same to me. I shouldn’t do it. I couldn’t. Wouldn’t.
But I wanted to.
It was almost a relief when the trials of the day caught up to me. Wrapped in Viktor’s heat and scent, I let the sea of nothingness sweep me away. Awareness dulled…
The dream never came.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when a faint noise woke me. Blinking open my eyes, I tuned my ears.
“Find, destroy, happy. Find, destroy, happy.”
Thoughts flickered to life, reminding me of my situation. I stiffened, gaze darting. Viktor. The tent. The storm. It still raged, rain pummeling the cloth walls. Since none leaked inside, I figured the material was waterproof.
“Find, destroy, happy.”
I repositioned to take stock. Viktor stretched out on his back, fast asleep. Light glowed from a lantern he must have lit at some point, giving me a full wattage glimpse of his eyes rolling behind his lids and jerking body. Was he trapped inside a nightmare?
My chest constricted. Poor berserker. “Hey, hey,” I said, gently patting his cheek. “Wake up for me, Snarls.”
He caught my wrist as his eyelids popped open. “Clove. Clovie. Lovie.”
Working out nicknames? “Whatever you call me, your treasured firebrand is here,” I responded, trying not to adore the final selection but failing. More proof something was wrong with me.
His lips folded in between his teeth. “I dreamed of the Valkara.”
I stiffened, not quite as nonchalant about her as usual for some strange, unknown reason I couldn’t begin to fathom. “I’m listening.”
“The key must be found.” He scrubbed a palm over his face.
Or what? He’d be miffed? Total world annihilation would come? “Tell me about it.”
“Nem.”
I didn’t press. Yet. “Tell me about your friendship with Deco then.” Maybe I’d glean details about the shifter I could use to my advantage.
Fine! I was simply curious.
“You wish to know more about me, hmm?”
I didn’t think I appreciated Viktor’s smugness. “Why wouldn’t I? Knowledge is power.” The best response I could manage.
“I will be kind and tell you how we met.” Viktor relaxed into the blankets, toying with the ends of my hair again. “Deco was a royal, while I hailed from a court courtesan. We shouldn’t have crossed paths, but I snuck into his classroom to learn from his tutors. He spotted me, insisted I join him, and we soon grew as close as brothers.”
My brain buzzed. And not only because Viktor was doing this to win me over without trying to hide it. I’d mentioned liking acts of kindness, and now he provided one.
A courtesan mother suggested he might not know the identity of his father. Had he lived his life the way I’d lived mine, always wondering? When the rest of his words registered, I blinked. “I think I misheard you. Did you say he was a royal, not you?” I couldn’t imagine Viktor as anything but a leader. The one dishing the orders.
“Unlike most other sentinels, he and I started as humans. He was my king.”
Wow. So unexpected.
“My mother kept me at court to teach me how to blend with the upper class. From the shadows, I mingled with the sons and daughters of the peerage.”
I sensed sadness in his tone and guessed he’d felt out of place, as if he hadn’t truly belonged. “You never thought of yourself as part of the crowd.” I flattened my palm over his pectoral. His heart pounded hard, greeting me.