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)
Stubbornness kicked in. I opened my mouth to deliver a very reasonable explanation for the incident, but came up blank. I went with the ridiculous instead. “Well, for all we know, I’m the most powerful berserkatrix in the history of ever.” And with that, how could I not fully accept what I was? An immortal-ish warrior, capable of unleashing untold fury upon my enemies–and others, if I wasn’t careful.
Although Viktor could certainly hold his own. A fact that thrilled me. “We should go. Deco might send a new hunting party after us.” Surely the shifter king had learned of Viktor’s recovery by now.
“Ja, we will go. Now that you’re able to heal, we’ll risk the traps and air strikes and head to the turul fortress to finish this war.” Viktor kissed my brow, shocking me. He stood and helped me to my feet. “There’s a hot spring nearby, and it’s on our way.”
I clasped his hand, and all but dragged him toward the building’s exit. “How far is the spring?”
“Just over the ridge.”
So close! We walked outside, entering the wintry, gray terrain, and I shivered.
“You have questions about the memories you viewed, I’m sure,” Viktor said.
So many. “Let’s start with the woman.”
“Very well. I will preface this by saying I dislike discussing it. But you are…you. So I will.” He didn’t give me a second to process his amazing words before rolling full steam ahead. “That was Deco’s wife, Lena, from once upon a time.” He grimaced slightly. “The three of us grew up together in Deco’s palace. Before her romantic relationship with Deco began, she and I shared a dalliance. But when I confessed my love, she did not return the sentiment.”
Ouch. Rejection hurt, no matter which way you sliced it. “Please. Go on.”
He shoved a branch out of our path. “She didn’t want Viktor, the bastard child of a courtesan, but Deco, the king, and she won him. They married before he turned sentinel, and he loved her dearly.”
Viktor’s resentment over his human lineage rang loud and clear. “Who we are born to physically doesn’t make us what we are.” Keeping pace beside him, I reached out to tap his chest. “It is what’s in here that counts. And besides, your mother lived in a time when women had few options. It sounds like she did everything she could to ensure you not only survived but thrived.”
He swallowed. Then swallowed again. “You defend my character. And hers. That isn’t something anyone has done since...”
His words trailed, but I knew what he’d almost said. No one had defended him since Deco, all those centuries ago. Perhaps no one but Viktor himself had ever justified his mother’s actions. He’d lost so much, and now, the bulk of his pain revolved around what happened to Lena.
“Until becoming a sentinel king, I hadn’t realized Lena cared only about power and status. When I seized my crown, Deco served as my second. Jealousy ate at them both.”
The pain in Viktor’s voice tore at my soul. “My ex was that kind of guy. Jealous of anyone with more than him.”
“I will kill him for you. I’ll make it as painful as you wish.” His childlike eagerness to please struck a chord in me. “Nem. Allow me to rephrase. I’ll make it as painful as I wish.”
“That’s so kind of you. Truly. But he’s irrelevant. I’m more interested in you.” Heat scorched my cheeks. “I mean, your past. And Tor, if it makes you feel any better, Lena and Deco were miserable the entire time they were hating on you. No one can be happy with that kind of mindset.”
He thought for a moment, nodded. “Lena’s envy fed Deco’s. Days and weeks and months of whispering in his ear, vilifying me at every turn. When she struck, we’d never been so divided.”
Once two best friends, closer than brothers, suddenly enemies on opposite sides of a war. “Tell me what happened next.” Oh, I remembered Vik’s vargbane root induced dream, but I had no idea what led up to Deco storming Viktor’s way. The pair shouting, swiping and snarling at each other in a wild frenzy.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Lena lured me into a private area off the ballroom and admitted she loved me. She claimed she had always loved me, but had feared angering Deco and sentencing me to death. If I would slay him, we could be together. I rebuked her and told her I would end her if ever she threatened his life again. That I would watch her closely and if I suspected she so much as pondered Deco’s demise, I would take action against her. She said I didn’t know what I was missing and started stripping.”
“Oh, Viktor. That’s awful.”
“Ja.” His lips compressed in a grim line. “She knew what I didn’t. Deco hunted for me, intending to challenge me. She’d finally convinced him to try. He came upon us while I attempted to stop her seduction, which ensured he raged. You saw what happened afterward. But I’ve never ceased hoping…”