Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 111353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
“I can and I will protect you from all threats, my sweet honey.” Gray orbs sucked me in, and drowned me. “And you know this because you see it when you look into these eyes that frighten and arouse you in equal measure. You know that you are the most important thing in my afterlife. There is and never will be anything that I desire and cherish more than you.”
“But that’s... that’s...” My voice was a thin rasp. “That’s not me you want. It’s my blood. You’re only so obsessed with me because I keep you alive. Your reasons are shallow,” I cried. “They’re self-serving.”
His smile widened. “And isn’t that exactly what love is? Isn’t that why we desire it? Because it sustains us. Because it gives us the means and the reason... to live.”
Why couldn’t I disagree with him? Why did this happen every time?
My jaw worked, but nothing would come out.
“Feed me.”
“If— If he sees a mark on me, I’ll pay the price,” I forced out. “I’ve been punished by the sub bond before. I never want to experience that pain again.”
Again, Radu did not look deterred. “If you’ll indulge me, sweetie, I have an idea to get around that...”
LATER THAT EVENING after classes, I carried my and Dora’s dinner back to our room. The two of us were done eating in the mess hall for the time being. Even though the other demons put their heads down and walked in the opposite direction when I came in, Ronin had too much of a love for making an example of people in public, and I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.
“Nik was telling me all about the dryads, Rosacea.”
“I’m pretty sure that is no one’s name,” I muttered.
“Their magic is so cool,” Dora gushed. “They don’t just speak to animals. They also understand the whispers of the trees and plants. They can make the tiniest seed blossom into a full-grown tree in minutes, and they can do something called tree-striding. As in they can walk through an oak tree in one part of the realm, and walk out of an oak three hundred miles away in an instant.”
“Wow, that is actually cool. I wish we were learning about stuff like this in Connard’s class instead of listening to his endless bigoted droning.”
Pushing open the door, I peeked inside, saw it was empty, and then gestured for Dora to come through.
That night’s dinner was chimichurri grilled flank steak with creamy mashed potatoes and grilled corn on the cob with a glass of red wine and a mango sorbet for dessert. Far be it for me to say something positive about hell, but I couldn’t deny that the two of us never ate this well when we were topside.
I stole the coffee table from Ronin’s room and set it in ours for us to enjoy our meal. The door slammed open in the outer room before the fork could reach my lips.
“I know you’re in there,” Ronin barked. “Get out here. Now.”
Sighing, I said goodbye to my peaceful dinner and got up. “Stay and eat, D. I’ll be right back.”
Ronin was waiting for me by the fireplace. He spun on me, clutching his phone in his hand. I could hear it vibrating from where I stood. “What the hell did you say to Raven, Sauda, and the others?”
“Me?” I crooked a brow. “Does that mean they admitted it was my idea? The last I heard from them, they were jumping all over each other to take credit.”
His eyes narrowed to slits. “That was the last I heard from them too. All of them swearing up, down, and sideways that this empire of sin shit was their grand idea, but it’s got you written all over it, mortal.”
I hummed. “Why don’t you look happy? The ladies thought it was genius. So good, it saved me from the beating Raven desperately wanted to give me.”
“I bet it did,” he shot back. “They’ll never say it, but they all respect you now. In their eyes, you’re not much more than a worthless weakling. But now you’re a clever worthless weakling.”
Ouch. The promotion is nice, but it still stings to hear how low I measured in their estimation. “So what’s the problem?”
Ronin’s eyebrow twitched. “What’s the problem? All fucking five of them have been calling and hounding my father’s advisors—selling him on the dream of retirement. They’ve been going on and on about how Father won’t have to lift a finger with not one or two, but six rulers on the throne.”
“And he won’t,” I chirped, clapping my hands. “What good news for Papa Sloth. He must be thrilled. So, when’s the wedding date? Or should I say, dates?”
“It’s not happening,” came through clenched teeth. “I’m not marrying one or any of them—which you’ve now made a million times harder. Before, I could delay claiming I needed time to choose the right alliance for House Sloth. Now you’ve got them believing there need be no choosing—all Houses can align with sloth.”