Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 110079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
“But what about the dragon? And the god? No, tell me about the dragons first. What was the Isle of Stone like? Did you love it? Will they agree to be our allies? Do you think they’d let me visit?”
She peppered him with so many questions that by the end he was laughing as she grabbed his arm and shook him.
“The Isle of Stone was amazing. I didn’t want to leave. The dragons that I met are friendly and peaceful. We’re on good terms with them, and I think you have a very good chance of being able to visit one day. If we weren’t in the middle of a mess, I’m sure Haru would offer to take you today.”
“Take me like fly me? On his back?”
“Yes.”
Fiona squealed and jumped to her feet. “Fuck the Order. Let’s go kick their ass. I want to meet the dragons.”
Shey snorted and caught her wrist as she turned to march out of his office. He wouldn’t put it past his sister to take on the entire New Rosanthe army if they were standing in the way of her meeting dragons. He pulled her until she landed on the sofa cushion next to him.
“You’ve done enough ass-kicking for now. I’m assuming you’re going to be in the palace for a while?”
She moaned, her head on his shoulder. “Yes, meetings. At least for two or three days. We must figure out the next steps. Shoring up defenses. Diplomacy. Saber-rattling. You know the routine.”
“I promise you’ll meet Haru while you’re here. I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to tell you about his home.”
She grinned at him. “Excellent. Now, about this god. Mom said his name was Tyche. So…this isn’t Kaes from the godstone?” Her voice dropped close to a whisper as if she were afraid of Tyche overhearing her. Or maybe Kaes. She seemed a strange mix of curious, excited, and terrified.
“Definitely not Kaes. He has nothing to do with the godstones. His name is Tyche, and he’s the God of Luck. A minor god.”
The words had barely left his tongue when he was left wondering if he got that right. After what he saw of Tyche’s fight against Kaes, was Tyche still a minor god?
“And?” she prodded.
“And what?”
His sister growled at him and lifted both hands, her fingers curled into claws. “So annoying. Give me something more. I’ve spent days lying prone in a field, waiting for a headshot at some of the Order’s military leaders. I smell of sweat and dirt. My boobs have been permanently squashed into pancakes.”
“Fee, I’m your brother. I don’t want to hear about your boobs.”
“You’re also gay, and you don’t give a shit about any boobs.”
“Language, princess.”
“Come on, Shey. Talk to me. Mom hinted that you might be more than acquaintances.”
Shey threw up his hands and jumped off the sofa to pace his office. “How long did you meet with our mother? Did you talk about state affairs at all?”
“We met for fifteen minutes. Three of it was personal.” Shey turned and arched a questioning brow at her. His sister shrugged. “We’re always busy. We’ve learned to gossip in shorthand.”
Shey stared at his sister, debating what to tell her and considering his other options. Those were pretty much nonexistent. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t shared stuff about their love lives, limited though they had been.
“I kissed him.”
“Noooooo!”
“Yes.”
“Are you crazy?”
Shey blinked. That was not the reaction he’d been expecting. Of course, he hadn’t been sure what to expect from her. “What?”
His sister groaned and flailed against the couch, throwing her arms out. “You have the worst taste in men.”
“What the hell? You liked Rayne.” He stomped to her side and sat with a huff.
“I adored Rayne. He’s sweet, thoughtful, and far too smart for you. He used to tell me about his sister and life in Stormbreak. And he never treated me like the annoying little sister.”
“So how can you say I have the worst taste? Are you saying that Rayne was too good for me?”
She started to roll her eyes but stopped, appearing thoughtful. Shey made a sound of disgust and tried to shove to his feet again, but Fiona caught his arm, holding him next to her.
“Ugh. No, Rayne was amazing, but you knew it would never work out.” She gave his arm a shake, her fingers tightening almost to the point of pain. “That’s how you operate every time. You went to university, and out of the hundreds of hot eligible guys, you looked right at Rayne—the one who could never stay in Caspagir—and said, ‘Yes, that’s the one I want to break my heart.’ And now you’re hooking up with a god. How is that even supposed to work? Do gods date?”
“We’re not hooking up. It was a kiss,” he grumbled. Technically, there had been several kisses now, but that wasn’t helping his case. He hated it more that what she said made sense. He did have a track record of being drawn to people where the circumstances were complicated, only to have his heart broken. Rayne was the worst, though.