Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71403 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71403 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
He studied me for a long, terrible moment, and I gave nothing away. I would replace him without hesitation if necessary. But it was my fervent hope we would not come to that.
I expected him to retreat behind that flat, still calm and shut the door on this the same way I’d shut it on him last night. Instead, he lifted his hand and settled it over mine, where my palm rested against his heart. “Two days?” he echoed roughly.
“Ja. Two days for me to find a path while you run the primordial ragged.” Not too much to ask.
His mouth curved, cold and pleased. “Speaking of, my raiders hit a supply cache before shimmer, and three more before this one. He’s spending strength, chasing shadows that cost him everything and me nothing.” The satisfaction bled into his voice.
“Good.” Weaker was killable. Weaker meant maybe, if I found my path, we wouldn’t need Sebastian’s heart or mine to end the monster. “So will you do it? Give me my days?”
He breathed in. “I will. I want to give you everything. Want to believe we can have forever. And maybe we can. By the deep, Brona. You have amazed me at every turn. If anyone can change what’s coming, it’s you.”
My heart leaped. I managed a watery smile, twirled from his hold and performed my famous pirouette. “Haven’t you heard? Turns are my specialty.”
He chuckled and pressed a soft kiss into my lips. I lifted on tiptoe to reciprocate.
Dome lights flickered.
A boom sounded from the distance.
The whole world shook as if it had been hit with a cannonball.
Muscles seized. “Jokull?” I asked.
Sebastian smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Nei, not the primordial, only the intensifying of the coming convergence.”
Ah. Good. And yet, I didn’t relax.
“Eat. I wish to prepare something special just for you. Dress for hiking in caves. Gunnar will collect you in an hour.” He gave me a lingering peck, then strode from the room.
Chapter
Twenty
Be aware: you’re already in his net.
–An Incomplete Guide to Kraken Survival
Istood reeling from Sebastian’s kiss, his revelations, and the coming battles.
My mission was clear: find a way to kill Jokull without sacrificing Sebastian and our romance.
Give me everything, or give me. No other path was acceptable.
Soley entered the chamber, chipper, carrying a tray of food she placed on the desk. I drew in the savory scents of a traditional dragon breakfast. Thick slabs of seared meat glazed in a honeyed chili sauce, eggs whipped with herbs and molten cheese, and a stack of flatbread still steaming, brushed with butter and crushed peppers. A small bowl of roasted figs and citrus sat beside a carafe of dark, spiced tea that smelled faintly of clove and smoke.
My mouth watered. Though part of me, most of me, wanted to soak in my conversation with Sebastian, running through everything that was said, I went another route: focusing on the here and now and recharging. A well-fed brain was a good friend to have when trying to solve a life-changing mystery.
I bounded over and motioned to Soley. “Come, eat with me.”
Her lips formed a large O. “You and me? Together?”
“Ja. Please.”
Appearing dazed, she joined me. As we ate, she regaled me with tales of the splash I’d made at the ball. And I admit, my ego gobbled up the praise like candy.
“Do I have anything suitable for traipsing about caves?” I asked when we finished. The place must be special to Sebastian. I loved an open sky, but I also loved a good hideaway tucked beneath a mountain. The perfect spot to hoard treasures.
“You have something suitable for every occasion, my lady.” She dabbed a napkin over her mouth. “The king made sure of it.”
The kraken king was so into me. Except that was precisely our problem, wasn’t it?
I sighed and changed into one of Sebastian’s shirts, pleased to find the material saturated with his scent. After tying the shirttails into a knot, I paired it with leather pants in my size and much-appreciated combat boots.
Gunnar escorted me to the palace foyer, where Sebastian waited in a T-shirt and jeans, the most casual I’d ever seen him. He displayed no emotion, which was a vivid display of his strain.
My nerves buzzed with instant awareness as I approached him, attuned to his every nuance.
His irises never ceased roiling, waves crashing through them as he shoved sunglasses over his eyes. He held out his hand to a guard and received a second pair; he then slid them down my nose.
“You ready?” He snatched my hand and drew me outside before I could answer.
A motorcycle waited for us. Matte black and low-slung, all sharp lines and coiled power, its engine exposed like a beating heart. There was no ornamentation. No excess. Just speed and muscle and menace waiting to be unleashed.
“I’ve never ridden one,” I admitted, intrigued.