Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
“You will do. At least you’re not weaker than she is,” he says.
“You sure about that? I’m getting something else from him. Not sure if it’s an equal match, if y’know what I mean,” the other guy says.
“Dinesh,” the older one snaps.
“I’m only calling it like I see it. He could be holding back, but he’s no Blaise,” Dinesh grumbles and folds his arms across his chest. “As long as I can get my hands on a fat ass and warm pussy before I forget what it feels like, I honestly don’t care at this point.”
“Excuse me?” I say, interrupting them.
“Don’t mind this hothead. Artists, they have no brains, just talent,” the chubby one says.
“Bite me,” Dinesh mutters before flying over to perch on my shoulder.
“Forgive him. This is Dinesh and I am Bach. We serve Prin… Lady Blaise.”
“Lady Blaise?” I furrow my brows.
“Yeah, the badass chick in the robe. The one who was about to flatten your ass a few hours ago. Bach, maybe you can turn back time and show him,” Dinesh says smugly.
“If. You. Don’t. Hush,” Bach hisses through tight lips. “I’ll turn back time to the day you were born and erase your mother from existence.”
“I’ll torch your ass first. You’re not moving as fast as you did in your glory days. I’ll turn you into a roast.”
“Enough,” I bark in irritation. “Is there a reason you have come here?”
“Well, excuse me,” Dinesh says and lifts from my shoulder. “You almost sound like her. I might be wrong about you.”
“I do apologize. This can’t be easy for you. I assure you, your father will be well….” Bach trails off when I glare at him. “Well, yes, we came to escort you to your chambers.”
“What, do you have a smaller cell?” My words drip with sarcasm.
I can barely stand up straight in here. I don’t know how my father did it. I get angry every time I think of him in these confines.
“Oh, this guy thinks he’s funny. I say we leave him here,” Dinesh says.
“He will be better off in the upper castle,” Bach grits out. “You will be more comfortable there. Prin… Lady Blaise truly is fair. Her roses just mean a lot to her.”
“Enough to imprison a man. No, she has imprisoned two men,” I seethe, heat rising up my face. “A rose can be regrown. A man’s life cannot.”
Bach’s eyes grow sad. He shakes his head. “I’m afraid you are wrong. Some gardens are more fragile than meets the eye. What your father tried to take has greater value than you know.”
“Leave.”
“But you will be so much more comfortable upstairs.”
I stare unyieldingly at the older flying annoyance. His eyes plead back with me. I have no sympathy for these beings.
“Leave.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Dinesh says, turning his back.
“If he doesn’t want the comfort I offer, leave him. We owe him nothing.”
I snap my head in the direction of the cell door that still sits ajar. The robed figure stands before it. Up close, now that I’m calmer, I can see the outline of a feminine figure beneath the cloak.
Curvaceous breasts and ample hips. Once again, I take note that she’s not tall in stature. I stand to assert my dominance.
However, she doesn’t shrink back. She moves forward, entering the cell. Her steps click as she moves. Once standing before me, she places a hand on my chest.
A burning sensation fills my inner cavity. Warmth surrounds my heart and only becomes increasingly consuming. However, I don’t buckle to my knees as I’m sure she wants.
“Told you he wasn’t a match,” Dinesh mutters under his breath.
I cut my eyes to where he and Bach float. Two more have joined them. A plump woman with honey-brown skin flies at Bach’s side, staring on with her hands clasped in what seems like worry. A younger, smaller girl fairy peeks from behind her back with wide eyes.
Sweat starts to gather on my face. I clench my teeth. My powers try to push back, but something has bound its way around them. Although I don’t believe it’s her.
Deciding to use brute force, I grab her wrist and tighten my hold to pry her palm away from me. The moment I touch her, something shifts inside me. An awakening that shouldn’t be. I blink the feeling away and grind my teeth.
“Who are you?” I strain to say.
She pulls her hand away from my chest, granting me a reprieve. “To you, I am just a captor. Is this not what happens to prisoners? If this is the only way you wish to see me, I will deliver.”
“Answer my question,” I bite out, still holding her wrist.
“I have.”
With my free hand, I yank her hood back. Gasps leave our lips simultaneously. I release her and take a step back.
This isn’t what I was expecting. Her face… it’s bisected … by a slash that runs from her right temple across her nose to her left cheek, it’s like an open wound with molten lava flowing beneath the skin. Another slash flows from beneath her bottom lip, down her chin, the same fiery lava moving between the seemly open flesh.