Total pages in book: 248
Estimated words: 236909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1185(@200wpm)___ 948(@250wpm)___ 790(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1185(@200wpm)___ 948(@250wpm)___ 790(@300wpm)
Every muscle in my body locked as I realized who stood before us. I’d been right on the mark, but he wasn’t just a warrior. He was the warrior—the Primal of Accord and War. The one people prayed to on the eve of any battle to not only grant armies his deadly skill but also the cleverness to outwit all who tried to outmaneuver them. A Primal who could incite agreement between warring kingdoms or all-out, bloody violence with his mere presence.
Nyktos’s fingers suddenly moved along my hip, sliding out and into his palm, pulling me from the downward spiral of my thoughts.
“It sure looks like I am.” Attes’s gaze came back to me. His unblinking stare was nearly as intense as Nyktos’s could be, drilling into me until I was sure he could rattle all my secrets out into the open.
It took everything in me to hold still and not squirm or react. Instinct told me that if I showed discomfort or fear, he would do what any predator would when they scented blood—attack.
“And yet you still stand here,” Nyktos said. “Without invitation, I might add.”
A faint curve of the lips appeared as Attes’s gaze remained fixed on me. He glanced at my arms, sensing the charm. “So, this is her? The mortal who has so many of the Courts abuzz with gossip.”
“I didn’t realize you were the type to entertain gossip,” Nyktos replied, his tone one of chilly indifference as he slowly slid his hand over my lower stomach. I tensed. His hand made its way to my thigh, leaving a path of tiny shivers in its wake. “But, yes, this is my Consort.”
Nyktos’s touch had thrown me. I had no idea what had gotten into him, and, for a moment, I wasn’t sure what he expected of me. Was I to be quiet and meek? Or do the normal thing when introduced to someone? I decided on the latter and managed a steady, “Hello, Your—” My breath snagged as Nyktos’s hand slipped under the panel of the skirt, his fingers spreading wide across the bare flesh of my upper thigh. There was no way Attes missed the possessive placement of Nyktos’s hand. I cleared my throat. “Your Highness.”
Attes inclined his head in greeting as he continued studying me, his smile returning. “Soon-to-be Consort,” he corrected Nyktos softly.
“I also haven’t missed that she’s no mere mortal.” His gaze dropped to the swell of my breasts above the too-tight bodice. “She carries a…mark. An aura.”
My eyes narrowed slightly. I had no idea exactly what type of mark he thought he saw in the general vicinity of my breasts. I twitched as Nyktos’s finger began moving along the skin of my leg, back and forth in a straight, slow line. And I didn’t know what to think of his sudden affection—sudden sensual affection. I wasn’t used to being touched so casually or so openly.
“She’s a godling on the cusp of her Culling,” Nyktos stated so smoothly that I was impressed. His finger stilled on my skin. “And if you keep looking at her like that, I’ll cut your eyes from their sockets and feed them to Setti.”
My eyes went wide.
Attes laughed deeply, and the sound was nice—not as nice as Nyktos’s, but deep and throaty. “My steed prefers alfalfa and sugar cubes over eyes.” He brushed his fingers across the silver band on his biceps. “But he appreciates the offer.”
“I’m sure he does.” Nyktos’s finger returned to tracing that line.
Attes adjusted his sword as he helped himself to the seat in front of the desk. “Is she a godling who already called Lethe home?”
Irritation burned on my tongue. To sit and be spoken about as if I were not in the room was the height of infuriating.
“No,” Nyktos said.
Attes raised an eyebrow. “Then where did you find her?”
I’d just told Nyktos that I knew when to be reserved. This was one of those moments. A Primal sat before us. That alone was a precarious position to be in. So, I kept reminding myself of that as I searched for the veil of emptiness inside me, the one that allowed me to feel nothing—not even anger—and to just exist. I’d worn it so often that it almost felt like it had truly become who I was. But I struggled to find it.
I had a feeling it had to do with the hand on my leg.
“I found her in a lake.”
Attes’s brows snapped together. “I’m really hoping you’ll elaborate on that.”
“In my lake.” I spoke then, unable to stop myself. “He was—” I inhaled sharply as Nyktos shifted his legs, drawing my backside more fully against his lower stomach. Nyktos’s finger began to move, drawing a short line along my inner thigh now.
“He was…?” Attes prodded, his gaze lowering to where Nyktos’s hand had disappeared. Suddenly, I knew why Nyktos had felt the need to apologize ahead of time for his behavior. Everything he was doing was in plain sight of Attes. Nyktos was making it very clear that I was his.