Total pages in book: 218
Estimated words: 205594 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1028(@200wpm)___ 822(@250wpm)___ 685(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 205594 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1028(@200wpm)___ 822(@250wpm)___ 685(@300wpm)
And then came the army’s return, battered and broken. And the rain kept falling, turning to snow in the winter. It was a lean and hungry time, the villages emptying out as people sought food and shelter at the capital. Lionel took the men and went to war again, and the women and elderly stayed home.
And starved. Nurse died in that time, along with so many others.
The next year, Erynne gave birth to another baby, the girl Ravendor, shortly before Lionel returned once more, Darkfell hot on his heels. The enemy appeared at Lios’s gates and conquered them in a pitifully short amount of time…only to put all the males, no matter how young or old, to the sword. The women were collared and taken as slaves to Darkfell to serve the Fellian victors.
“Allionel’s death broke your sister. How could it not?” Riza wipes a tear from her eyes. “He was such a bright, wonderful boy, and the king slaughtered him because if there was an heir, the people would rise up.” She shakes her head. “Erynne wasn’t even allowed to keep little Ravendor. The baby was given away to another and your sister enslaved to Ajaxi. I was given to Tolian.”
She turns and smiles up at the Fellian hovering nearby, and he gives her a warm, affectionate look before heading to the balcony, giving us some semblance of privacy.
“And are we…glad about that?” I ask in a low voice. “Or are we wanting our freedom?”
My friend blushes, smoothing her long hair back. As she does, I see a bite on the inside of her palm, just below the thumb. “I’m happy. He’s a good man, and kind. But I know many of the women here see me as a betrayer for finding some small bit of joy amongst this misery.”
I lift my hand, pointing to my claiming bite as well. “You won’t find judgment from me.”
Her eyes brighten, crinkling at the edges. “I’m glad that you’ve found contentment, Candra. I just wish it wasn’t with one of the First House. I fear the king has lost his mind. We both fear it.” She glances past me, her gaze settling on her mate, Tolian. “Something must change. Quickly.”
“What sort of change?”
“Darkfell is cursed,” Riza says in a low voice.
“Don’t tell me,” I joke. “You have to give it a potion daily so it won’t be sick.”
Riza makes a face at my attempt at humor. “I’m serious, Candromeda. Everything that could go wrong in the last two years has. I thought we’d be safe under the mountains here in Darkfell. Even if we were captives, we’d be alive, yes?” Her smile turns brittle. “But the goddess remains displeased. If she cannot kill us with the weather and starvation, she will kill us in other ways. There is plague here.”
I swallow hard, all levity gone. “Did you say plague?”
She nods. “It began sweeping through Darkfell shortly after the human captives arrived. You’ve seen the doors with the red symbols? It’s an old Fellian symbol that marks a house stricken with plague.”
I bite back a gasp. I’ve seen those doors, all right. I’ve seen them…and Nemeth refused to tell me what they were. That he thought he knew the answer, but wasn’t sure. It’s just more that he’s been hiding from me.
“We are suffering through a purging, just as the Liosians did,” Tolian says, moving to Riza’s side. She reaches for him and he puts a large hand upon her shoulder.
I also cannot help but notice that he’s missing the first two claws upon his hand, filed down, and I feel as if I suddenly know too much about Riza’s sex life.
“The plague hits quickly,” Tolian continues, unaware of my indiscreet thoughts. “One day a person will be fine and then the next, they cannot get out of bed. Their lungs fill with fluid and by the time their skin is covered in a dark rash, it is too late. Those that are lucky die quickly. Those that are unlucky…”
“It touches Fellians and destroys entire families in the space of days,” Riza adds. “Everyone is afraid it will move to their house next. That is why the streets are empty. That is why the doors are marked. That is why people cover their faces when humans are near. They think we brought this upon them.”
“And that is why,” Tolian says in a grim voice,” we must stop Ivornath. Because he, too, believes humans have brought this to Darkfell, and there is talk of a purge.”
A sick feeling clenches in my gut. “A…purge?”
Riza nods. “Some Fellians have been killing their human slaves or sending them back outside to starve. The unrest grows by day, and Ivornath hides inside his palace. It’s understandable, given the plague, but if he does not speak up to condemn the destruction of the human captives, I worry we will all be slaughtered.”