Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 66904 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66904 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
It’s probably a bit of a long shot, but always worth thinking about. My biggest challenge here is not drawing attention to myself by being a fleshy human lump. I hope there’s a little more variance among the saurian population than I’ve seen so far. I hope there’s shorter, rounder saurians. Probably not. I’m probably going to stick out like a sore thumb no matter what I do.
I feel a brief pang of guilt as I open the back of the wardrobe. I do feel a little as though I am betraying some trust he has put in me, which is silly. I can’t be identifying with my captor this quickly. I have to remember why I’m here, and what I came to do. I have a mission. I need freedom. I need to think of my future. I need to worry about what the hell is going on in my womb, which has now been left awash in his seed.
I run down the tunnel this time, not worrying about surveillance. Time is of the essence now. I need to get back to the place he and Avel met, and I need to get into the city proper. My captains are waiting for me.
Shan
We are meeting in what Wrath calls his war room. It’s a small room with a big round table in it, thirteen of us ranged around it. Some of these saurians I know, others I only know by reputation. I am sure this is not the only meeting he is having like this. Wrath prefers decentralized command. Each of us reports to him, and to him alone. No one saurian knows enough to bring him down. He doesn’t live down here with the rest of the crew. I don't know where he lives. Nobody does.
“We’ve been making some big moves lately,” Wrath says. “We have struck the alpha where he least expected to be struck. We have attained his wealth. He may still have the official trappings of office, but he has no funds with which to back it up, and that will make him desperate soon enough.”
Usually I hang on Wrath’s every word when he speaks. Not because I find him a fascinating, charismatic figure, but because I need to understand him better than anybody else does. Today, my attention is split. I keep thinking of Lettie, my human mate. I keep catching mental whiffs of her scent. The memory of her is maddening and it makes it very difficult to pay attention to this meeting.
“Now that Thorn has discovered the fact we’ve cleared out his reserve, taken every bit of precious metal out of the place — that is going to lead to retaliation. No doubt about it. By my reckoning, we have hours, not days, until the alpha’s forces come down those tunnels and try to exact what they call justice. It’s time we cleared out of the burrows for a bit and took refuge somewhere even the alpha fears to tread. I want you to go to those who report to you, then go to your secondary and tertiary locations. I want you all spread out. No more congregating. We’ll use the letterbox network to communicate, and runners as usual. Make sure to keep an eye on Thorn’s known associates. Keep your ears to the ground. Alright. Let’s go. Shan, I need to talk to you.”
Everybody files out of the war room except me. There are jealous little glances and some curious ones. A private one-on-one with Wrath is the dream of all his generals and lieutenants.
“How is the human?”
“Very good.”
“You’re fond of her?”
I don’t want to lie to him. Partly because lying to Wrath is a bad idea, and partly because I want to tell everyone I encounter how incredible Lettie is. I don’t like telling anyone anything, but the experiences I’ve had with her are too good to keep to myself.
“She’s amazing,” I say, knowing I am providing him a certain amount of leverage with the admission, but also knowing it’s best to be honest where I can. The more truth I can tell, the more trust I build, the more I avoid his suspicions.
“It’s good to find a mate, isn't it. A real mate. One who is capable of making you feel hot to your core, even when the day is chilly. We’re cold-blooded creatures, but a real mate could make an ice storm feel warm. Saurians don’t know that anymore. That’s one of the many things the alphas have taken from us. It’s not natural for a saurian to live under the tyranny of a single leader. We’re not made that way. We’re not pack or herd creatures. We’re individuals who crave mates and family, and a life outside the walls of a city.”
I’ve heard Wrath’s speeches before. I know what he preaches. He doesn’t think anything about Grave City is right. He thinks Alpha Thorn, and all the alphas before him have been co-opting our natural saurian instincts for family and instead harnessing them to serve the city and the alpha himself.