Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 235897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1179(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 786(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 235897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1179(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 786(@300wpm)
“So, not a professor.” Xaden’s eyes narrow, and my whole body tries to sway, held upright by Xaden’s shadows.
“No!” Halden’s shout echoes down the hallway. “Not a fucking professor—”
“Just wanted to clear that up,” Xaden interrupts, then lifts me into his arms. “We’ll see you once we’re rested.” He takes off past Tecarus, striding down the hall.
“What are you doing?” I hiss.
“Doubling up as ordered,” Xaden says, throwing open the doors to his room and then kicking them shut once we’re through.
“I cannot believe you just did that!” I slide down the length of his body and ignore the way mine ignites as he grips my hips and turns, pinning me against the door. It’s blissfully solid behind my back.
“Really?” He lowers his head to mine. “Of all the things I’ve done, that’s the one you can’t believe?” His voice softens, and he lifts his fingers to the side of my neck. “That’s what I thought. Your pulse is racing. I counted at least twice that you almost collapsed out there.” He lowers his head to mine. “Did you really want to crawl up the stairs?”
“No,” I admit.
“Now you don’t have to.” He presses a kiss to my forehead. “You just rode for two straight days with only twelve hours of rest. I knew you needed to get off your feet and lie down, and I could have just given you my room, but selfishly…”
I look up at him.
“I’m done sleeping in a bed that doesn’t have you in it.” His thumb strokes along my pulse.
Hope ignites in my chest. If he’s willing to sleep in the same bed again, then maybe there’s a chance he’ll eventually trust himself enough to put his hands on me, and not just because he’s jealous that Halden exists. “I’m good with that.”
I’m rewarded with a hint of a smile, then swept up against his chest, the rhythm of his heart a perfect drum beneath my ear. I feel like shit, Xaden is slowly losing pieces of himself, and we’re a thousand miles from Basgiath, yet that steady beat makes everything somehow tenable.
It feels so right to be in his arms.
“Because it is,” he says, holding me tighter.
I blink and pull back to look at him. “I didn’t say that out loud.”
His brow furrows. “Then you must have thought it down the bond, because I wasn’t pushing into your intentions.”
My heart races for a different reason. No. But…maybe. “Or your signet is growing.”
His eyes flare.
Someone knocks at the door.
“Fuck,” Xaden mutters, and I push against his chest. “Don’t be—”
“Let me down.” I’m facing whoever’s on the other side of that door on my feet.
“—stubborn.” He sets me down, then locks his forearm across my ribs to hold me upright as I face forward. “Ready?”
I nod, and his arm twists along my left side. The gold-handled door opens, revealing Tecarus, his two guards a respectable distance behind him.
The viscount’s knowing gaze jumps between Xaden and me, but he doesn’t bother with pithy commentary.
“Make it quick,” Xaden orders without explanation.
“The prince cannot arrive in a basket,” Tecarus says, folding his hands in front of him and wrinkling his nose in distaste. “It is unseemly for royalty, and in a culture that values rare items, shrewd trades, and luxury, he’ll never be granted an audience if he is seen as the item being delivered.”
“What do you propose?” I ask, ignoring the sinking in my chest and the lightening in my head.
“It’s a two-day journey by my fastest ship,” Tecarus says, his brow furrowing as he studies me. “Which would make it what? A twelve-hour flight due south?”
“We estimate sixteen with the gryphons and what your texts have provided about historical wind patterns,” I answer, blinking back the darkness. It’s been a long time since I pushed myself this hard, and fuck am I paying for it.
“I’ll leave within the hour with the prince,” Tecarus offers. “It appears you may need the rest—”
“She’s fine,” Xaden interrupts. “I’m the one feeling a little clingy.”
I bite back a smile.
“Right.” Tecarus laces his fingers. “I suggest you land at my estate on the northern coast about twelve hours after we’ll arrive. It’s about ten miles east of the capital, though they measure distance in—”
“Leagues,” I interrupt. “I read everything you sent.” And everything my father wrote.
“Excellent. The rest of the shoreline is rather…shall we say…defended, and I’ll need to prepare the king for the arrival of dragons or we’ll return home with fewer of them.”
My stomach pitches.
“Trust me, our riot will return intact.” There’s an edge of warning in Xaden’s tone, and his forearm flexes.
“I’m already worried about one hotheaded aristocrat,” Tecarus chides. “Should I add a second to that list?”
“They come for our dragons, and it’s not the aristocrat they’ll be dealing with.” Xaden’s voice drops to that lethal calm that’s a touch more terrifying than a shout.