Total pages in book: 168
Estimated words: 160578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 642(@250wpm)___ 535(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 642(@250wpm)___ 535(@300wpm)
A lit joint lands on my lap, and I chuckle, placing it between my lips. I inhale, filling my lungs with warmth as it eases the tension in my muscles.
Smoke stings my eyes, but when it clears, I find Dad watching. “Can I ask this one thing?”
Plucking the crumb of herb off my tongue, I shrug. “Pretty sure you’re going to anyway.”
“Look after your sister and those girls.” The trunk of herb between my thumb and forefinger gets heavier. He needs reassurance now that I have the power he once did.
“You know I will.” It’s the easiest promise I’ve made. And the only one.
“Priest.” His voice remains passive. “She’s included in this.”
My head drops onto the top of the sofa as my lips form into an O and smoke rings billow into the air. “She’s not.”
“She’s a King too. Like Stella and River.”
I fill my lungs with more smoke, ensuring to hold in the inhale until it suffocates the heaviness in my chest. “She’s nothing like them.”
“Promise me you won’t kill her.”
My head tilts, the ember from the joint distracting me. “Promise I won’t kill her.”
But I won’t promise that I won’t try.
It never occurred to me that he was getting older. Maybe I never noticed the dusting of salt and pepper through his beard and the fatigue in his eyes.
He clears his throat when he notices me staring too long. “I realize you’ve taken the gavel with everything laid out for you. There’s no impending war or tensions. Everything was worked out when I took over and it’s been smooth sailing since.”
My mouth opens, but he shakes his head for me to give him a minute.
“Then I realized that that is your worst nightmare. That I’ve possibly handed you the kingdom without allowing you the perks that every King so desperately craves.” The corner of his mouth twitches. “So that key is what I’m hoping you use to fill the void, instead of what the other option could very well be.”
“And what is it that you think I’m going to do?”
His pupils swallow the green in his eyes. “Destruction.”
Chapter Thirteen
luna
loving him was like swallowing hellfire.
Istare back at myself in the mirror. It’s times like this when I find it hard to imagine a life where things are different. Gone is the little girl who wished to ride dirt bikes and loved her best friend, and here stands the woman who was promised skulls and suits in exchange for the one thing that’s irreplaceable in this world.
Time.
Perfumed flowers that bloom at midnight balm the scent of a vacant home. It reminds me of him, yet I’ve never been able to let it go. It was like wearing the memory of him.
With one more swipe of crimson, I twist the lid back on my lipstick and place it near my makeup on the vanity when the valleys of L’embruix light up my phone screen. I tap answer.
“Hello, friend.” I smack my lips and cut the edges using my nail.
River’s relief blows through. “Wow. I wasn’t sure you’d answer me.”
“Why would I not answer!” I push up from my chair and head to the other side of the bedroom, straight to the walk-in closet. In an illumination of unpacked boxes and discarded hangers, I consider backing out of the space to save my perfectionism the heartache. “We were both there to do what we were supposed to do. I’d never be mad at you for that.” I’ve not seen her since, but has she already forgotten who I was? Or that I rarely care for the normalities of general human nature.
“Still…” A car door slamming closed in the background blends with the clapping of her heels. “I should have reached out, fought more, done better, I just—” She pauses. I need to change the subject.
“You couldn’t have, River, and I wouldn’t have let you if you tried.” I give up on my closet.
She’s huffing and trying to catch her breath. “Well, I guess at least I had it wrong, and he didn’t kill you.”
I swipe a fresh grape from the fruit basket, where Mom’s note sticks out. A well-fed lioness doesn’t crave to be feasted by the kingdom. It smells of freshly painted walls and candied popcorn-scented candles. “Where are you? I was going to say the gym, but the heels threw me off.”
She breathes out a sigh. “I’m so glad you asked. Open the door.”
Placing my phone on the counter, I peek through the hole in my door. My cheeks ache from my smile when I swing it open.
River launches at me, her arms flying around my neck. “Oh my god, I’ve missed you!”
All the tension that's coiled through me eases as I step to the side and rush to close the door, half-tempted to lock it behind her.
“I wanted to see you before the party tonight.” Her long blonde hair flows down the slender curves of her back like oat milk, and her bronzed skin glows beneath the warm light.