Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 79692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
“Please, I can tell you what the others are planning,” Raoul babbled. But he ended up howling in pain as Calys’ sword sliced his face, leaving wounds on both his eyes.
“I’m not your only enemy,” Raoul screamed.
“I know that, Raoul,” Calys answered in her singsong voice. “But you’re the only enemy I want to kill right now.”
And then she began to slice him into pieces, starting from his ankles, so exactly it was as if Raoul’s body was like a diagram. By the time she reached his intestines, Alejandro realized that the interval was the exact distance between the steel bars of her cage in the dungeon.
Even when Raoul was long dead, Calys remained standing next to his body, unmoving. It was as if the battle taking place around them didn’t exist, every bit of her concentration focused on his corpse.
He stopped a foot away from her, knowing it would be utter stupidity to approach Calys from behind when she was having a dark fit.
“Princess—-”
In an instant, Calys had whirled around and her father’s sword was pointed at his throat. There was nothing of his princess in those baby blue eyes. It was all her twin, all darkness and none of her light.
“You will die for hurting her.” They were the only words she spoke before she lunged for him. Unlike with Raoul, she did not bother to toy with him. She was deadly serious, and he was forced to be just as serious as he tried to defend himself without hurting her.
“Don’t do this.” Twisting around, he grasped a sword lying on the ground just in time to parry another killing thrust from Calys.
“Why shouldn’t I? You hurt her.” Rage burned in her eyes at the sight of the weapon in his hand, and she became even more aggressive, always going for spots that could maim. His head, his neck, his heart.
“You don’t want to do this—-” Swords clashed.
“You hurt her. I could feel her pain,” Calys’ dark twin hissed. “It was almost like she was dying.”
He whitened at the words, and it was all she needed.
In another instant, she had him flat on the ground, her sword against his throat. She looked down at him as if waiting. Those eyes were not Calys’. Those eyes belonged to a killer, one who only knew right and wrong and nothing in between. Looking into those eyes, Alejandro tasted fear for the very first time. But it was not fear for his life.
Looking into those eyes, he knew that he could die any moment, and yet – only one memory kept playing in his mind.
I love you. I know I do. I’ve k-known it for a long time.
From afar, he heard Calys’ twin speaking.
You hurt her. I could feel her pain. It was almost like she was dying.
In his mind, he saw himself speaking, killing Calys like her dark twin had said, his every word a stab to her heart.
Then I’m sorry. I’m sorry you feel that way.
Above him, he heard Calys’ dark half ask, “Why have you stopped fighting?”
His gaze met hers, but all he saw was the look of betrayal on Calys’ face when he told her she was wrong to love him. If only he could take it back. If only he had the chance to talk to her before he died, then he would tell her she was right. She loved him, and he loved her.
The sword pressed harder against his throat, drawing blood. “Answer me, wolf.”
He said hoarsely, “Because I can’t take the risk of killing you if I try to escape.”
“Then you will let me kill you instead?”
“If that’s what it takes to keep you alive.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You are not lying.”
“No. I’m not.”
Her head cocked to the side. “Why did you hurt her?” Her sword pressed deeper against his neck as she spoke, a relentless punishment that told him very clearly he meant nothing to this side of Calys.
“Because I was a fool.”
“That’s all?”
Again, the sword pushed deeper, and he began to taste his own blood. But still he managed to speak evenly, saying, “Not all.”
Her voice cold with impatience, she asked, “Then what else?”
“If you do kill me, make her believe it was an accident. And tell her...tell her that I admitted to you that I love her.” His chest constricted at the words, which made him feel too goddamn vulnerable and weak. “Because I do. I love her.”
When Calys’ dark half made a move, he didn’t blink, wanting Calys’ lovely face to be the last thing he saw before he died.
But instead of killing him, her dark twin had tossed her sword to the side, bent down, and whispered into his ear, “You must give her time to heal and be strong again. If you love her, you must.”
Chapter Seven
CALYS
“Your first guests have arrived,” Anastasia announced as she pushed the door wide open to my bedroom, not bothering to knock.