Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 81261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
I jerk Nyssa close into me again, forcing her arms around my waist. “You can touch me any time. You don’t have to ask permission.”
Her head falls back as she looks at me. “Thank you for the clothes and the books. That was very nice of you.”
“And chocolate,” I say, turning her to face the bed again.
Nyssa groans, and though it’s for the chocolate, I’ve elicited that sound from her before, and it hits me right between the legs.
She picks up a candy bar from the pile of various wrapped chocolates and studies it. “I’m going to do so many dirty things to you after I’ve had my bath.”
If the woman thinks she can say things like that without it affecting me, she needs to pay more attention to the king of the Underworld.
I step in behind her and pull her body against mine so she can feel my hardness. Leaning to the side, I nip at her ear. “I’m not about to wait for your bath to do those dirty things.”
Laughing, she spins in my arms to face me, her hands going to the laces of my pants. “Fine. I can totally do dirty things to you now.”
CHAPTER 14
Nyssa
This is by far the best job I’ve had since I’ve been back in Rhynda’s kitchens these last few weeks, but I don’t dare tell her that, or she’ll never let me do it again. I got paired with Will at one of the long tables to peel root vegetables.
I’ve settled into somewhat of a routine, and while I have no clue if it will be my permanent existence, for now, it’s more than one could hope for in Hell.
I’ve been in Amell’s bed each night, but he’s always gone by the time I wake in the morning. I take a quick bath and head straight to the kitchens where I gobble down whatever food Rhynda offers and get straight to work.
I break for lunch—only to eat—and when the king’s dinner is ready, I take it to his room. Amell is always there waiting. Sometimes he’s hungry for food, and other times, he’s hungry for me.
Regardless of the order of life in the Underworld, we always eat the evening meal together, and Amell will often share tidbits about his day. He spends a lot of time talking to nobles to ensure things are being run to his satisfaction. He walks the streets of Otaxis and other cities to make sure matters are orderly. Lawlessness permeates the city since there are no real laws to abide by. Disputes are handled by brute strength, but in the case of impasse, Amell rules over those.
And he sits on the Bridge of Judgment and sends souls to their doom.
Amell also pokes at me, trying to learn about my life, but I only give away mundane details, adept at redirecting if he gets too personal. Somehow, I feel deep in my gut I only have the king’s favor because I’m a bit of a mystery to him. If he ever discovered the true me, he’d see me as no different from any other wicked soul that comes his way. He never believes me when I tell him I’m not redeemable, and he’s only interested in my life to try to disprove me.
I pick up another veggie from a large basket on the floor and set it on the table. Will is an expert at peeling these things, but I find them cumbersome.
They’re unlike any vegetable I’ve seen in the First Dimension. About the size of a basketball, they’re dark gray to black with hard, wart-like knobs all over. It takes a large, sharp knife to cut the thick outer peel off, but inside it looks and smells like a potato.
While the work is hard and the pads of my fingers are shriveled from the wetness under the peel, I get to talk to Will whenever Rhynda isn’t around.
“… and she’s pretty nice, for a Dark Fae,” Will continues, talking about a friendship he struck up upon his arrival in the Underworld.
“Like is it a romantic thing?” I ask in a low voice, glancing at Rhynda yelling at someone near the ovens.
“God, no,” Will exclaims.
“A sexual thing, then?” I prod.
“No.” He sounds just as offended. “We’re friends, and that’s all. Besides, I can’t have any type of relationship down here.”
“Why not?” I saw my knife blade over some particularly hard knobs.
“For a million reasons, but a few stick out. One, she’s immortal and I’m not. Two, she could kill me with not much effort. Three, she’s evil.”
“But she’s nice,” I remind him.
“Yeah… for a Dark Fae.”
I laugh, finding the entire situation amusing. I then find it amusing that I find anything amusing in the depths of Hell.
“Most of all,” Will says, his tone turning sad, “I’m mortal, and everyone else here is immortal. I’ll be dead in a blink of their eyes.”