Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80439 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80439 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
“You two stay here,” he says. “I want to run up the mountainside a little more. I have adrenaline to burn off. Selene looks tired. She needs to conserve her energy. Breeding females don’t have as much stamina as men.”
Being called a ‘breeding female’ takes the edge off the attraction just a little, but I still feel a wave of admiration as Drako takes off to try to find us real shelter.
That’s when I realize Thor is kind of mad. Big mad, even. He turns to me with an expression that seems way more annoyed than he has any right to be. He wasn’t this annoyed when he discovered I was a stowaway, even.
“You have all the subtlety of a forest fire,” Thor growls at me. “Are you trying to tip him off?”
Oh. He’s mad that it seems like I’m on Drako’s side, and that I don’t want him to be hanged. That is in large part because I am on Drako’s side, and I do not want him to be hanged.
“I don’t think I need to. He isn’t stupid. And you didn’t even thank him. He didn’t have to save you. He could have left you to fall. Would it really have killed you to toss him a quick thanks?”
“I wasn’t going to fall. I could have pulled myself up.”
“He could have given you a quick shove and ensured you didn’t,” I say. Feels strange to be explaining basic decency to a guy who is supposed to be a hero.
I don’t even want to bring up the fact that Thor had an energy weapon the whole time. Pointing out that he literally forgot to fight is not going to help the situation. He is bristling at Drako turning out to be a natural hero. I guess Thor thought he was the only one capable of good in our little party.
“Let’s not talk,” Thor says.
“Good idea,” I say. “And maybe let me hold the gun. I might use it if we are in danger.”
Well, I held onto that ammunition for twenty seconds, and I’m going to give myself credit for that.
“There was no way to shoot the thing with Drako running back and forth in front of it,” he snaps.
“Wouldn’t that just have been two birds with one stone for you?”
“I don’t want to murder him. I want him to face justice. I am not a monster.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Thor doesn’t answer after that, and I don’t push it. Maybe I’m being kind of an asshole. We all freaked out and acted on instinct. Both Drako and Thor tried to save me.
“Sorry,” I say after about ten minutes. “You helped.”
“I helped,” Thor snorts.
“Yeah. You helped. You did a really good job, buddy.”
“Are you trying to be a pain in the ass?” He pauses for a brief moment. “Of course you are. You don’t take anything seriously. It’s all about getting a reaction.”
“Hey, fuck you,” I frown. “I was trying to be nice.”
“You didn’t succeed,” Thor deadpans.
“So damn salty,” I respond. “Sorry for trying. Just let me fall off the cliff next time, I guess.”
“Stop talking, Selene,” Thor says. “I’d never let harm come to you, no matter how annoying you try to be.”
“So I am annoying now.”
“The two of you bicker like an old married couple,” Drako says, emerging from the undergrowth. I startle at his sudden appearance. I am on edge from all the almost dying. Thor is too, I bet. That’s why we’re bickering like the proverbial.
“One of these days you’re going to work out that I’m right about how to handle her,” he says to Thor. “You’ll whip her ass, fuck it, and feel a whole lot better about it.”
“Did you find a cave?” Thor isn’t interested in relationship tips.
Are we in a relationship? Not really. This is some kind of survivorship, maybe. That’s the only word I can think of for it. We’re all intimate because we don’t know if we’re going to see another day, and all of these relationships are completely unworkable outside this exact context. If my sisters knew I was sleeping with a Vikar jarl, they’d be so upset. That does make it even better.
“Yes,” Drako says. “The opening is tight, but that’s good. Means we should be able to barricade ourselves in efficiently if we need to. It’s not a large interior, but there’s a possibility of hollowing it out, I suppose, over time. Point is, it’d be somewhere to sleep where one of us doesn’t have to stay up all night keeping watch.”
“Did you stay up all night and keep watch?”
I didn’t even realize he’d done that.
“Someone had to do it. The two of you were out like lights.”
“You must be exhausted,” I say, just to annoy Thor.
His snort tells me I succeeded. Drako’s expression suggests he knows what is going on and he doesn’t care enough to stop it.