Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Zephyr nodded.
“He called me and told me that Edward was planning to kill you soon. My father didn’t intend for you to be killed,” he explained. “Even if he helped us rescue you, he still needs to be punished for kidnapping you in the first place.”
I merely nodded, figuring it was best to let Zephyr deal with his father later. We had bigger issues to deal with right now since Peter wasn’t a direct threat any longer. He would probably hide until everything was over with.
“We need to know what we’re up against,” I said. I didn’t want to walk into a trap or end up in a bad situation because I wasn’t prepared. Information was everything, and I had been out of the loop for a while.
Sol and Theo looked over at Zephyr. Their gazes were sterner now.
“You know more than the rest of us,” Sol said. “We need to know everything that you do before we face off with Arvo.”
Zephyr sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“Can we get somewhere safer than out in the middle of nowhere?” he asked. “Sol needs something better than a shirt for his wound anyway.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” I said, coaxing Theo and Sol to nod their agreement. At least they weren’t fighting. Yet. I doubted they would always get along, but at least they were making an effort for me. That meant more to me than they knew.
Once Theo and Zephyr helped Sol to his feet, we set off toward Wachsbrunnen for a brief stay. I realized at that moment that no specific place felt like home to me. I liked Stormcloud, but it wasn’t exactly a homey place. The only time I felt any sense of safety and comfort was with Theo, Sol, and Zephyr. They were home to me, and I hoped nothing ever separated me from them again.
CHAPTER 14
ZEPHYR
Even if it was for a brief visit, it was a relief to be back in Wachsbrunnen. I would’ve recommended staying there until we made our move on Arvo, but Arvo knew about Wachsbrunnen. I didn’t want to risk him finding us here before we reached him. From here on out, we had to be careful regarding every move we made.
Maybe Edward was slightly crueler than Arvo, but Arvo was smarter than his father. That made him more dangerous to me, and I looked forward to wiping him off the map like I did to his father. They both deserved to die way more than anyone they had ever killed.
The four of us piled into one room at the inn for privacy. Once the door was shut, Biba grabbed some towels from the bathroom and placed them against Sol’s side to keep the bleeding at bay. The three of them sat on the single bed in the room, peering at me and waiting for all of the information that I knew about Arvo.
A lot of what I knew I had to piece together myself. I had been around Arvo a lot, but I didn’t realize what he was doing until he made his final move. Then, his father explained the rest. They had a whole plan that they carried out right under my nose.
“When I found out that Biba had been kidnapped by my father and Arvo’s father, I confronted Arvo. It turned out he knew about the kidnapping. I was the only one who wasn’t informed,” I said, deciding to start there. That was when I realized that something was really wrong.
“They knew you’d say something about Biba,” Theo said.
I nodded to confirm his guess. I wouldn’t have ever let them kidnap Biba if they brought the plan up to me. They all knew that, so they kept me in the dark.
“Arvo said that I wasn’t fit to rule the Kings. He admitted to killing Gail and Simone,” I told them, seeing Biba’s eyes water as she placed her hand over her mouth in shock.
“You told me… but I wasn’t sure whether or not to believe you,” Biba said to Sol.
Sol squeezed her hand as he rested his back against the headboard of the bed. He looked over at me.
“I suspected that Arvo killed them. He had the most motive, and he had a stronger killing instinct than you. I would’ve pegged him to kill someone over power than you.”
Sol was right about that. I didn’t want to kill people unless they threatened the people that I cared about. That was why Edward was dead in the catacombs.
“Arvo and his father have been setting themselves up to take full control of the Kings for a while now. They’ve pushed against Schmidt so hard for so long now, trying to get the Kings’ money for themselves,” I explained to them. I thought Arvo was pushing hard for the Kings as a whole, not just for himself.