Unlocking Void (Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

much from me.”
    “And I thought I was the only one who felt that way.” He smiled but didn’t mean it. She gripped his hand tightly. “How are you, really?”
    He shrugged his shoulder. “I don’t know what you mean.”
    “You endured a great taxing ordeal, and it’s only natural to still feel the effects of it.”
    He looked away. “I still don’t know what you mean.”
    She sighed inwardly. Rather than prodding, she stood and filled two goblets of hot wine from the fire.
    “Don’t you have servants to do that?” he grinned.
    “I cooked in a more primitive range for two years—I think I can handle pouring wine.” She handed him a mug and sat close beside him.
    “Do you ever…ever wish we had never left that cottage?” he asked quietly.
    She saw the regret in his eyes. “All the time. But we have duties elsewhere.” So much of her wished she could wake up every morning and have him all to herself like she used to. She wished even more to keep him beside her. “Speaking of which, I have a favor to ask of you.”
    He raised a brow as he sipped his wine.
    “The Rincarel Silver Mine is empty.”
    He made a thoughtful humming noise. “I know a pattern to find silver. I’ll strike another load.”
    “I couldn’t thank you enough.”
    “You could marry me.”
    For one moment so fleeting she may have imagined it, she felt unsettled at the idea. “When?”
    “When I kill Ryker and everyone he’s raised from the dead.”
    “You have no timeline for that. I could be old and barren by then.”
    “Yes, but I need to focus on fighting and not playtime with Robyn.” If he noticed her blush, he did not say. They sat in silence as he stared into the fire. She saw his eyes glaze over, an increasing occurrence. She poked him to bring him back to the real world. Gabriel’s eyes flickered, and he said, “Do you know how much granite the City has right now?”
    She sputtered for a moment. “Why—yes; 100,000 tons.”
    He frowned and flicked his fingers, counting. “That should be enough.” He downed his mug and stood. “Let me take Lace into the mountains and see if we can find any silver before supper.”
    She grabbed his wrist, gripping tightly, and she pulled herself up. But her ascent was abruptly stopped when Gabriel wrenched his arm away with a sudden gasp. She fell back into the couch wide eyed and astonished. Gabriel shook his hand and paced a single tight circle as he sucked air through his teeth. Remorse painted over his face.
    “I’m so sorry.”
    “Are you wounded?” she asked.
    “No, no it’s not that.”
    She stood swiftly with a concerned expression. “What is it then?”
    He extended a flat hand as if silencing her. “It’s nothing.” He closed his eyes and swallowed. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”
    With that, he strode from the room.
     
     
     
     
    Lace looked much better than she had that morning, so Gabriel did not feel as bad taking her into the cold mountains. Thankfully, he returned triumphantly with a chunk of silver from a lode twenty miles south of the Rincarel Mine. Robyn showed no animosity towards his outburst when she saw the glimmering metal. However, she had changed her garments, and the Eagle Crown was on her head when he arrived.
    “The Prince of Anatoly arrived in the harbor this morning and requests an audience with me,” she explained as she adjusted the sweeping wings of the crown. A maid fastened a string of pearls around her neck, and Gabriel inwardly shuttered, striking a finger down his own, making sure it was free.
    “Would you have me attend?”
    “I would.”
    He turned to the mirror and straightened his coat. Robyn stood, bathed in a flowing dress of deep copper. She wore it deliberately to match the color of the Eagle Throne with its sweeping wings, giving her the illusion of grandiose majesty. He offered his bent arm to escort her to the throne room, and she took it very gently.
    “How is Mage Lace? Aisling told me she is ill?”
    “She