Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 136009 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136009 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Amond opened and then closed his mouth. “But last I knew, the daughter of He Who Reigns had no children.”
“Correct. She’s first heir,” Kivrin confirmed.
“Gods,” Amond muttered. He stared at Kerrigan in shock and awe and possibly horror. As if the very idea that she was descended from that bloodline was unfathomable.
“I know,” Kerrigan said with a shrug. Being her mother’s heir was a privilege and a death sentence. No one in Domara, least of all Kerrigan herself, wanted her to become heir. She had more important things to do.
“It’s incredible that you returned in one piece. But no wonder you’re so powerful.” He shook his head. “Keres Andromadix. Would never guess the first heir was part of the Doma dumping ground.”
“What is this dumping you keep mentioning?” Kivrin asked.
Amond shrugged. “This world is where Domara sends everything that displeases the emperor.”
Kerrigan tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“It’s not exactly a secret,” Amond said. “Where do you think the dragons come from? Your own myth says that the dragons were sent to the Holy Mountain, and where the gods touched, the magic-immune metal tendrille was left behind.”
“That’s a literal interpretation?” Fordham said.
“Yes. And the Fae,” Amond continued. “How did you find them in Domara?”
Fordham paled. “I was the last full-blooded Fae from Alfheim.”
“Wrong. The Fae that weren’t murdered were sent away, where they couldn’t be a nuisance to the gods.” Amond shrugged.
“I could read their ancient Fae,” Fordham said to Kerrigan.
“You think the emperor sent the Fae here?”
“Where else did they come from?” Amond asked. “The only thing that belongs in this world is humans, ironically.”
Kerrigan let the news weigh on her. The hundreds of Fae houses fighting over this small island. The dragons who hated them for interfering in their affairs. The Irena Bargain that settled the dispute, pairing the first dragon and rider together.
“What else have they left behind?” Kerrigan asked.
“A first heir,” Kivrin suggested.
“Your mother’s bangle,” Fordham said.
Amond nodded. “Me.”
Kerrigan thought about all the magical artifacts whose construction was lost to time. No one knew how they had first been created. Were those Doma tricks that had been cast aside? Was their world a pit of dissenters fighting one another? No wonder they were in this position.
“This is too much.” Kerrigan pressed her hands to her temples. All the information threatened to spill from her brain as she tried to force it all to fit together.
What did it mean if Domara sent everything here? How did it impact this world to have all these people here fighting one another? Was this how they kept Domara running smoothly under Doma rule? And how could she use this to her advantage? Right now, all she saw was pain. So much unnecessary pain.
The Doma had forced heartache on the humans of this world. They’d thrust dragons and Fae and magic into this world that may not have even had it before. And there was no one who knew the true origins. They were all stuck dealing with this aberration.
All she could do was go forward. Domara had done what it had done. It had altered their history irrevocably. Now Kerrigan had to fight for her own right to exist and the existence of all those who had been harmed by the Red Masks. Humans were here first. Half-Fae existed because of the Fae invasion of the island. They had every right to coexist. She had to find a way to do it.
“It’s been a long day,” Fordham said. He rubbed a gentle circle into her back. “We’ll come back later and work on the loch in the meantime.”
“Sure,” Amond said. “Thanks.”
Kerrigan rose to her feet, feeling the exhaustion of the day settle over her. “If you could go back, would you?”
Amond considered. “I don’t know. This world is messed up, but at least we don’t have He Who Reigns.”
“Bastian isn’t much better.”
“He’s not as powerful, but if you don’t get to him soon, he might be more powerful than you. And you’re the only thing holding him back.”
Kerrigan gulped at those words. She had come back to reclaim her land, but she was just one girl. One girl to hold back a whole empire. Great.
Chapter Six
The Winner
“There’s not enough time,” Kerrigan said as they left the infirmary.
“For what?”
“Anything,” she said.
“Kerrigan…”
“We have to beat Bastian. We’ve been gone too long.”
“Amond has you riled up.”
He did. That was for sure. If anything, she felt more desperate to get started. Step one was complete—reclaim the throne. And now that had come with extra parts, none of which she or Fordham were looking forward to. While they were working on step two, they had to deal with this coronation, and all of it felt like it was taking too much time.
“You’re never going to sleep with all this in your head.” He pressed a kiss to her hand. “Come with me.”