Total pages in book: 401
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
As he drew closer, I opened the door before he could knock. He skidded to a halt, sending strands of pale-blond hair swinging back from his forehead.
“Kieran’s sleeping,” I told him.
“Not anymore,” came a sleep-roughened grumble from behind me.
I sighed. “Never mind.”
“I’m sorry to wake you,” Delano said to Kieran. “But you guys have to see this.”
“Doubtful,” Kieran muttered, face-planting the pillow.
“Yeah…” Delano gave Poppy a quick once-over. “You’re going to change your mind in a few seconds.”
My eyes narrowed on the wolven as I heard Kieran sit up. Confusion and unease practically seeped from Delano’s pores, and he was paler than usual. Stepping aside, I held the door open. “What’s going on?”
“The sun.”
My brows lifted. “What about it?”
He nodded at the window. “Look for yourself.”
Frowning, I turned and saw that Kieran had picked up on Delano’s emotions. He sent me a look as I crossed the chamber. I shrugged. Opening the window shutters wide, I rested my hands on the windowsill. This side of Wayfair had a pretty decent view of the city to our east and the Elysium Peaks and the Stroud Sea to our west.
Faint golden light crept over the city as I gazed above the homes…
I leaned out farther. Soft hues of rose, lavender, and pale gold painted the sky—the empty sky.
Which made no sense. It was dawn. I turned to the west as Kieran joined me at the window.
My lips parted in disbelief.
“I don’t see anything,” Kieran said.
Delano came closer. “Yeah, there is definitely something.”
“No, there’s—”
Reaching over, I stopped Kieran mid-sentence and turned his head in the other direction. His shock hit me like a bucket of cold water.
“Tell me,” Kieran demanded, pushing away from the window and then snapping back. He gripped the windowsill. “Tell me you’re not seeing what I’m seeing.”
I blinked just to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. “Well…”
“There’s no way, Cas,” he said, his voice turning sharp and strained. “None. That, right there.” He jabbed a finger in the direction we stared. “Is impossible.”
It should be.
But it wasn’t. Because we were both looking west, watching the sun rise above the Stroud Sea, where it should have been setting by day’s end—not rising now.
“What the fuck?” Kieran whispered.
“Yeah,” Delano replied.
The three of us fell silent, and the final verse of that damn prophecy came to mind.
Beware, for the end will come from the west to destroy the east and lay waste to all which lies between.
THE PRIMAL
I was so cold.
I was…
What was I?
I wasn’t sure.
I couldn’t think.
A thick fog clouded my mind, leaving room for only the pain—the sharp, stabbing agony invading every limb. The thumping in my temples and behind my eyes. The dryness in my throat. The gnawing hunger in the pit of my stomach. I couldn’t figure out what had happened to me or where I was.
Or…who I was.
But I knew what I was.
The Primal.
The eather in my chest hummed feebly as I concentrated on my surroundings. I was lying on a bed, but whose? I wasn’t sure it mattered.
I inhaled and caught a familiar scent. It reminded me of—
Pain sliced through my head, causing me to suck in a sharp, short breath.
The soft click of a door closing pierced the quiet. Footsteps neared me. I dragged in another breath, this one deeper, and the scent increased. The footsteps halted.
“Are you…?” The source of the scent’s voice was deep and melodic. Familiar. It was his voice. The one that had captivated me when I was in the darkness. “Poppy?”
That…was…
“Can you hear me?” he asked softly. I tasted…bubbly hope tinged with a tang of desperation.
I couldn’t respond.
“It’s okay,” he said, appearing to wait for a response. “I’m here. You’re not alone.”
He fell quiet, and I wanted him to keep speaking because I had a feeling he’d been doing that a lot. I also wanted him to come closer, even though it made the hunger worse.
“I can tell you’re waking up.” He paused for a moment. “I can feel your confusion—taste it. I don’t think it’s as strong as what you feel from others, but it’s real. Unbelievable, right?” A low, rough laugh left him. “Kieran and I think it’s an unexpected byproduct of the Joining.”
Kieran.
That name felt familiar. Important. I tried to grasp why, but my thoughts were fragmented, little more than glimpses of deep violet leaves and the sound of rushing water. And I was so hungry.
Starving.
“I’ve been waiting for you to return to me,” he said after a moment.
Please, open your eyes again and return to me.
I had heard him say that to me, hadn’t I? I had while I was sleeping. He had been talking to me. Sharing memories with me—memories of us. Restlessness surged through me. I wanted to know them, but they remained out of reach.
“And I’ll keep waiting,” he promised. “However long it takes. Even if it takes forever. I’ll be right here.”