Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 171450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 857(@200wpm)___ 686(@250wpm)___ 572(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 857(@200wpm)___ 686(@250wpm)___ 572(@300wpm)
“It doesn’t work on me, either,” Graves said.
“Well, you told me about Cillian Ryan. It got me to Sansara. I think it worked out just fine.”
“Yeah, but I told you that because I wanted you to leave. I had no interest in training a Druid. Not because you got into my head.”
“I’m sure I could slither under those defenses,” Maya said with a shrug.
“I’d break you,” Graves said. He really, really would.
Maya laughed as if what he’d said was a joke and not truth. “Okay. No breaking.” She held her hands up. “I’m not here for that. And Jason isn’t here, either. I just wanted to talk.”
“So you kidnapped my employee?” Graves asked. “Funny way of getting my attention.”
“It worked,” Maya countered.
“Sorry, boss.”
“Not your fault, George,” Graves said. He looked back to Maya. “Well, you have my attention. I’m listening.”
“Oh, I don’t care about you,” Maya said. She tilted her head as she looked to Kierse. “I’m interested in her.”
“No,” Graves said automatically.
Her heart swelled at the word. Not that she was the kind of girl who would let a guy defend her. She’d saved herself plenty of times. But still, it was sweet.
“Why me?” Kierse asked.
“The tree, of course,” Maya said.
Kierse and Graves exchanged a look.
“Sansara?” she asked.
“Well, yes. But your sacred tree.”
“You know about that?” Kierse asked.
“Sansara knows about it. Their roots are deep. Deeper than the world itself. The magic that runs through the tree of life connects to all. It hasn’t seen a new sacred tree in a very long time. It is obviously a cause for celebration.”
Kierse furrowed her brow. “The trees talk to each other and…to you?”
“Of course. Doesn’t your tree talk to you?”
Kierse shook her head. “Not that I know of.”
“Maybe it is too young to know how to reach you yet. There is so much ahead of you to look forward to.”
“So you are interested in the tree?” Graves asked.
“Sansara is interested in the tree and its new door—the Ash Door,” Maya said reverently.
Kierse stilled. “What does it open to? Does Sansara know?”
“Anywhere,” Maya said worshipfully. “It can open a door to anywhere.”
Kierse said nothing for a moment, processing what that could possibly mean.
“Why did it appear? It came out of nowhere. It wasn’t there when I created the tree.”
Maya tilted her head as if listening to Sansara. “You had the potential for it all along. Something changed that allowed you to reach beyond. What changed when it appeared?”
Kierse’s heart sank. She’d connected with Lorcan and learned portaling at practically the same time. How would she know which event changed the door? Or if either of them even did?
“So, what do you want with Kierse’s tree?” Graves asked.
“Want with it?” Maya asked.
“You kidnapped George. You had us break into Sansara to get to you. You wanted our attention,” Kierse said. “You clearly want something.”
“I do as Sansara commands. The only thing that I care about in all of this is the tree. The reason that I am is because of Sansara,” Maya explained. “I work with Jason because he is connected to the tree. He was the first to the tree.”
“Because he stole all of its power and let it burn to ash,” Graves muttered.
“He restored it to its rightful place. He held its power away from Druids and the negative way it was being used. He saved Sansara.”
“That’s one way of looking at it,” Kierse grumbled. “Jason is wholly selfish. They exiled him from the Druids for what he did.”
“You, of all people, should know that the relationship with the Druids is complicated,” Maya said.
Kierse hesitated, glancing away. “Fine. The Druids are complicated,” she said, then met Maya’s eyes, “but Jason isn’t.”
“Let me show you, then,” Maya said. “Would you like to come, George?”
“I’ll finish my dinner. Thanks.” He smiled at the three of them.
Graves sighed heavily. “What are you showing us?”
Maya led them to another staircase and to a pair of oak doors. They weren’t the same as the enormous ones in the living area of the cult, but these had the same sensation. Kierse could feel her hands shaking as she felt drawn to the sacred tree on the other side. She had been in Sansara’s ethereal presence once before, and it had captivated her.
Maya pushed the door open, and she heard Graves’s sharp intake of breath. The tree grew to dizzying heights. The ceiling had grown with the branches toward the heavens. The space around it was completely devoid of the long, flat hallways and hardwood floors beyond. It was a meadow of soft grasses, moss, and clover with a pool on the opposite side that was still and crystal-clear blue.
The power was deep and profound. As if the center of the entire world’s magic resided in this room. The energy all encompassing. Much like how she felt standing before the Oak Throne or the Ash Door. It was a holy tree. Beyond comprehension and utterly peaceful.