Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 42412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
“Death seeks solace in the same way any of us does,” Eythos continued as faint streaks of gold gathered in the churning darkness. “Death yearns for a connection, a touch, a single moment not marred by fear or rejection.”
Swallowing hard, I found myself turning my attention back to him.
“Instead, because of the Fates, all he will ever be is a witness. A ghost among the living and the gods, forever wandering, forever alone.”
His gaze searched the darkness as if he could will his brother back into sight. “Maybe,” he murmured as the wind shifted, much colder than it had been before, “if I had realized that in the beginning? Maybe if I had just told him that I saw how hard it was for him.” He shook his head sadly. “All that has come to pass…and what is still yet to come…could’ve been prevented.”
His words hung so heavily between us, laden with several lifetimes of sorrow and regret, that I tore my gaze from the shadows.
Eythos suddenly turned. Our gazes connected with such intensity that I couldn’t mistake that he was looking at me. That he saw me. Tiny bumps broke out across my flesh.
“But know this,” he said. “It is too late. Do not ever forget that.”
The gold-streaked shadows reached Eythos before I could respond. Eyes falling shut, he tipped his head back as the wisps drifted up his sides. His sigh was the last thing I heard before the swirling gold swept over me, carrying me into the silence.
THE CAVERNS
Poppy
Something pulled me from the nothingness, tugging at me until soft, dappled sunlight pierced the darkness.
I blinked until my surroundings came into focus. Wisps of steam disappeared between the gently swaying lavender-hued blossoms hanging from the fragile branches blanketing the ceiling of the cavern Casteel had once brought me to.
I’ll be waiting here. Always.
My breath snagged in my chest as I remembered Cas’s promise. I spun toward the bank of the pool, stirring the water into a frothing riot. Heart thumping, I searched the shadows clinging to the lilac-smothered walls. They were empty. I faced the earthen steps and the cavern’s misty entrance. They, too, were empty.
Stepping back, I turned toward the outcropping of rocks, this time peering into the darkness where the water deepened and flowed into more caverns and tunnels that eventually led to the sea.
I was alone, but I knew Cas had…called me here. It had been he who had pulled me from the emptiness of sleep. He must’ve been looking for me—dream-walking—because…
A frown pulled my brows together as I drifted farther into the pool, the warm breeze toying with the strands of hair framing my face. Stomach dipping, I stopped where the water lapped over my waist, and white-tipped, foamy bubbles teased the swells of my breasts.
Cas would be looking for me because I wasn’t with him. He was in Carsodonia, and I had been in Pensdurth. My hand went to my throat. The skin there was still smooth. The memory of Kolis’s fangs tearing into me sent a cold shudder snaking down my spine again as I looked down, where the bone dagger had been plunged deep into my chest. There was a new scar there, a faded pink line between my breasts about an inch and a half long, just below my heart.
I lowered my hand to the scar, feeling the jagged skin beneath my fingertips. My gaze went to my waist as I remembered the burning sting of Kolis’s essence.
I’d been wounded, gravely so, and nearly drained of all my essence. I’d felt death reaching out for me, and Cas…he would’ve felt that, too. I knew that. And he wouldn’t have been able to get to me. I had made sure of that.
Closing my eyes, I breathed through the shredding sensation in my chest. I also knew he must have been going out of his mind with fury and desperation, because when I woke up to discover that he’d been taken from me, I’d been panicked and enraged. I lost control. And knowing Cas like I did, he would’ve been pushed to the brink.
Possibly even over it.
My stomach turned as I reminded myself that Cas hadn’t been alone. Kieran was with him. So were his father and brother. And his friends: Vonetta, Delano, Emil, and Naill. They would’ve kept him level. That’s what I kept telling myself, even as a tiny voice in the back of my mind whispered that none of them would be able to stop Cas. Maybe before, but now, after my Ascension and the full effects of the Joining? Not even Kieran would be able to stop him.
Unease started to unfurl, but I tamped it down. There was nothing I could do about any of that right now. I was…asleep, possibly even in stasis. Drawing in the humid air, I called for him, to him.