Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 153795 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 769(@200wpm)___ 615(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 153795 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 769(@200wpm)___ 615(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
The cave drowns in a deafening silence.
Frevella releases our shoulders, and the shock coursing through my bones melts away. I draw in a full breath before exhaling, trying to calm myself. I can feel Thane’s heavy gaze on me, curious, lingering. I’m sure he has a million questions just like I have for him, but I’ve revealed enough for one day. I’m too ashamed to look at him right now.
Talking about Ember Coast, about my parents, about my past…it’s always been too much for me to bear. In the beginning, the mere thought of it made me curl over and weep. Each year, it becomes a little easier, but I still have moments where crying is the only way to cope with my reality.
I can’t do that here, so I clear my throat and shove away my frustrations.
“Can we have the sphere now?” I ask in a softer voice.
Frevella angles her chin higher. “The sphere is yours.”
Chapter 30
“My Kelvanite Sphere will detect traps and assist you in avoiding all dangers.” Frevella places a pale-blue glass ball in the palm of my hand. “When you wish to activate it, you simply rub it four times and say drusako. Drusako means—”
“To guide,” Thane fills in.
Frevella’s snake turns its eyes to Thane. “You know Thelasian?”
“I’ve studied it,” he answers, as if it’s no big deal. But it is a big deal. Not many people know our originating language.
“Hmm.” Frevella taps her chin. “You’re smarter than you look, boy.”
Based on his frown, Thane doesn’t take her remark as a compliment.
“When you say the proper word, the sphere will spark with an arrow. If it’s green, it means you are in a safe area,” Frevella continues. “But if it sparks red, it means danger is nearby, or you’re already in danger.”
“Sounds easy enough.” I weigh the sphere in my hands—it’s light.
“There is something you should know,” Frevella adds, a finger rising in the air. “All creations, no matter how powerful, have their limits. The Kelvanite Sphere will burn out. Its power usually only lasts about an hour.”
I blink at her. “Only an hour?” I look at Thane, who shifts on his feet. “That’s not enough time to make it through the whole island, is it?”
“No, it isn’t,” he mutters.
“Can you add more power to it?” I ask Frevella.
“That is my limit,” she snaps, waving a flippant hand. “It feeds off of my magic, and anything more weakens me. I don’t care to deteriorate my energy for people who voluntarily risk their lives. Use it wisely. Whether you make it off that dreaded island alive or not, the sphere will find its way back to me. Eventually. Now leave my cave,” she demands with a sniff. “I’m ready to rid myself of this disturbance.”
…
I feel nothing but pure relief when we make it out of the stuffy darkness of Frevella’s home. Thane is now carrying the sphere in one hand and studying it thoroughly, as if he’s trying to figure out how a simple glass object like that can hold so much power. When the others outside the cave see him with it, they huddle together for a closer look.
“Wow,” Rynthea marvels. “Glad you didn’t fuck it up for us, sorcerer.” She always says that word like it’s a dirty one, which really makes me wonder again what she has against sorcerers in general. Surely, Thane isn’t the only one she doesn’t like.
To my surprise, Thane doesn’t react at all to Rynthea’s comment. Not even one of his habitual grimaces makes an appearance. Instead, he tucks the sphere into the pocket of his trousers while sticking out his other hand. “Give me my weapons.”
Rynthea gives him the vest. Algar gladly returns the sheathed swords and daggers.
“You know”—Kelrean smiles as he looks at each of us—“I was thinking I should journey with you all to the shores, at the very least.”
Still, Thane doesn’t react. Not even to Kelrean deciding to be around us longer? Now he’s scaring me.
“You couldn’t even save yourself from drowning,” Rynthea counters. “Just take your royal, spoon-fed ass back to the castle. We can handle it from here.”
“First of all, I was a child,” he retorts. “Secondly, I am a man perfectly capable of traveling to the shores. You won’t have to worry about saving me.”
“We have orders to return you to Bernwood once the sphere is obtained, Your Highness,” one of the Bernwood guards states.
“I’m well aware, but this is something I’m choosing to do for our friends,” Kelrean asserts. “Something tells me this crew will need my assistance along the way.”
Thane scoffs as he laces his vest. At least there’s finally a reaction out of him, albeit a weak one.
“Tell my father I will return soon.” Kelrean is already walking away from the guards. “I’ve done missions in Ruvain, for Orvena’s sake. I’m certain I can travel around a mountain and take a gander at the Gadonian shores without issue.”