Total pages in book: 222
Estimated words: 210715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1054(@200wpm)___ 843(@250wpm)___ 702(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 210715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1054(@200wpm)___ 843(@250wpm)___ 702(@300wpm)
“How long did Reynald linger?”
“Three days.”
Why did it happen? Reynald wasn’t supposed to die for another nine months. He hadn’t suffered the way he had in the books, but still, it wasn’t a good death. He had survived every battle, fought in every war, made it through the plagues, the sieges, and the storming seas, and that’s how it had ended. Alone among strangers, not knowing if his final request would ever make it to Everard. Not sure if his son was suffering or even if he was still alive. How could life be so monstrously unfair?
My eyes were watering. I swiped the tears away.
“I made it in time to watch him pass,” Everard said.
What? How? Selva was a ten-day hard ride from Kair Toren. Even if Solentine had sent a message by bird or some magical means, Everard would have still had to physically get there. Was there some long-range version of morr beads I didn’t know about?
“I sat by his side as he faded, and I swore to him that I would find his son and when I did, Matheo would become my ward. He died in peace, Maggie. Or at least as much peace as was humanly possible to find considering what I had to work with.”
Everard leaned back in his chair, his expression mournful and tired.
When he said he’d sworn to rescue Matheo, he’d actually meant it. He’d made a vow to a man he considered a friend so Reynald could let go knowing his son would be looked after.
“Before I got Reynald’s message, I’d been considering coming down to Kair Toren. The rebellion was flaring up, and Solentine’s messages betrayed a growing frustration with the state of things. Once Reynald passed, I took his body into the city so he could be buried next to his wife.”
The cart. Oh my god. When I saw him in the city that night, there were three riders and a cart. Reynald’s body must’ve been in that cart. It had rolled by me, and I’d had no idea. When Everard had given me those coins, he wasn’t just feeling charitable. It wasn’t mere money; it was funeral alms offered to me in memory of a man who once saved him. He gave it to me because that’s what Reynald would’ve done.
I tried to keep my voice casual. “When did Striver fall? What day?”
“The third of Planter. Early in the morning, sometime shortly after sunrise. The rain was heavy that day.”
Goosebumps crawled up my arms.
On the third of Planter, I woke up naked in a muddy ditch, choking on rainwater. I had been pulled into Kair Toren on the morning Striver collapsed. Probably at that exact instant. There was no limit to coincidences in the world, but that one was a stretch.
What did that mean? Did the timeline go wrong at that moment, and was I supposed to put it back on its rightful course? But how? I couldn’t resurrect Reynald. I didn’t have the power to bring the dead to life. I knew that for a fact because I had tried it when I was looking at the thief. I had stood there and wished with everything I had to undo Hreban’s grisly handiwork, and nothing had happened.
If that wasn’t it, then that meant the real events had diverged from the books before I had a chance to do anything. This answered absolutely nothing. It just raised more questions.
“I buried him next to his wife and placed his gravestone, as is the custom in the highlands. The next day I went to Taryz Teahouse. I wanted to sit in the spot where he sat and see what he saw. Then a strange woman sat at my table, called me by my dead friend’s name, told me his secrets, and offered me a chance at vengeance.”
“Why did you trust me? You knew Reynald was dead. That meant everything I said about his death was wrong.”
“You were right about enough. Reynald left me his sword and his papers. He’d kept a journal of people and creatures he’d encountered. He’d meant for it to be a military manual, I think. The story of the bronze god was in there. You knew too much. I wanted to know how you had found out so many secret things, so I went along to see where it would lead.”
“And then you spent weeks lying to me.”
“I did.”
“You should’ve told me who you were.”
“You liked Reynald. You admired him. I just watched you cry for him. Would you have traded him for a man who would kill you, your family, and your neighbors? The Sleepless Duke is a monster who solves every problem with violence. He will murder your pets, burn your house, and salt your fields . . .”
I held out my hands, trying to stop the flood of things I’d said about Everard coming back to drown me.