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)
Aydun’s head tilted back as if that might help him process what I had just said. “Have you looked around yourself recently? What about the homes you can now easily see from the courtyard because you destroyed the walls?”
My thumb stilled. “I wanted to level Pensdurth, and those homes you speak of were either vacant or occupied by Ascended who fed on cruelty.”
“And what about the Blood Forest?” he challenged. “The wall?”
“Unintended consequences,” I said with a lift of one shoulder. “If I were out of control, you would not be standing here.”
Tension bracketed Aydun’s mouth. A moment passed, and then Kyriel spoke. “And what about the Revenant?”
My thumb pressed into the arm of the throne. “Which Revenant?”
He laughed. “As if you don’t know. But in case you need your memory refreshed, the one who is technically your wife’s brother.”
Eather stirred within me, and it took a hell of a lot of willpower to prove that I was capable of controlling myself.
Especially since this Kyriel seemed determined to break that control. “The one her sister and your brother are currently hiding from you.”
“He’s different,” I gritted out.
Aydun huffed. “Be that as it may, you cannot deny that there is a reason to be concerned.”
“I don’t deny shit that isn’t worthy of considering,” I spat. “I may have been reckless in my choices in my youth, and I may be known for impulsive…violence.”
He snorted.
“But contrary to an unfortunately popular belief, I am not prone to being out of control,” I told him. “What I do, I do because I choose to. Not because my emotions overrule me.”
“Unless it comes to her,” he countered softly.
I went incredibly still as I locked eyes with the Arae. Several moments passed in silence. I waited for him to say that she obviously thought as he did, while waiting for either of them to thrust that verbal dagger through my heart.
He didn’t.
Instead, Kyriel said something so off topic that I wanted to toss his ass back to Mount Lotho.
“Heartmates.”
I briefly closed my eyes. Aydun had done this when we’d last met—throwing out a word like he was answering a question only he was privy to. Apparently, it was a trait of theirs. Opening my eyes, I took a slow, long breath. “And?”
“They’re destined to bring about great change,” he said. “Seen in the dreams of the Great Creators from millennia ago.”
My brows rose. “You’re telling me that the Ancients dreamt of all the heartmates all that time ago?”
“The Ancients saw everything, Casteel. That didn’t mean they always understood what they saw. Nor…” His pause was quite dramatic. “Does it mean that what is born of the union of two hearts is always good.”
The blood in my veins froze. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Kyriel’s head tilted. “It means sacrifices must be made.”
“What sacrifices?” For the first time since I’d faced Kolis in this very space, my heart lurched. “And cut the bullshit. I want a straight answer.”
“Don’t we all?” Aydun said, having picked up a vine as he glanced toward Kyriel. A shadow of something I couldn’t read flickered across his features. “The love between mates of the heart is incredibly strong. All-consuming. Inevitable. There is strength in that.”
“But there is also weakness,” Kyriel asserted. “It is believed that not even death can sever that type of bond.”
Aydun dropped the vine.
“And?” I asked, voice thinning with impatience.
A flicker of a smile crossed Kyriel’s lips. “And, in a way, that is true. But it is also false.”
This conversation was proof that I had more control than anyone gave me credit for, because the effort it was taking for me to wait for this fuck to get to the point was inconceivable.
“The death of an unbroken mate bond cannot sever that connection. The souls will reunite,” Kyriel said after what felt like five minutes. “But that bond can be broken at any point, no matter the…insinuating circumstances.”
Based on the grin Aydun wore when his buddy said that last part, I had a feeling he was referring to the Joining.
“Just as your people seal your vows of union,” Kyriel continued, “it can be rejected by one or both.”
“Is there a reason you’re telling me this?” I questioned.
Aydun, shockingly silent, raised a brow.
“I’m telling you this because it’s something you should know,” Kyriel told me.
“Why?” The tips of my fingers prickled and burned. “I would never reject her, nor would she reject me.”
Kyriel was quiet for a heartbeat. “Would you believe the same if you knew your union meant untold lives would be lost and the realm would be left in ruin?” The flecks of color in his eyes churned. “Would she?”
The beat of my heart stuttered. She…she was better than me. Good to the fucking core in a limitless way I didn’t possess. But…
But there wasn’t a single part of me that doubted what she would be willing to do, willing to sacrifice for me. For our love. That was never something I questioned.