Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
No one had to be told where to go; somehow, they already knew. Along the way, other trainees exited their rooms, heading in the same direction. We didn’t speak. In fact, everyone else appeared entranced, staring straight ahead.
Dread pricked my nape as we navigated the maze of hallways, taking an unfamiliar-to-me route. And yet, we ended up in a very familiar place: the temple of gods. Guards stationed at the open doors allowed us to sail inside without issue. I tripped over myself when the statues came into view. They looked to be flesh and blood now, full of color and life, the stone gone as if it had never been. Yet, none had moved from their perches.
I pressed a fist against my thudding heart. Trainees spread out without prompting, approaching different deities. No one neared Astan, I noted with a shudder. The king of gods was a stunner in multicolored detail, his horns the deepest black, his wings the whitest white.
As his glittering eyes tracked my every move, he smiled, his teeth as sharp as blades. I shuddered.
“Finally, the day has come.” Glee emanated from Briar Rose as she shifted, slowly extending her arm toward me. Vibrant-green vines coiled around her fingers, spreading to her elbow. Flowers of varying colors bloomed with lovely petals, unleashing a sweet floral bouquet.
A berry grew from the center of one of the flowers, reminding me of those produced by Tsuri. It glowed, though not with the same brightness. I witnessed the progression of it all, astonished.
“Go ahead. Taste,” she urged. “Let me make all your dreams come true.”
My chest clenched. For as long as I could remember, I’d yearned to be a grower, working alongside Ourland’s agricultural giants. I’d taken special gardening courses, took extra jobs to afford the proper tools, and poured all my energy into learning my craft. I’d done my part, paying taxes on the money I made, while also paying taxes on the money I spent, while also paying taxes on everything I supposedly owned, which I’d purchased with already taxed money. Yet CURED had other plans for me and demanded more. Demanded everything, including my life.
When I was recruited for military service to pay off my mother’s back taxes—money she shouldn’t have owed—my aspirations died. It was then that I’d begun to wake to the truth that CURED wasn’t a remedy but a disease, corrupt at its very core. So join them once again?
“No,” I grated.
The berry evaporated. “My casing is gone, but I require a host to shed what remains of my prison. I choose you, Arden,” she grated back.
My legs threatened to buckle under the weight of her tone. “I don’t care.”
“Say yes,” she continued, “and I will grant you a power beyond imagining. You’ll own this world and the other. Create a garden oasis as you’ve always yearned. Feed the entire population. Live a life you’ve only dared crave in secret, with Cyrus at your side. He is Astan, and Astan is Cyrus. It’s already done.”
Lies and bribery. It was such a human thing to do. In fact, she struck me as a woman desperate to live again, willing to promise anything to get it done. But I knew better than to accept a deal with a lying cheater.
“No,” I repeated, shaking my head for emphasis. “I’m not interested in sharing my future with you.” Maybe I couldn’t grow flowers and berries with supernatural ability, but so what. “The emperor, Astan’s number one man, murdered a pregnant woman. I want nothing to do with any of you.”
“Your only other option is Soal, a horror you cannot yet fathom. Let me show you what life will be like, once he is defeated . . .”
Images invaded my mind in tightly coiled spheres, wrenching a moan from me as they unraveled. One scene after another consumed my attention, each stripping away a layer of calm.
A throne room of glitz and glamour took shape, bright sunlight streaming through stained glass, causing colorful globes to dance within the crystal walls. Precious gemstones glittered in a floor as clear and blue as an ocean. Flowers bloomed from above, raining a petal here, a petal there. A chandelier of vines hung from the center, as big as a house and dripping with pritis stones. Knowing I was the one who’d created the beauty and splendor in this dream world left my heart fluttering.
A massive dragon-like creature perched at the edge of an inner balcony. Bala, more ferocious than even visions of her promised. She awaited my command, ready to do anything I desired.
Beyond the windows stretched a garden teeming with flowers, trees, fruits, and vegetables. Happy people tended the soil, conversing and laughing as they pulled weeds. Warmth spread through me. They appeared well fed thanks to my skills.
When I spotted Cyrus, my entire being lurched. Shaded by leaves and limbs, we worked alongside people who adored us, pulling bright-orange carrots from the dirt. A dream come true, exactly as Briar Rose had promised. Me, gardening and growing. Belonging. Loved. Helping others.