Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
But at least we’d finally know the complete story. The complete truth.
30
NO FILTERS
The Ring of Truth blazed, a huge bow that arced over the obsidian dais. Alive—crackling and colorful—pulsing with otherworldly power.
I tried to ignore a wave of nervousness.
Jasher stood at my side, his expression carved in stone, posture rigid. He suspected what I did. Everything was about to change.
Perspiration slicked my palms. Around us, the wide, ancient cathedral mirrored the Ring’s glow, reflecting its light. Those unnatural hues of sapphire and violet held a stronger draw today, as if they knew I was ready to hear the secrets trapped within.
Rourke waited behind us, a hand on the hilt of his blade. “Enter, and the flames will do the rest.”
Lifting his chin, Jasher offered me a hard, flat statement. “Today we learn the truth, whatever the consequences.”
“Whatever the consequences,” I echoed.
He kissed me, hard and fast, then released my hand and motioned me forward. I mimicked his posture and ascended with slow, measured steps, tremors hounding my knees. Why did I feel as if I approached a firing squad? I wanted the truth. Needed it. My entire life had been a lie, and it was time to learn what, exactly, had happened.
Jasher remained two beats behind me. The stairs creaked beneath our boots, the perfect accompaniment to the steady drip of water I felt in my bones. The fragrance of salt and limestone coated the cool air.
Upon the dais, we paused. He looked at me, and I looked at him. His rigid determination slipped, just for a second, revealing features bathed in worry, hope, and yearning. Perhaps my features revealed the same.
We took the final step, entering the circle together.
A wave of heat instantly enveloped me, gentle against my skin yet strong enough to yank me off my feet. I yelped in surprise, hanging there, suspended mid-air, unable to see beyond the fire. It was just me and Jasher. Until the flames swallowed him.
Fear slashed through me, ice-daggers cutting straight into my veins. Something pulled at my insides. Then time collapsed, becoming a pressure inside my skull. I screamed, wrestling against my invisible restraints. Fighting to escape. Tugging, kicking, throwing elbows.
In a blink, everything stilled, even me. My gaze met—my gaze.
Shock hit. I stood across from myself. The other me smiled, so cold and emotionless, reminding me of the visions, when I’d stood atop the mountain, viewing the world around me, utterly unaffected.
“Look,” she commanded, thousands of whispers compounded into one voice. She glided her hand slowly, as if moving in water. “See.”
Then. That moment. Pain struck, sharp and sure, and I lost sight of her, too. My body seized, my head falling back, arms spreading, spine bowing. Hundreds of lives played out in warp-speed bursts, resetting over and over, images, conversations, and emotions rushing through me in tandem.
The different families Mom and I had lived with in the human world, when Elowen had switched up her strategy. All the monstra I’d encountered. Flames. Death. So much death. Everything flashed, there and gone, playing backward, leaving behind a tangled string of memories.
Crying out, I gripped my temples and squeezed my eyes shut. Too much, too much! Finally, though, one life crystallized—the nucleus of every other. That life locked. The very first.
In a heartbeat, I entered the scene, becoming part of the vision.
Cool stone and shadow wrapped around me, and I breathed in the scent of pine and damp earth. I crouched in the forest, gazing from my oasis with longing. The royal palace loomed beyond the trees, ivory towers visible through branches. A promise I couldn’t yet claim. For now, I was to remain inside this hideaway, unknown even to my parents. For the good of the kingdom.
I spent my time painting and training, always warded against monstra. Anything to protect the Ember inside me. A spark eager to ignite.
I saw myself: lean, sharp-eyed, restless, glowing bright green. My body bore the marks of hard battle: bruises both blooming and fading, muscles forged by blades, fire, and determination.
When I tired of staring at the palace, I paced the narrow clearing outside my cabana, fingers flexing, power humming beneath my skin like a caged sun.
The whole of my life, I had trained in secret while awaiting the arrival of the monstra, as foreseen by my sister. Now, they were here. I was ready. The Ember was ready. It must be. We waited only for Elowen’s approval.
As if she heard my inner cries, she rose from the spring that ran through my oasis.
Instantly breathless, I raced over. “Sister!”
Silk and shells clung to her ruby form, droplets sliding over flawless, sun-kissed skin. Queen of the Water Maidens. My best friend. My only constant.
She was clearly worried about something, but she smiled with adoration, just as always. “The moment is here, sister mine. I feel it in the tides. Hakeldama calls for you.”