Total pages in book: 401
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
She was so small.
My gaze dropped to her forelimbs. Her talons were distinctive, the ridges of scales clearly visible there. I sucked in a sharp breath. Beneath her claws, I saw deep grooves in the earth. The horror that had been building inside me since I’d entered her resting place gave way to fury.
I pulled my hand free of Casteel’s and fisted both as the essence rose in me, thrumming unsteadily. I thought about the fact that the Knights’ and other Ascended’s quarters were so close to where she’d been kept for who knew how long. What she could’ve experienced down here…
Nausea churned, coating my mouth with a bitter taste as the corners of my vision turned silver. How could Isbeth do this? How could she do any of what she had done? Gods, it was such a pointless thing to wonder, but I couldn’t help myself. My flesh and blood was responsible for this, and I…
“I want to kill her,” I said, my skin humming as shame settled over me like the veil I’d been forced to wear. My mother was responsible for this. “I want to kill her all over again.”
Casteel turned, curling his hand around the base of my neck. His touch felt warm against the coolness of my skin. “You need to calm.”
“I am calm,” I stated as a fine dusting of dirt fell from the ceiling.
He bent and pressed his forehead to my temple before I felt him brush against my swirling thoughts. You’re not calm, Poppy. His fingers moved along the side of my neck, working the tension gathered there. If this chamber caves in on us, we won’t be able to help Jadis.
The shadows started to rise, obscuring the aged bones and the pieces of worn cloth. I didn’t want the chamber to cave in on us. I wanted to bring the entirety of Ironspire down and turn it to nothing but dust.
“Poppy,” Casteel murmured. “Sweetheart?”
I inhaled with a shudder and turned my head to him. I could feel my heart pounding as I locked gazes with him.
“I know,” he said, and then I heard the whisper of his voice. I know you’re angry and horrified. So am I. But that shame belongs only to Isbeth. She did this, and that’s no reflection upon you.
His features blurred, and I slammed my eyes shut. Casteel was right. This was on Isbeth. And this wasn’t about me and my feelings toward her.
He brushed his lips over my brow. “Understand?”
I nodded, and the next breath I took eased the burn in my lungs.
Casteel lifted his head and slid his hand down my back, his fingers tangling in my hair. His steady gaze held mine when my eyes reopened.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He shook his head, telling me those two words weren’t needed, but he’d earned them.
Drawing in a deep breath, I turned to where Reaver waited. “So, I just need to touch her?”
“That’s what Nektas believes,” he answered, kneeling by the entombed Jadis.
Aware of Casteel following me, I walked forward and lowered myself to my knees. I looked at Reaver, only able to see the curve of his jaw through his hair. “I’m sorry.”
His chest rose with a deep breath, and he nodded. “I couldn’t…I couldn’t break the chains,” he said, his voice so quiet, but the pain in each word reached inside me and seized my heart in a fist. “I was afraid I’d accidentally hurt her.”
“I’ll do it,” I told him.
He turned his head to me, and I saw the pain I heard in his voice clearly etched into every line of his face. It was hard to look at.
Moving my attention to the chains, I picked up the one around her neck first and summoned the eather. It responded at once to my will. There was no display of power, but it obliterated the shadowstone. Then I picked up the other, destroying it as quickly as I had the first.
Brushing the fine dust from my palms, I let out a shaky breath. I had no idea how my touch had awakened Nektas, and my so-called foresight was quiet. I lifted my hand, hesitating for a moment.
“If it doesn’t work, it’ll be okay,” Reaver assured me.
But would it?
I couldn’t see how. I pressed my lips together.
You can do this, came Casteel’s voice. Just be prepared to move quickly.
I understood why he worried. There was no telling how Jadis would react upon awakening.
Drawing in a shallow breath, I placed my hand on her talon. I felt the ridges of her scales, and the stone was warm like Nektas’s had been. I kept my hand there, my eyes glued to her sharp claws.
Nothing happened.
My stomach dropped, but it hadn’t been immediate with Nektas either. His awakening had taken a couple of moments. How many, though? Less than a minute? Two or three? I felt Reaver leaning closer.