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 talking about the Continents.
“How…bad was it?” Seraphena asked.
“It was…” How could I summarize what I’d seen? Only two words seemed appropriate. “Horrific.” A knot of sorrow lodged in my throat as Casteel folded an arm around my waist. “And devastating.”
Seraphena’s eyes closed. “I knew that. Gods, I did.” Damp lashes lifted. “I tried to go. You shouldn’t have had to face that without me.”
Without me.
Hearing that caused a wholly different kind of emotion to choke me. “I know you tried to cross.” I cleared my throat. “I felt you before you were stopped. But I wasn’t alone. Holland was there.”
“Who is Holland?” Kieran asked, and I realized I’d never mentioned him by name while around him.
“I know who Holland is,” Reaver announced, having sat in one of the armchairs with his apple.
“Good for you, Reaver-butt,” Kieran snapped.
The draken’s eyes narrowed.
“He was one of the Fates,” I told him before turning back to Seraphena. “My Ascension destroyed that realm.”
Casteel stiffened beside me. “Poppy—”
“It’s true. It did,” I said quickly, looking at the Queen. “Right?”
Seraphena didn’t look away. She held my stare, and she didn’t mince words. “Yes.”
“What the fuck?” Casteel growled, stepping forward as Kieran’s head whipped toward her.
I threw an arm out to block Casteel as Reaver moved to stand, the knife halfway through the apple. “It’s the truth. That’s all.”
His gaze flew to mine, the amber of his eyes having cooled to a polished citrine. “It’s not your fault.”
“He’s right,” Seraphena said. “It happened because of your Ascension, but it’s not your fault. You didn’t…choose any of this.”
“I know.” The words tasted a bit bitter.
A moment passed, and then another, before Casteel exhaled heavily. Stepping back, he wrapped his arm around my waist again and pulled me to his side. Tense silence enveloped the chamber.
“This isn’t going at all how I planned,” Seraphena murmured.
“You had a plan?” Reaver once more settled in the chair, cutting through his apple.
“I had the idea of one.” Seraphena inhaled deeply. “Anyway, I’m sure you all have many questions, but first, I need to thank you on behalf of Ash and me. You brought my sons—” Her breath caught, and her eyes closed. “You brought my sons home.”
Anguish, raw and powerful, pierced her shields and slammed into me. I’d never felt such sorrow before, and the glimpse of what she felt was brief. I didn’t even get to taste the tangy bitterness or the acidic burn before her shield was back in place. Still, it was long enough for me to know it wasn’t just agony I sensed in the storm of emotions.
It was also rage.
Scorching, devastating rage that could level cities. That fury mixed with a heavy, choking, helpless sort of sorrow that only a mother could feel. I didn’t know how she bore such torment.
The arm around my waist tightened as Seraphena’s eyes flew open. Streaks of eather swirled through her irises, making me jerk back. Only then did I realize I’d moved toward her, guided by instinct—the need to ease her pain.
Lowering my outstretched hand, I stepped back against Casteel. “Sorry,” I whispered. “I wasn’t thinking—”
“I am the one who should apologize.” She blinked away the glistening sheen in her eyes, swallowing thickly. I suddenly realized Reaver was standing. “I’m fine,” she assured him.
A muscle flexed in his jaw as he watched her for a few seconds and then dropped into the chair by the table again, picking up the piece of apple he’d sliced.
“You would think I’d have better control of my emotions after so many years,” she said with a weak laugh, then cleared her throat. “But my sons…”
“It’s all right,” Casteel said as I reached down and placed my hand on his. His fingers curled against the front of my vest, just above my navel. “We cannot imagine what you and Nyktos felt.”
“I hope none of you ever has to find out.” Inhaling through her nose, she tipped her chin, her gaze meeting mine. “But because of you—because of all of you—both of them are with us now. There are no words to truly express how grateful we are.”
“You don’t have to thank us.” I shifted from one foot to the other, feeling a dull throb of awareness—the approach of…wolven. Many of them.
Behind me, Casteel glanced at Kieran. He was frowning and looking toward the Solar. “How is…Ires?” I asked.
The essence brightened in her eyes and then dimmed. “Your father is resting and recovering.”
My cheeks warmed. Your father. It was hard to think those words, let alone speak or hear them. I started to ask if I could visit him, but was the time right? Did she want me to spend time with him? Would he even want to see me? I exhaled. “And Malec?”
Her lips pressed together. “He is as good as can be expected.”
“We didn’t know that was what…she planned,” I told her, feeling like it needed to be said. “I know that isn’t an excuse, and I don’t mean it to be, but—”