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)
“Netta is inside,” I answered the question he didn’t get to finish.
“I thought the battle happened in Pensdurth.”
“It did,” I exhaled. “He was…angry.”
“And the castle?”
My gaze lifted to Wayfair. The once-ivory walls were smothered in inky black vines that glittered with the ice that encased each limb and stem. “That’s him, too.”
There was nothing more to be said as we walked through the courtyard. The ashen grass and deep grooves in the earth held my father’s attention. I didn’t pick up much from him in terms of emotion—probably because he didn’t know what to feel.
“He’s furious.” I found myself attempting to explain all of it, even though I’d done so in the letter. “I think he believes that if he had gone with Poppy to Pensdurth, none of this would’ve happened.”
“Maybe he’s right.”
My gaze cut to him. “Seriously? You know Cas. The moment Kolis looked at her in a way that was even slightly offensive, he would’ve lost his shit.”
“Perhaps.”
“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”
He watched the ravens circling one of the turrets and then looked down. “I see Cas has graciously left the steps bare.”
I snorted. “Care to share what you really want to say?”
“I’ve said what I wanted to.” His steps were quiet while mine thudded off the stone. “And not what you don’t want to hear.”
I inhaled. “I want to hear it.”
“Maybe him losing his shit was exactly what was needed.”
I stopped at the top of the stairs, facing him. “He would’ve gotten himself killed if he’d lost his shit.”
Joining me under the alcove, my father waited for me to continue.
“If you die by Kolis’s hands, it breaks any bond. The Joining wouldn’t have protected him,” I said.
He shifted his attention to the doors. “Where is she?”
What felt like a fist punched through my chest.
Where is she?
My father had asked the question, but all I could hear was Cas’s roar, demanding the same.
That was roughly when the inner Rise had been destroyed.
“Iliseeum,” I said finally.
My father stiffened.
“Attes—the Primal I wrote about—told me. I tried to tell Cas but…” That had not gone well and ended with the manor being destroyed. And Attes…well, it hadn’t ended well for him either. I rubbed at my chest. “She was taken there. She was injured,” I forced out in a low voice. It wasn’t like Cas hadn’t realized that, but he didn’t need the reminder. Fuck. The city didn’t need the reminder. “It’s the only thing I can come up with to explain why we’d still be here but not able to feel her.”
“She’s alive, then.”
She was.
“That’s all that matters.”
It was.
And wasn’t.
I dropped my hand, my jaw working as I reined everything in. We didn’t need two out-of-control Deminyen Primals.
“If she’s in Iliseeum, she’s with family then,” he said, shaking the snow from his silver hair. “That means she’s safe.”
Not trusting myself to speak, I nodded and stepped forward.
“What you were saying about what would’ve happened if Cas went to Pensdurth?” my father said. “He’s never gotten himself killed before.”
True. “But there’s a first time for everything.” I reached for the door again.
“Kieran.”
Hearing the quietness in his tone, I shut my eyes. He didn’t speak. Several moments passed in silence. Not even the damn ravens made a sound. “We fucked up,” I rasped, the eather thrumming. “We shouldn’t have let her go without one of us. We should’ve been with her. We should’ve—” The tremor in my voice caused me to shut my mouth.
My father placed his hand on my shoulder. The weight was grounding. “You both did what you thought you should’ve done at the time. Just as Poppy did.”
“He didn’t,” I whispered, turning to him. “Cas didn’t do what he thought he should.”
“I know, son.”
I opened my mouth, closed it, and then tried again until I could speak what I hadn’t been able to before. “When Poppy learns about Delano…”
“You’ll be there for her.” He squeezed my shoulder and then dropped his hand.
I would.
Would Cas?
Clenching my jaw, I opened the door. “Fuck—”
I threw up my hand, the essence pulsing hotly down my arm as a flurry of wings and small, dark bodies darted past me. I called the eather back before it reached my fingertips as the ravens veered to my left. My father ducked with a curse.
“Fucking ravens,” I muttered, pushing the essence all the way down. Godsdamn it. I’d rather deal with Reaver than them.
Straightening, my father looked over at me, some of the color leaching from his normally warm olive tone.
“Get used to them.” I walked inside. “They’re everywhere.”
He followed me, letting out a low whistle as he scanned the grand vestibule. The vines had shattered the windows and crawled their way in. Their thick, gnarled tendrils crept and twisted along the walls and snaked their way around the columns as if they wished to squeeze the gold from the marble. They slithered across the ceiling, their knotted limbs seeking and finding every crack like the fingers of something hungry. And maybe they were. If you looked at them long enough, you could see the heartbeat echoing the one in my chest.