Total pages in book: 210
Estimated words: 200096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1000(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 667(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 200096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1000(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 667(@300wpm)
“The daaknar killed Malachi. Lucretia released it and then distracted Sofie long enough for the beast to attack.” He shakes his head. “Sofie sent it back to Azo’dem before attempting to heal her husband. I was behind her, my sword ready to swing, but he beat me to it, stabbing her with his cutlass.”
I gasp. “Was it Elijah or Malachi?”
“Elijah. I heard his last words.” His lips purse. “He begged for peace.”
My heart clenches. “In the end, he might have suffered more than anyone else.”
Zander sighs. “All that effort and planning on Malachi’s part, only to be bested by his demon pet.”
It is a poetic—if not anticlimactic—end for the Fate of Fire. And a sad one for Sofie. “You’re telling me that Lucretia is our savior.” Who would have thought?
“She also saved me and Jarek from Sofie’s fire. We would certainly be dead otherwise.”
“Then I owe her everything.” I entwine my fingers in his as I consider Malachi. “How angry do you think Malachi was when he found out he can’t come back through the Nulling?” He couldn’t have known what Aminadav did for us until he returned to his ethereal form.
“Probably as angry as I was when I found out that you lied to me about that horn.” A somber expression passes across Zander’s face. “What did Aminadav tell you?”
I sigh. Elisaf is a traitor. “He gave me a choice. He let me decide who I would sacrifice for the realms, and so I said I would sacrifice myself. He said that was acceptable. But I’m still here.”
“Perhaps the Queen for All’s willingness to die for her people was enough for him. Regardless, we will discuss you keeping secrets from me later.” The smile that stretches across Zander’s face then is lighter than any I have ever seen before. “If you are up to it, there are many people who are asking to see the queen who saved the realms.”
96
Atticus
“Shall it be by guillotine? Pyre? Or will you give me more of that terrible tea?” I drawl.
King Cheral chuckles, smoothing a hand over his stomach where the enemy blade cut him. It has long since been healed. “You will wake one morning and wish you had a cup, I promise.”
Behind him, Tuella and Satoria linger, watching with interest as Serenis knits the bones in my leg back together. The moment the casters built the first bridge over a fissure, Kazimir was riding across with her, searching for me. They spotted my armor beneath Bexley’s wing and quickly rounded up men to carry me to Lyndel.
My body was all but crushed in the fall. Serenis has worked tirelessly ever since, and when she needed rest, she ensured there was another skilled healer to take her place. I do not know if her doting is because I am Islor’s prince, or Zander’s brother, or simply because Kazimir’s cock was that pleasing to her. I’m appreciative, whatever her motivation.
“What do you think about the shadow now, huh?” I direct that to the conjurer.
Tuella smiles. “It has its benefits. I have never argued that.”
“The stars lied to you.”
“They did not lie. They just did not tell the whole story. I saw you fall from the sky with the great beast.”
“And you couldn’t have warned me?”
“Would it have mattered?”
“Likely not,” I admit. With Bexley’s help, I kept the throng of Saur’goths from swallowing up my brother. I bought him time until Romeria could do … whatever she did. I’m still unclear about that.
A soft knock sounds on the door.
Zander and Romeria stroll in, hand in hand.
“I thought you would be sitting on your throne in Cirilea by now, Brother,” I mock, though there isn’t any hint of animosity in my tone. “Where you belong.”
Serenis pulls away, her eyes tinged with red. “That should suffice, Your Highness.”
I bend my leg, careful not to expose my naked body to an entire room of people. It’s stiff, but I’ve broken enough bones to know I will be limber again within a day or two. “As good as new. Thank you, High Priestess. Get some rest.”
With bows for Romeria and Zander, she and Kazimir depart.
“Have you been to see Bexley yet?” I’ve thought of her often since I was carried away, her forlorn moans playing on in my mind.
Romeria’s smile is sad as she shakes her head. “She’s gone. She flew off as soon as the casters healed her.”
“She’ll come back.”
“I don’t know that she will. Our alliance may be permanently damaged.” Romeria’s eyes water. “I killed her mate and her child.”
“You did not,” Zander corrects her in a stern tone. “And you were fed lies about that horn. You did not know the true consequences.”
“When all hope is lost,” she murmurs, more to herself.
I meet Zander’s gaze, searching for any residual animosity there. I don’t see any, but I imagine it will take more than one realm-ending battle for him to trust me again—if he ever can. “How many did we lose?”