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)
Lucretia looks this time to the Cindrae elder. Whatever passes between them, she doesn’t share.
“Why do you speak for them?” I ask suddenly.
“I speak for my masters now as I always have. It is my duty.”
“They can’t speak for themselves?”
Her lips quirk. “You would prefer they do not.”
I groan. “Fine. How do we defeat Malachi?” I repeat, urgency in my tone.
“You are the Queen for All.”
“But what does that mean besides wearing this stupid crown?” I throw a hand toward my head.
Lucretia’s gaze wafts around the circle of elders, but when it returns to me, she offers me only silence.
My irritation swells. I try a different angle. “How strong is Malachi?”
“Not as strong in this form. Far stronger than your precious king.”
Another nonanswer. I’m wasting valuable time. “Aoife and Malachi were here once. Who defeated them and did the nymphs help?” They must have had something to do with it.
“It is not a simple—”
“I’m not asking you,” I snap at Lucretia who is going to keep me chasing my tail for her own amusement. I turn my attention to the wisp elder, meeting her eyes. “You demanded an audience, so here I am. Your Daughter of Many and Queen for All.” I throw out my hands. A challenge, maybe.
Humor flashes in the wisp elder’s eyes and finally—finally!—her lips part in a mischievous grin.
We do not trouble ourselves with their wars.
I cringe against the shrill voice that erupts inside my head. It’s nothing like the childish giggles I’ve grown used to, but more like a blade dragged across glass.
Lucretia tsks. “I warned you.”
But my anger only flares. “Then why bother coming back?”
She stares at me.
“Why bother—”
Because you summoned us.
The raspy voice squeezes my eardrums. I cry out against the crippling pain, pressing my palms against my ears, but it grants little relief. Only when the throb subsides can I search for its source.
The Cindrae elder reveals pointed teeth much like Oredai’s.
“I didn’t summon you,” I counter without thinking and then brace myself against his response.
But it’s Lucretia who answers. “You opened the door to Ulysede.”
“I didn’t know what that meant.” I hear how weak that excuse is the moment it leaves my lips.
“Your ignorance changes nothing.”
“Thank you, Lucretia, for your scintillating opinion that I didn’t ask for,” I snap. “I’m asking for the nymphs’ help as the Queen for All. Why won’t they give it to me?”
“If Her Highness is unsatisfied with the aid provided by my masters, perhaps she should summon Aminadav or Vin’nyla for counsel.”
“So they can know what Malachi and Aoife are up to, and crack the earth again? Are you insane?” Though a conversation with them might be less painful than this.
Lucretia’s head tips back with her laughter. “You think they do not know where Malachi and Aoife are? You think they have not begun retaliating?”
A chorus of wicked laughter explodes in my mind, buckling my knees until they meet the grass. The pressure is agonizing, and I struggle to not scream as drops of blood splatter near where my hands press against the ground. More blood trickles from my nose until I taste a metallic tinge on my lips.
I’m seconds from blacking out when Jarek’s words stir in my mind.
Remember who you are and do not hesitate to remind anyone who forgets.
They haven’t forgotten who I am. They’re toying with me.
My rage ignites and with it a swell of affinities. I grasp onto all four, weaving them until the silver cord coils, ready to lash out like a viper. “Enough!” I shriek.
The crippling sound cuts off instantly.
I stagger to my feet, wiping the back of my hand against my mouth. My affinities still ripple beneath my skin. Could I kill these elders with it? What would happen if I did? Would others take their place?
As one, they dip their heads. A sign of apology or respect? I can’t tell. Nor do I care. “As much fun as this has been, I have too many places to be and enemies to defend against. Thank you for your help with the blood curse. If you don’t see your Queen for All again, it’s because I’ve been trapped by Mordain’s guild, or killed by a beast, or Malachi has—”
The goblin elder opens its mouth and the shrill, layered scream it emits makes my teeth clench. Thankfully, this time it is out loud rather than inside my head.
“There are four factions and so there must be four offerings made to the Queen for All.” Lucretia strolls to the far end where the gargoyle sits. In its massive grip is a bronze horn. She bows and collects it before handing it to me. “A gift from the golle.”
I study the enormous smooth bronze token in the shape of a bull horn. “What does it do?”
“When you find yourself in the deepest of perils, in your darkest, most desperate hour, put it to your lips, and relief will arrive. But do not waste this gift, as it may be used once and once only.”