Total pages in book: 222
Estimated words: 213974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1070(@200wpm)___ 856(@250wpm)___ 713(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 213974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1070(@200wpm)___ 856(@250wpm)___ 713(@300wpm)
I would go through my Ascension, and I wouldn’t survive. Sotoria would be lost, and the embers…
There would be no hope for the mortal realm.
Surprisingly, my mind didn’t linger there—on the most serious of the consequences. I didn’t even think about Ash. My thoughts went to the Ascended.
If I started to die and was still here with Kolis, he would take the embers and attempt to Ascend me.
I drifted closer to the bars, thinking about what Delfai had said: that the embers had melded with me. I’d have to be entirely drained for someone to remove them. My heart would stop. According to Kolis, the Ascended never died like the Revenants did. I’d forgotten that in my initial panic upon hearing Kolis’s plans.
There was some relief in remembering that. At least I wouldn’t come back as a being swept up in bloodlust.
Hopefully.
Because there was so much I didn’t know. Like what Kolis had shared about the Ancients, or the fact that Kolis’s blood could give life—I thought about Callum. Well, it sort of could. Even if there was only a sliver of a chance that Kolis could somehow pull off what he planned, it was a chance.
I took a sip, swallowing water that tasted like mixed fruit today. About to refill the glass, I heard the sound of footsteps. A moment later, I felt the embers pulsing in my chest.
Focusing on my breathing, I emptied my thoughts and became no one as I stepped back from the bars.
Kolis entered the chamber alone, his white linen pants hanging loosely from his hips, but I could see the shoulders of the men standing guard in the hall.
“So’lis,” he greeted with a warm, breezy smile. “You look lovely today.”
“Thank you,” I replied, my tone matching his. At least two days had passed since Veses visited me. I hadn’t seen Kolis at all yesterday, not until whatever constituted night here fell, and he showed yet again to demand that I sleep beside him.
He’d held me even tighter last night than the one before.
I had no idea where he’d been in the meantime or if Veses had gotten to him.
Strangely, I also hadn’t seen Callum since her visit.
Kolis’s steps slowed as he approached the cage door. “Though you do look quite tired.”
I blinked slowly at the criticism creeping into his voice.
“Did you not sleep well last night?”
I knew better than to tell the truth: that I’d only managed to doze and was unable to sleep deeply with him present. “I slept fine. I’m not sure why I look tired.”
“Then perhaps this will help.” He unlocked the cage. “I thought you might like to go for a walk.”
Go for a walk.
Like a dog.
If he were anyone else, I would’ve kicked him in the throat. Instead, I smiled. “That would be nice.”
And it would be. Any chance to leave the cage was an opportunity to see more of my surroundings.
“Good. Come.” He motioned me forward.
I did as he ordered, taking note of the guards. Elias was there, as always. This time, the other was the Revenant, Dyses. His eyes looked even paler in the fading sunlight.
“Where has Callum been?” I asked.
“I sent him away for a few days to handle something important for me,” he said, not elaborating on the task. “I figured you two could benefit from some space.” He looked down at me, his stare suddenly sharp. “Perhaps be less inclined to disobey me.”
Disobey him…?
Damn it, he had felt me using the embers when I’d spoken to Veses. Except he believed it was a result of my interactions with Callum.
Which meant that he remained unaware of Veses’ visit. It could possibly even mean that Veses hadn’t begun her campaign against me.
Despite how demented she was, Veses was smart enough not to launch an all-out verbal attack against me. She’d immediately arouse Kolis’s suspicions, and not in the way she wanted. But I was willing to bet she’d already been whispering in his ear, laying the groundwork.
Something else struck me as Kolis led me down the same path we’d taken to the Council Hall. The color of the Revenants’ eyes could only be described as a lifeless shade of blue. Emphasis on lifeless. I’d seen the eyes of the dead before, how they first fixed on the beyond and then glazed over. I’d seen the color change, or at least appear to. A film of sorts settled over them, the color a milky, bluish-gray.
Almost identical to a Revenant’s.
Was that because they had died?
I glanced behind us, relieved to see that only Elias followed. What I wanted to ask seemed sort of rude to ask in front of Dyses. “Can I ask you something about the Revenants?”
“Of course.” Kolis walked slowly, allowing me to keep pace beside him.
“Callum explained to me that Revenants are not in need of food or blood,” I began.