Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 123190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
“And what about what she said about me not being human?”
Some of the thoughtful calculation falls off his expression. “I’m sorry, Jasalyn. I think that’s just a fact. You are fae. You just haven’t fully transformed yet.”
I hang my head to hide my relief. He’s not concerned at all. Not even a little suspicious—though he should be.
If he ever figures this out, this will be one of those moments he hates himself for. Hates me for. I’ve done my job too well, and his affection for me has clouded his judgment.
“I’m sorry,” he says again. “Maybe the more time you spend around us, the sooner you’ll see that we’re not like him. Some are, and I make it my business to give them what they have coming to them, but the majority of us are mostly good and want to make this whole realm a better place.”
“I know,” I whisper. But I don’t think Jas knows that at all. I draw in a ragged breath. “Is it possible that this blood magic the witch talked about is responsible for Mordeus’s resurrection?”
“Even if your power comes to rival the Great Queen Mab’s, that wouldn’t be enough to bring a king back from the dead. But if you weren’t the only one he used this blood magic on. If he was calling upon the magic from others as well . . .” He shrugs. “It’s all so unprecedented. I’m not sure I can say what is or isn’t possible.”
“She spoke of him being alive but dying. His body is dying. I wonder if that means he hasn’t found his necromancer yet.” I’m thinking out loud again. I really need to stop that.
“I should hope not,” Misha says. “I shudder to think of anyone with that kind of power. Even if we’re right about the faceless plague making him stronger, true resurrection should be a power only the gods can wield.”
“The Jewel spoke of foresight—of everything that would have to be put in place, and Mordeus . . .” I press a hand to my chest, trying to calm my racing heart. What would Jas do if she knew Mordeus was drawing strength from her? If she knew she was even a small part of the reason he was able to return? Nothing good. “When I tried to stop eating and drinking in the dungeons, Mordeus forced me to. He said he needed me to live, and in the next breath, he’d torture me. He said the pain would make me stronger. I think he knew he would need to draw on my power before anyone else even knew I had power to draw on.”
When I lift my gaze to Misha’s, his expression is bleak, and I realize too late what I revealed: that Jas stopped eating and drinking. That her time in the dungeons was so horrible she wanted to let death come. “We all underestimated how bad those weeks were for you,” he says, his voice hoarse. “And you let us. You let us think you were being stubborn and narrow-minded rather than let your sister know the truth.”
I don’t know what to say and won’t let myself reveal more, so I don’t say anything at all.
“I’m sorry I didn’t see it before,” he says, swallowing.
I hate the regret I see in his eyes, the way he’s blaming himself for not knowing the truth when Jas did everything she could to keep it a secret. “I didn’t want you to.”
“We need more answers,” he says. “But I won’t make you be part of finding them.”
“No,” I blurt. I take a deep breath. “Maybe this is good for me. I think . . . I think I need to be a part of it.”
“If you’re sure,” he says softly.
I give a jerky nod, but guilt and worry claw at my chest. Misha’s right. We don’t know enough yet. If we truly want to stop Mordeus, we need Jas to tell us everything she knows: about what happened in the dungeons and what’s changed in the last three months since the scars began to emerge. She could help us figure out how Mordeus is calling on the blood magic. I’m beginning to think she’s the only one who has the answers we need.
Hale should be sending someone to check in with me sometime this week. I know he has spies in the castle, but he won’t trust just anyone to take a full report from me. For that, he’ll send one of his most trusted.
I just hope it’s sooner than later. They need to know what we’ve learned before Mordeus finds his necromancer.
Chapter Twenty
Jasalyn
WHEN I WAKE AGAIN, I’M in a small bedroom, and the sun outside the window is low in the sky. I don’t know how long I slept, and I’m too disoriented to tell if it’s rising or setting.