Total pages in book: 362
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
I placed the comb on the desk, my gaze falling on the Book of the Dead. Ash had forgotten to put it away when he was summoned. Three glasses of juice, all of them somehow belonging to Jadis, were next to it, and I picked them up in case the moment of tranquility ended. I turned and scanned the chamber. Other than an end table, which wasn’t exactly a large surface, there were only the shelves.
It was once more clear how rarely Ash had used his office—or any of the spaces in the palace, for that matter—for any length of time that required refreshments.
But that was changing.
So, there needed to be more furniture in here.
And knickknacks.
I placed the glasses on a nearby shelf and then turned, my gaze returning to the Book of the Dead. I returned to the desk.
Curiosity swelled, and I reached for the book, even though I was unsure if I should pry. Just as my fingers brushed it, I stopped. The back of my neck tingled as I heard my voice in my mind as clearly as if I had spoken out loud. The Book of the Dead is for the dead. Not the living. I pulled my hand back, my fingers curling inward. I had an innate feeling that I would cross an invisible line if I opened the book that Ash wrote the names of the dead in—in his blood.
True Primal of Life or not, I still found that unbelievably creepy, but their souls couldn’t cross through the Pillars until Ash wrote their names. Or, technically, Kolis could now be the one to write their names, but that obviously wasn’t happening. The only reason Ash could continue doing so was because of the true embers of Death inside him.
All of this made me wonder what had happened when he was held prisoner. Did no souls cross over? Intuition told me they did, but I didn’t understand how.
I did know who often took Ash’s place at the Pillars. It was the same god standing outside the office right now. I spun toward the office doors and shouted, “Rhahar!”
The god opened the door a moment later, his starlit dark brown gaze darting between the young draken and me. “Yes, mey—” He caught himself, his hand firming on the hilt of his sword. “Yes, Seraphena?”
“Sera is just fine,” I told him. “I have a random question for you.”
“I hope it doesn’t end in you shadowstepping somewhere,” he remarked. “Or asking me to train with you.”
Reaver let out a little laugh and then ducked his head, whispering something to Jadis.
“No,” I sighed. “And I’m sorry about that.”
“You already apologized three times,” he replied. “You don’t need to keep doing so. Just take one of us with you next time. So, what’s your question?”
I grinned. “Did any souls pass through the Pillars while Nyktos was held in Dalos?”
An eyebrow rose. “That really is a random question, but yes, souls crossed over.”
“How?” Picking up the tail of my braid, I leaned against the desk. “From what I understand, souls can’t cross between the Pillars unless Nyktos writes their names in the book.”
“That was the case. Souls would get stuck waiting outside the Pillars if Nyktos was…unavailable.” He shifted, widening his stance. “Sometimes, for a few days. The longest was a couple of weeks.”
If Ash couldn’t write the names for days or weeks, it was because of Kolis. My gaze landed on the couch. Or possibly even Veses. The anger that always occupied my thoughts of her was stronger now that I’d seen her in Dalos. Knew what she went through.
Reaver’s head lifted, his alert gaze swinging toward me. The notam. It wasn’t just my anxiety he could feel. Instinct told me it was any extreme emotion. I checked on Jadis, but she was still humming, thankfully oblivious to what I felt.
I breathed deeply through my nose and then exhaled slowly, tamping down the anger the best I could. “Did he come up with some sort of bypass?”
“He did a few years ago so the souls wouldn’t have to dwell in a state of purgatory.” Rhahar leaned against the doorframe. “When Nyktos is…unable to write the names, I do it for him.”
Surprise flickered through me as I curled my arm back, cupping the back of Reaver’s neck. “How is that…?” I trailed off as the answer to my question rapidly formed. “Because he took your soul when Phanos wanted to punish you and your cousin, and then…he did release it back to you.”
Rhahar’s eyes widened. “How did you know that?”
“Foresight.” I tapped my finger off my temple. “Or something like that. Supposedly, Eythos had something similar.”
“I’d heard that he had keen foresight. Something close to precognition.” Rhahar swallowed. “If you could figure it out, why did you ask?”
“This intuition thing is really hit or miss,” I said. “And by that, I mean it’s mostly a miss.”