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)
He’d have to put me in the ground.
The Thyia Plains’ guards were somber in their bows as Ash and I, followed by Nektas, walked the hall they lined.
Keella was waiting for us in the same room we had met her in the last time. She stood in a simple white sheath and smiled. “I was beginning to think you two may not be coming.”
“Something came up,” Ash answered, squeezing my hand. “We would’ve been here sooner.”
“It’s okay.” She inclined her head regally toward Nektas, where he hung back. “I enjoyed these last minutes here. This is one of my favorite spots. I will miss it.”
A pang of sorrow lanced my chest. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“You could sit this out,” Ash offered.
“That’s what I told her,” a steady voice came, drawing our attention to the veranda. A tall, slim figure with chin-length, reddish-brown hair came into view. The goddess Ione stopped just inside the chamber and bowed her head to us. “None of us is eager for her to pass on.”
Seeing the goddess again brought forth mixed emotions—relief and also unease. The latter had nothing to do with her and everything to do with what had come after meeting her in Dalos.
“She has said this a time or a hundred,” Keella said with a fond smile.
“Apparently, I haven’t said it enough,” Ione replied. “Because here we are.”
“Yes,” the Primal goddess said. “Here we are. Both more than ready to begin the next chapter of our stories, but only one willing to say it.”
Ione crossed her arms over her fitted, light gray tunic, sighing heavily before her gaze met mine. “I am glad to see you again.”
“The feeling is mutual.” I slipped my hand free of Ash’s and walked toward the goddess. “I didn’t get a chance to thank you for the risk you took.”
“No need to thank me.” She clasped my wrist with a hand. “I couldn’t have been happier to fuck with Kolis.”
“Ione,” sighed Keella.
“Sorry,” Ione was quick to say. “I meant I was honored to fuck with Kolis on your behalf.”
“Happier wasn’t the word I had a problem with,” murmured Keella.
A small grin appeared on Ione’s face, and I had a feeling I was going to get along quite well with her. “You are still owed my thanks,” I insisted. “You saved my life and did so at great risk to yours.”
Ash spoke then. “You did. And you will forever have my gratitude.”
Ione’s gaze moved between us, and then she nodded. “I suppose I will graciously accept this unnecessary but understandable gratitude.”
My lips twitched as I met her eyes. “Is this what you want for yourself?”
“Want is a strange word.” The narrow bridge of her nose scrunched. “Feels kind of selfish to want this, but it is what I have been preparing for.”
I nodded, turning back to Keella and Ash. I saw the Primal look at the goddess before saying, “I would like to do this on the veranda, under the skies.”
“We can do this wherever you’d like,” Ash assured her.
She smiled at him and came forward. “Come.” She looped her arm around mine as Ione passed us. “Walk outside with me.”
I went along, glancing back at Ash to see that Ione had stopped him with a question about what Keella had shared with her regarding our plans in dealing with Kolis. Nektas had come to the opening but did not follow Keella and me outside, giving us space while he kept a watchful eye.
Arching a brow, I said nothing until we were under the purple and violet clouds of the Thyia Plains. “I’m guessing you wanted to speak to me in private?”
“Whatever could have given you that impression?” she said with a laugh far lighter than someone who had come to the end of their…journey. “There is something I wanted to tell you that I wasn’t sure if I could or should the last time we spoke.”
“I think I know what it is.” I followed her to the divan that I may have once laid upon, having a feeling I did know what she was about to mention. The lives I carried within me. After all, she was the Primal Goddess of Rebirth. “You know about my…?” What had Ash called it? “My condition?”
“If by condition, you mean that you’re with child—two of them?” Keella laughed. “Yes, I know. Congratulations are in order. This is such a blessing,” she said sincerely. “I didn’t say anything before since I wasn’t sure you were aware, but that’s not what I wanted to discuss.”
“Did you know when I was brought here before?” I asked, even though I was curious about what else she had to say.
“That’s a complicated question to answer.” She gazed up at the clouds. “Sensing the souls of unborn babes is not always easy and it varies from soul to soul, but with you, you were carrying Sotoria’s soul. That acted almost as a shield. And afterward, well, there wasn’t much time.”