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)
In a loud clap of energy released, the radiant glow where Keella lay was gone.
And so was the Primal.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
There wasn’t much time to digest what had happened or what Keella had shared. Only seconds after the guards took Ione to her chambers to rest during her awakening, I felt that same sudden surge of restless, anxious energy I had experienced before.
At the veranda’s edge, my grip tightened on Ash’s hand, my other reflexively going to my stomach. “Kolis.”
A pulse of eather whipped through Ash’s eyes, and Nektas quickly joined us. “You feel him?”
“Not as strongly as before,” I told him. “But I think he’s waking up.”
Shadows appeared down his throat, swirling up the sides. “Then we must hurry.” Mist seeped from the stone, churning around our legs as he pulled me to his side. “Remember what we talked about, liessa.”
“I remember,” I said, leaning into his chest as he placed a hand on Nektas’s shoulder. “You will take the lead.”
“Let’s see how long that lasts,” Nektas remarked.
As the mist thickened and rose around us, Ash lowered his mouth to mine. His kiss was fierce and demanding in the seconds it took us to shadowstep to the Callasta Isles, causing my breath to hitch and heat to pool low in my stomach. I was smiling as the mist scattered.
Ash had shadowstepped us inside the Rise, near the main entrance of the sprawling one-level palace. I caught a quick glimpse of our surroundings. Red and white wildflowers bloomed among the knee-high grass. Heavy curtains of moss hung from tree branches that stretched like intertwined arms over wide pathways. Ivy covered the trunks of trees and spread along the walkway, cracking the stone beneath our booted feet and smothering the wall in the distance, revealing only glimpses of the dark red stone of the Rise. There was a surprising beauty in the untamed courtyard, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Veses had intended for her land to remain like this or if it had become like this due to neglect.
A warning shout pierced the air, drawing my gaze to our right. A group of half a dozen guards adorned in red and gold jerked to a sudden stop as they walked along a path.
Ash spun, placing me between him and Nektas as absolute chaos erupted.
A fair-haired guard rushed forward, drawing a shadowstone dagger.
“Idiot,” growled Nektas as Ash unsheathed a shadowstone sword.
Ash caught the guard’s arm, cracking the bone. The man’s yelp was silenced as Ash sliced the god’s head from his shoulders. My chest throbbed with the echo of death, and I knew this was only the start.
There were only two less idiotic guards in the group of six. Their faces paled, and they spun on their heels, running off through the tall grass. The other three came right at us as horns blared from the Rise. The warning rumble of draken came from the sky.
Out of the corner of my eye, a wave of shimmery silver light swept over Nektas as he shifted. The sound of pounding boots echoed through the courtyard as Nektas’s claws dug into the stone. His head snapped out, massive jaws opening. He caught the closest guard around the chest, his sharp teeth piercing armor and bone as he shook his head, tearing the guard in two.
My lip curled as my palms warmed. “Was that necessary?”
No. Nektas drew his horned head back. Blood seeped down his scales. But it was fun.
“Our ideas of fun couldn’t be more different.” I turned to the doors, willing them to open.
Metal ground together, then snapped as the locks broke. Ash whirled, his sword clashing with another as the heavy shadowstone doors swung open. He planted a boot in the guard’s chest, caving in the bone as he threw out his left hand. Strands of shadowy eather laced with silver funneled from his palm, striking another guard. Thicker tendrils of essence snaked out, streaking through the trees. Warm pulses of death followed the cries of pain.
The urge to do something about that—to steal them from death’s grip—was there, but I was able to fight the pull.
My gaze flickered over the interior of the palace, and I nearly tripped as I stalked toward the steps. I couldn’t be seeing what I thought I was. I squinted, my upper lip curling as I stared at the watercolor paintings adorning the ceiling of the grand entryway.
They were paintings of Veses.
Naked Veses.
“What the fuck?” I muttered.
“I guess you’re seeing her artwork,” Ash said, snapping a guard’s neck. “Interesting choice, eh?”
I snorted. “Interesting, indeed.” Shaking my head, I stalked toward the wide steps just as guards rushed from the trees and poured out of the halls inside the palace.
“I would not run in this direction if I were you,” I said as I started up the stairs.