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 wish I could linger, but doing so would likely draw the ire of the others.” Holland cleared his throat, angling his body toward Ash and me. “You summoned a Fate?”
“That would be correct,” Ash replied.
I shot him a sharp look of warning over my shoulder.
Ash ignored it. “We appreciate the fact that you knocked. The last one didn’t.”
“That would be Aydun you speak of,” he replied. “He is not known for his decorum.”
“I can’t argue with that,” I said. “We wanted to set up a meeting with Kolis.”
Holland didn’t even bat an eyelash. “When and where?”
“In the Bonelands,” Ash said, naming the one place closest to Oak Ambler without being an inhabited place in the mortal realm. “And as soon as possible.”
Holland nodded as he clasped his hands together. “And the reason,” he said, catching my gaze, “you want to give for the meeting?”
I caught on to what he was asking. He wanted to know what we wanted Kolis to believe. He asked for the lie. “We would like to make a truce.”
One of the stars in his eyes brightened. “Is that so?”
I nodded. “If he agrees to meet with us, I’m willing to give him what he wants in exchange for coming to an agreement.”
Holland’s head tilted. “And do you request a Fate to moderate such a meeting?”
“No,” Ash answered.
“Without a Fate present, there is no guarantee of nonviolence.”
“We know,” I said. Without a Fate present, we also wouldn’t be obligated to make any deals that we would be held accountable for, which was the main reason we didn’t want a Fate there. We had no plans to offer shit to Kolis. Besides, even if we were truly attempting to enter into a new eirini, I already knew Kolis would no longer just accept Sotoria’s soul. He wanted our suffering. But I also knew he would do and risk anything to get his hands on Sotoria again. So, we were playing this game as dirty as he had because he would never see her again.
The way Holland’s eyes glimmered told me he either suspected what we were up to or had already seen it all in one of those many threads. “That is all?”
I nodded.
“I will go to him immediately,” he said. “I can’t say how long it will take before he agrees.”
“He’ll agree,” I stated.
Holland’s gaze lowered with a sigh. “If you are speaking of Sotoria’s soul, he will.”
From the settee, Attes’s lip curled. I stepped out of Ash’s hold before the other Primal could say something that would add to his troubles. “I know you can’t stay, but I…I wish you could.”
That softness returned to Holland’s features. “As do I.”
“Before you leave,” Ash said, “I do have a question about Aydun. He knew we had entered an eirini before but made no mention of that. Seems odd that he wouldn’t have reminded Sera, especially considering she just rose as the Primal of Life.”
Holland grimaced. “I wish I could say for certain why Aydun failed to mention it.” Holland’s gaze searched mine. “But he should have. I am sorry he didn’t.”
“It’s not your fault.” Something crossed my mind. He had mentioned inciting the ire of the other Ancients. My stomach pitched. “Will you get in trouble for answering the summons considering our history?”
The colors slowed in his eyes. “Some of the others were not pleased with my intention to do so, but if I were in the wrong, the realms would have prevented me from doing so. The others know this.”
“I am never going to get used to the idea of the essence as some sort of living entity capable of critical thinking,” I admitted.
“Interesting,” Ash remarked, kicking off tiny warning bells. “If the others are aware of this, why would they still be unhappy with you answering the summons? It can’t just be your history with Sera.”
“That is…a complicated question.” For the first time since I’d learned of Holland’s true identity, he looked uncertain how to answer as he stared at Ash. “One that may have crossed your mind.”
I turned to Ash, frowning. “What has crossed your mind?”
He folded his arms over his chest and eyed the Fate. “We have both questioned the methods of how the Fates right the balance.”
“We have.”
“As have I,” Attes remarked. “If anyone cares to know.”
“Well, I’m not sure I believe that it is always the essence itself intervening,” Ash continued. “And I’m sure that is something you’ve thought.”
I had, and it immediately made me think of that damn prophecy and what Keella had shared.
Ash smiled tightly. “We also know the only way Kolis ever had knowledge of The Star was because a Fate told him about it. Of course, it could have been done as it was suggested.”
Delfai had mentioned that Kolis might have used someone the Fate loved to manipulate them into giving him what he wanted. That would be on par with Kolis’s past behavior, but Ash was right. How the Fates—the Ancients—intervened often made no sense. Tension crept into my muscles. There were times when actions to right the balance almost seemed to be in Kolis’s favor, creating another situation that would tip the scales again. Until recently, we didn’t know why they would do that. Now, we knew they wanted to wake the Ancients—clearly, not all of them wanted that, but why would any of them want to do that? That was what Ash was getting at by his question to Holland.