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)
“No, liessa, it doesn’t. You grew up not being known by many. Being surprised is understandable.” He drew his fingers down my cheek. “But you should probably start getting used to people wanting to see you.”
I honestly didn’t think I ever would, but I still said, “Yes, sir.”
Chuckling, he planted his hands on either side of my legs. “I noticed something today. You grew incredibly anxious as we rode past the Dying Woods. Did you feel something?”
It took me a moment to think back. I had been nervous, and I hadn’t been that affected before. I wasn’t sure why. Well, that wasn’t necessarily true.
I’d had a feeling.
One that made me think of the Shade I’d touched during my poorly thought-out plan to end Kolis. The creature had been nothing more than smoke and bone, but after a single touch, I’d seen organs and muscles form, almost as if I’d been restoring life to it.
Ash’s chin brushed the curve of my jaw. “Sera?”
“Sorry.” I started to tell him that nothing had disturbed me but stopped myself. Sharing thoughts was important, even the incoherent ones. “I was just thinking about that Shade I touched back when I was in the Dying Woods.”
“Back when you last held a dagger to my throat?”
“Was that the last time?” I asked wryly.
He chuckled. “You’re talking about the one that seemed to regenerate?”
“Yes.” I ran my fingers along his. “I was thinking about how powerful my touch was that it could bring back a Shade, even then. Who knows how long it had been dead?”
“Based on the state of it, I’d say quite some time.” He kissed my jaw. “Likely several decades, if not longer.”
“That’s…kind of creepy.”
“Just be careful when touching dead things.”
A grin tugged at my lips. “That’s possibly the strangest advice ever spoken.”
“Possibly.” Dipping his head, he kissed my cheek. “Is that what made you nervous when we rode past?”
Again, my immediate response was to shrug it off, so I took a moment to put my thoughts into words. “I could feel the essence swelling inside me as we rode past and thought I could see them following us through the trees. I think they may have felt my presence, and I was glad we weren’t going into the woods.” I tipped my head back against his chest. “Because I feared I…I worried I may do something I shouldn’t.”
“Like return life to them?”
Pressing my lips together, I nodded. “What if I still can’t control that?”
“But you have, liessa. More than once.”
“I know, but there have been times when I haven’t.” I thought about what Aios and I had discussed. “Do you know how often your father brought people back?”
Ash was silent for a few moments. “I know my father struggled with that. I also know he used the ability far more in the beginning than he did toward the end,” he said. “When people came to one of his Temples to plead for the return of their loved ones, it was hard for him to ignore it. Especially if the deceased was young and the death unexpected. He would almost always grant those requests.”
“Even knowing that if he granted life—”
“Death is never cheated?” Ash finished. “Yes.” A moment or two passed. “As I’ve said, my father wasn’t perfect. Wanting to ease the pain of those suffering was only part of the reason. The act of granting life may have come from an altruistic place, but there were…personal benefits gained from such.”
“He enjoyed the worship it brought him?”
“Yes.” His lips grazed the corner of mine. “Once my father realized that he could not continue granting life as he was, he knew he couldn’t personally answer the summonses. That’s when gods began acting as the middle people between the summoners and the Primals. It started first with Eythos, and then the rest of the Primals followed suit.”
My brows knitted. “But you can still feel the summonses, right? Eythos had with King Roderick. And I know Kolis did.” I swallowed. “He heard my father’s summons.”
Ash slipped his hand from under mine and straightened in front of me. “What do you mean?”
I realized just then that I hadn’t told him about this. There hadn’t been much time to share things with him after we were finally free of Dalos. “The night I was born, my father knew what it would mean. He summoned Kolis, having no idea that Eythos had answered Roderick in the past.”
“Why did he…?” Ash cursed. “He wanted the deal undone.”
I nodded, my heart twisting for the man I’d never met. “He didn’t want that kind of future for his daughter.”
“What father would?” Ash stated, the respect evident in his voice. “If I were to have a child, I wouldn’t want them to live a life of no choice, one where their future was already determined for them.”