Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 117336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
We are just quieter, Sallavatri says. We all are. You are, too.
Mentally, I tap at the Rift, wondering what caused that. I need the children at their full strength. I need to give every bit of my power in order to fix this wound before it tears open and sends all kinds of horrors through to this world. But there is something I'm missing.
I concentrate, focusing on the voices that bleed through, the cacophony of nonsense that overwhelms my senses, looking for guidance. Perhaps the answer is here. But they are quieter, too.
And then it hits me.
I know what we must do to close the Rift completely.
The children realize it the moment I do. We are not afraid, Luminoura tells me.
We will make everyone safe, Sallavatri agrees. Take what you need.
I do. I pour everything into the Rift, mourning the sacrifice we must make.
The world explodes in blinding light.
Chapter
Thirty-Seven
MELINA
The air feels heavy in the room. I hold Azar's hand, worried, because I've been touching his mind ever since I found him, but right now, he's completely quiet, his focus gone somewhere I can't follow. I want to press back and make sure that he's all right, but I also don't want to bother him if he's concentrating. So I chew on my lip, trying not to panic, and wait.
And wait.
And wait.
Exactly how long will this take, I wonder. Will he be “gone” all day? Will it take more than a day? An hour? Should I interrupt him to make sure he eats or drinks?
A choked gasp gets my attention. I glance at Azar, and his eyes have flicked open. They're gray for a moment, and then solid, unrelenting white. Oh my god. "Azar?" I whisper. "Are you all right?"
No response. Somewhere in the distance, I hear a woman screaming.
"Azar?" I ask again, worried something has gone wrong. I give his hand a little shake, even though I'm not sure if I should. "Please, talk to me." I close my eyes and reach out with my mind. Azar?
There's no response. My head hurts as I strain to contact him. Someone pounds on the door behind me. I don't answer, hoping they'll go away. I don't want to look away from Azar for a second, worried that he might somehow need me.
A moment later Gwen storms in, her son in her arms, tears on her face. "What the fuck is going on?" she demands as I turn toward her. "What is he doing to my son?" Her gaze moves to Azar, her eyes widening. "It's happening to him, too?"
Before I can ask, Gwen lowers Tunjozefren so I can see him. His eyes are wide open, that same alarming bright white that covers Azar's normally whirling eyes. "They're trying to close the Rift," I tell her. "I don't know if it's working. I can't get ahold of him."
She clutches her son to her chest. "Tell them to come back! This isn't worth it if it hurts them!"
Azar makes another one of those terrifying, gasping noises and as I turn to look at him, his back arches off the bed, his muscles straining and tight. I clutch his hand, terrified, and brush my fingers over his cheek. "Azar? Honey?"
His lips part, and I can hear something. Is he trying to talk to me? I lean in, moving close—and what I hear sends chills up my spine. Azar's mouth is open, but the voices coming from him aren't his. It sounds like a thousand radio stations all speaking over each other, voices piled atop one another like a car crash of minds. The sound grows, and as it does, the pressure in my head grows worse. Gwen whimpers, leaning over her son, and I press my hand to my head.
The pressure increases, and the volume coming through Azar gets louder and louder, the voices screaming through him. He arches higher, his hand twisting out of mine, and the pressure in my head feels like a vise. I press both hands to my temples, even as I scream his name. "Azar!"
A pulse of pure energy flares through the room.
It feels incredibly loud and silent all at once, and flattens both me and Gwen to the ground with the force of it. My head feels as if it's collapsing, and I scream—but nothing is coming out. Everything is silent, heavy due to the pulsing energy in the air. Light fills the room—
—and then explodes.
At least…it feels like it explodes. The tension disappears as quickly as it appeared, and I haul myself off the floor, weary, aching and confused. Gwen is curled around her son, tears leaking down her face. I stagger to my feet, moving immediately to the bed. Azar is collapsed, his eyes closed, and I reach over and pry an eyelid up. Warm, milky gold—a normal shade—lurks underneath. Thank god. "What happened?"