Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
When I said nothing, his eyes met mine. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I know—because I would never allow you to.”
He stared for nearly a solid minute, his eyes locked on me like an archer focused on a target. Then he stepped away, as if the distance between us would prove he meant me no harm.
Now, my eyes scanned his body for signs of darkness. But since most of his body was concealed, I couldn’t see his bare skin. He could be starving this very moment, or he could be satiated after just feeding on a soul.
I wasn’t sure which one was worse.
Once he was near the stone forge, he regarded me. “It’s not just me. There are others. Others who want to be free of them.”
“But you are them.”
“Not by choice. They turned me a long time ago.”
“They…can do that?” When Necrosis invaded our lands, it was always to feed. No other purpose. I’d never heard of someone being turned into one of them.
“Yes. It’s rare, but it happens.”
“Why did they turn you?”
He never answered. “Yes, I’m Necrosis. But I’m not an Original. And because I’m not, I’m different. The same is true of others, others who ask for asylum as well. I warned you they were coming, and I gave you Ice to increase your odds of survival. You prevailed, so now I ask you to open your lands to us.”
“I’m not the queen.”
“I know.”
“She would never agree to help you.”
“Then you know exactly why I chose to come to you.” He pivoted his body toward me, looking me straight in the eye. “She would strike me down the second the words left my mouth, which would be a detriment to your people since I can be an asset to HeartHolme.”
“At least you claim to be…”
His eyes went still, sharp like daggers. “If that were true, you should be afraid of me. And you don’t look the least bit afraid.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I’m not afraid of anything.”
“We’re all afraid of something. Maybe it’s not me, but you have fears just like everyone else.”
My arms tightened over my chest as a shiver moved along my skin. “If Necrosis knew we’d granted you and the rest of your people refuge, they would come after us even more.”
“You already have that problem.” He took a seat at the edge of the stone, his posture perfectly upright, his knees far apart. He took his gaze off me and looked elsewhere. “Now that they know you have dragons, you’re even more of a threat than you were before. They won’t stop until HeartHolme no longer sits on the map.”
Was I naïve to think they wouldn’t return because of our dragons? Was I naïve to enjoy our victory longer than I should? “I don’t think the warning and the Ice are enough to earn you entry into our lands.”
“We’d fight with you.”
“How many of you are there?”
He took a long pause. “Twelve.”
“That’s not enough to make a difference.”
“I know everything about Necrosis—and can share every detail.”
“What kind of details?”
“How to enter their lands unseen. Details of the Three Kings. Weaknesses.”
“The Three Kings?” I asked.
“They’re brothers. And they’ve ruled Necrosis since the beginning. Age has driven them into madness. All living things are only meant to live one lifetime. Existence is so unbearable it shouldn’t go on longer than necessary.” His forearms rested on his thighs, and he dropped his eyes to examine the floor at his feet. “The reason why you’ve never discovered Ice before is because it doesn’t exist in your lands—only in ours.”
“So there is more.”
“But it’s inaccessible to your kind. Give us refuge, and I will share all the details of Necrosis—how to slip past their borders and retrieve the Ice, how to give you the best chance to defeat them once and for all.”
“I still don’t understand what’s in it for you.”
He lifted his chin.
“If they’re gone, you’ll be the last of your kind.”
“I’m not one of them. I’m just a very poor imitation.”
“Even so…you could live forever.”
“Like I already said, living forever is overrated. Every time the body grows weak, I have to suck the soul out of an innocent person. Every time the process starts, I vow to let myself starve to death. But when the hunger takes over…I become a different person. I can’t override it. I can’t ignore it. I have to feed.”
“Whether Necrosis exists or not, that’s still your fate.”
“But it’ll punish them for what they’ve done to me—and they won’t be able to turn more people.”
“You do realize that we can’t allow you and the twelve others to live, right?”
His expression didn’t change—as if he weren’t the least bit surprised.
“Can’t allow you to take away someone’s soul, someone’s afterlife. All Necrosis will need to be eradicated—and we can’t make an exception for you.”
“Never asked for one.”