Total pages in book: 210
Estimated words: 200096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1000(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 667(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 200096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1000(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 667(@300wpm)
“Some of you have known me as your commander and fought at my side!” I use the same powerful voice I’ve used countless times when rallying troops before a battle. “Others knew me as Islor’s king for a short time. A few insist on labeling me usurper—” I flash a smile at Satoria, who hovers behind her husband. “And dear Segland here still blames me for what happened with his wife, but I swear, she did not tell me she was married.” She desperately wanted to bed a prince.
A few chuckles pass through the crowd.
I let the banter slide as my expression hardens. “Whatever you call me, it matters not anymore. I stand before you now without my gleaming armor, promising you that if you do not follow me now, everything you have and everything you are will soon be lost.”
Somber stares meet me.
“There is much I cannot explain, for there is much I, myself, still do not understand. But what I do know is the following—the Nulling is open and the flood of beasts is great.” Gasps sound, but I continue. “Queen Neilina is dead, executed by her own daughter. Islor now has an enemy more threatening than the late Ybarisan queen and her army of casters, and more deceptive than the eastern lords who led you into a treasonous battle for their personal gain. In the days to come, you will see alliances forged that you never imagined possible. Including this one.” I gesture toward Cheral. “A Kierish king whose men cut me down and who held me captive has seen the danger ahead and knows it for what it is—the end of us if we do not set aside our differences and stand together.” I pause to let that sink in. “The one true king of Islor, King Zander Ascelin, will soon call upon us to fight those forces threatening to destroy our realms, and we will answer with our blades and our loyalty to the future for all!” I hop down from the wagon, my newly acquired blade dragging through the grass.
“That is it?” King Cheral studies the mulling crowd. “You will not demand their allegiance here and now?”
“A king demands allegiance. A commander leads them to it. Tomorrow will be the true test.”
“You believe your brother will come.”
“Oh, he will come. Of that I am certain.” He will have no choice once he sees what awaits. “Now, will I be granted a tent, or is there a cage I should retreat to?”
54
Sofie
“You have been busy.” Malachi bends to collect a fallen leaf from the great oak that shows signs of new life after splitting in half as if hit by a bolt of lightning.
I’m surprised his heartless glance doesn’t disintegrate it. “Yes, it has brought me much joy to repair what I can. Especially this tree.”
“And why is that?”
“Because we had one just like it, outside the window of our chamber in Montegarde.” It was under that tree that I was to be buried once I went through the imminent change to seer. Surely, Elijah remembers, which is why I mention it now. He planned to be buried beside me there. We talked about it often.
“I hope the tree survives.”
“If not, you can plant a hundred more to replace it.”
I do not want a hundred more. I want one. I want mine.
Malachi leads us down the meandering path toward the nymphaeum. “Soon, these kingdoms’ predecessors will be all but forgotten, and we will reign. A new population will rise, one that knows nothing but my name as ruler.”
Kingdoms. Plural. But I am not surprised by his ambitions.
A fresh horde of Saur’goths guard the nymphaeum, clueless to the ones buried in the ground they stand on. Two more empty cages await.
“We are bringing more daaknar from the Nulling?” I fight my shudder. When he woke me this morning and demanded we visit Soldor, I did not ask for what purpose.
“And more guards. They are fearsome warriors, but they do not seem to follow orders as stoically. There are rumors that they have been abandoning their posts to hunt.” With a snap of Malachi’s fingers, the Saur’goths hoist their cages.
“I will have to do this one at a time.” Reaching for my affinities, I thread a silver weave into the door.
And choke on a mouthful of dust.
“What is happening?” Malachi demands to know.
“I do not know. It isn’t working.”
“Try again!”
I send another thread and yet we remain here. Tension claws at my spine. “I am sorry, Your Highness, but there is something blocking my access to the other side.”
Understanding fills his face, and rage quickly follows. “They must have discovered what we were doing and sabotaged us. That is the only explanation. But how?”
A wave of guilt washes over me. I know how. That creature, Lucretia. She must have followed us through the portal. She saw everything.