Total pages in book: 218
Estimated words: 205594 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1028(@200wpm)___ 822(@250wpm)___ 685(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 205594 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1028(@200wpm)___ 822(@250wpm)___ 685(@300wpm)
Lionel only says “Go with the gods.”
I wish utter disaster upon him. Not Erynne, just Lionel. But I smile sweetly and curtsy because my sister is married to him, and she’s trapped as much as I am.
And then I’m loaded into a carriage at the head of our caravan, the escort from the Alabaster Citadel riding atop a white steed beside my coach. We move slowly along the coast, trunks of dresses and foodstuffs packed into the wagons behind my carriage, all of it guarded by the king’s military retinue and finest knights. The journey is faster over sea, but of course we won’t be going that route until it’s no longer avoidable. I think of Meryliese and the terrible shipwreck, and I can’t imagine what must have happened. Did she drown? Or was she crushed when the ship was destroyed? Or did the monsters of the sea finish her off? Her body was never found, so I assume any number of horrible fates.
I gaze out the window at the blue waters, trying to absorb every bit of the outdoors and fresh air. I’m told the tower has no windows, and that I must be careful with the candles packed for me, because they must last an entire year. Every summer the Gray Moon disappears for a day, and then we mortals are without any gods to watch over us. On that day, new supplies will be brought to me so I can continue to live on in comfort at the tower. They will give me no reason to leave.
Not that I can leave, of course. The door will be bricked up behind me and I will be sealed in.
Just thinking about it makes a panicky knot form in my throat. I stare at the coast, willing something to happen. For the gods to step in. For a monster to rise from the shadowy depths of the waters and knock the tower into the sea. I give myself a vial of prepared medicine, feeling faint at the sight of the needle entering my arm. I want to throw up, but I force it back, shoving down the plunger on the syringe as quickly as I can. My head swims as the carriage rocks back and forth, dragging me onward to my doom. We travel through the night, and I do my best to sleep despite the continual jostling motion.
“Will I be saved from my fate?” I ask the dagger, trying it out.
Nothing happens. There’s no resultant shiver, and I frown and shove it into my bodice, tucking the sheath into my cleavage. Stupid knife. It doesn’t know anything. Erynne probably just gave it to me to make me feel better.
The thing shivers between my breasts, and I clutch the front of my bodice.
Okay, so the knife can pick up my thoughts. Good to know. Certainly not unnerving at all.
The hated tower comes into sight the next morning, just shortly after dawn. Now, when I look out to the crystalline blue waters of the sea, I see something large and menacing rising up from the waters themselves, like a hand reaching towards the heavens. That’s the tower, situated on a tiny island where nothing dwells. The reality of my fate sinks in and I take frantic, shallow breaths as I stare out at the detested spire that blots the horizon. Soon, we’ll board a ferry and make our way to the island, where we’ll meet the contingent from Darkfell and the ceremony will begin.
Is it too late to escape?
The knife between my breasts shivers and I choke back a sob. I won’t cry now. I’ll cry when I’m locked in the tower.
Years of court intrigue have enabled me to keep a cool demeanor as we make it to the edge of Lios’s lands. For as long as I can see, the waters along the shore are empty and calm, gently brushing against the tall cliffs. I know just to the north, though, the beaches are covered with ships being loaded with supplies. Armored men practice drills, and sailors ready the sails for the upcoming departure. All waits upon me, and the moment I cross the threshold of the Tower of Balance, the war will begin.
But for now, all is peaceful, and I enjoy the sight of the beaches, as this is the last day I will spend outside for the next seven years.
I watch in silence as a nearby ferry is loaded with my trunks and cask after cask of dried foodstuffs. I have a list that Riza made for me of all the things they have brought for me, along with meal suggestions to make my supplies last. She’s truly tried to make this easy on me, and I should be grateful. I know she’s as anxious as I am because she loves me, but right now she’s with my sister back at Castle Lios and I’m staring down the Tower of Balance, which is a spindly, menacing finger on the horizon.