Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 98082 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98082 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
They have caused this mess. Tanrı has been helping those abominations, yet nothing has been done to undo the atrocities of his past sins. It’s as if the accords mean nothing.
And still, my master, the one god who sees reason and what’s right, remains a prisoner. The balance remains flawed as long as those mutations of my kind exist.
“I will not fail. Nor will I rest until you are free, my lord,” I sigh.
Suddenly, the things I tossed over right themselves. My lips twitch slightly. Maybe this one can give me answers before I lose the last of my patience.
“Good evening, Azar. What do you have for me, my dear?”
“Hello, Bishop. I’ve come with good news. I’ve found you a pawn. All our work has paid off. I’m mobilizing our fire army and now we have a way to take the fire wielder down when you are ready,” Azar purrs.
I turn to look the fire fairy in her eyes. To be so beautiful and so powerful is a gift. A gift she’s been blessed with for as long as I have known her. Azar is not tainted, and her gift isn’t stolen.
This I admire her for. I am the reason she’s become feared and shunned. The fire fairies have no idea of the blessing that lives among them.
It doesn’t matter. When the balance is restored, so shall be her reputation. All will be reestablished with my lord.
“Are you sure we can trust this pawn?”
“She is motivated. I will be able to guide her to fulfill all our needs. How is the weapon coming along? Are the others holding up their parts?”
I move swiftly before she has time to notice or react. Azar may be powerful, but she’s still no match for me. Grasping her throat, I look into her eyes. She looks back at me in shock.
“The charm you gave me split into four. It leads us in four different directions. Not to the one. Why is this?”
I release my grasp enough for her to speak. I need answers. I’m much too close for anyone to get in the way. Not even Azar is safe from my wrath.
Anyone who fails me will be punished. No exceptions. She and I both know this to be true.
“The charm was designed to find your desire. At the time, it had been the mates of the ones we sought—not the child. We knew my magic would never be able to find them, but you asked for their mates.
“The charm split to do its job. Clearly, we will not find their mates all in one place. Find them all and we will find the child and the weakness that will give us the victory needed to free our lord.
“I have done my part. I continue to do my part, do I not?”
I release her and take a step back. I tug at my cuffs and smooth a hand down my robe. It has been easy to hide within the church. All secrets are hidden and passed through the religions.
The sacrifices needed to complete our mission are not called into question, as it looks as though we are only holding up traditions. Traditions that have been long misunderstood and taken out of context.
I give a smile and go to take my seat behind my desk once again. “Tell me more about this offering you bring,” I say to Azar.
“It is … she’s a fire fairy.”
Something in the way she says this catches my attention. I straighten and lock eyes with her. I know this woman too well for her to think she’s going to hide something from me.
“Are you going to tell me what I’ve asked to know? Or will I have to pull it from you myself?”
“It is Seraphina.”
I stand up quickly and bang my hand on the desk. Rage rolls through me. Azar isn’t stupid, but this would suggest otherwise.
“Why would you involve her?”
“She has been living within the inner circle. She has been close to the fire wielder. With time, I believe she can lead us right to him.”
“You are placing her in unnecessary danger. If she learns who you truly are, if anyone learns of this before we free our lord … I don’t want to think about it.
“All we have done will have been for nothing. How is she not in the fire kingdom? That’s where you left them. What has happened and why am I just learning of this?”
“I didn’t know of the changes until she appeared on my doorstep. Living in exile makes getting information from within the kingdom walls much harder. My kind no longer trusts me.
“The fire king remains angry with me. I do not know what has happened between him and my sister to have caused—”
“Enough,” I bellow. “You are the one being who should never fail me. Yet, you’ve allowed this to happen. I’ve overlooked your inability to find those filthy bastards of Tanrı’s. I figured that was his doing. However, this … this you should have handled with care,” I seethe.