Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
He shook his head. “Mountains in Oreylia aren’t snow-capped like they are here. They’re more like volcanos, but they’re never dormant. They’re constantly erupting, and the lava flows into the city, creating a molten hot river.” What he said painted a vivid picture in my mind. When my mother was younger, and Granddad Martin had been sent to Oreylia, she hadn’t known the name of the place and had simply referred to it as a “hell dimension.” It made sense since a place constantly spewing lava seemed rather hellish when I tried to visualise it. It also matched the vision Sarasin showed me when my future self stood by that window, gazing out at the strange city.
“Why would anyone build a city at the foot of active volcanoes?”
“Because the demons in my realm are immune to fire and heat. In fact, they thrive in it. Most cities in Oreylia are built beside these types of mountains for this very reason. It’s why full-blooded demons rule in Oreylia. They don’t have to fear the eruptions like the rest of us.”
“You’re half demon, though. Doesn’t that afford you some protection?”
“Yes, but only a little. I can withstand the heat of fire and lava for a few minutes, but after that, I burn just like everyone else who isn’t a demon.”
“Tell me about the mark you gave me. What exactly does it mean?”
He stilled, a frown marring his features. “I’m not sure you’ll want to hear this.”
“Of course, I want to hear it. You said that once the mark is given, it can’t be taken back. That means I’m going to have to live with it, and I’d rather know what it means if that’s the case.”
He exhaled and lifted his gaze to mine. “My mother came from a family of high demons,” he began. “They more or less ruled over our city, Treyu. Her bloodline is considered royalty, and they have very specific rules for marriage and procreation.”
“Right,” I said, shifting uncomfortably. Maybe he was right. Maybe I didn’t want to hear about it. “The demons in her family mate for life. They possess a mark, and once they find the person they want to marry, the mark is transferred to that person. It’s not a conscious thing. Sometimes people get marked who don’t necessarily return the feelings of the person giving it to them.” He paused, clearly referring to our situation as he eyed me awkwardly before looking away. “When my mother defied convention and ran off with my father, a sorcerer with no demon blood who didn’t even come from Oreylia but another dimension entirely, her family was furious. They demanded she end the relationship, but unbeknownst to them, she was already pregnant with me. So she ran away, and she and my father lived in one of the lower sectors of the city,” he said, sparking a memory from the vision of my future.
“Have you ever been up there?” my future self asked as I peered at the castle.
“No,” Vasilios replied solemnly. “Never. The vast majority aren’t allowed past the eighty-seventh sector.”
“Darya, are you okay?” Vasilios asked.
I shook myself from the memory. “Yes, I’m fine. Continue your story.”
“Well, they lived happily for a few months, but then my father had to leave and return to his own dimension.”
“Wait, Theodore left your mother to return to Tribane while she was still pregnant?” I asked incredulously. That was a fucked-up move if I’d ever heard one.
His expression hardened. “He didn’t have a say in the matter. His followers summoned him. They cast a spell to bring him back through a portal to this dimension. My mother was convinced for years he would return, but he never did, and she knew something truly awful must have happened. She told me stories, all the stories that my father had told her about his life before he met her. It wasn’t until I got older that I properly understood the stories, but by then, she was gone, and I was trapped in the mine.”
“She died?” I whispered, my chest tightening.
“We were so poor, and I was only a child. She got sick, and there was no money for medicine. When I was ten, she passed away. I didn’t know it, but for those first ten years of my life, she’d pretended to our neighbours that I was a demon. I hadn’t come into my warlock powers yet, but the grief of her death stirred them up. I released a surge of magic that shattered all the windows in our neighbourhood, and that’s when people discovered I wasn’t a full demon.”
“That sounds a lot like what happened earlier when the skylight shattered,” I said.
He nodded. “Yes. I told you, it’s because of you. Your nearness is making my magic stronger.”
I still didn’t know what to make of that, so I asked, “What happened to you when people discovered you were half warlock?”