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)
But the captain likely watched Cirilea burn as he fled and figured this family’s time on the throne was over. He hedged his bets on a guaranteed prize now versus a chance at a lottery win later. I can’t say I blame him for that. He didn’t think that the exiled king might arrive, hunting for his sister with the help of dragons.
I guide his arm around my shoulders so I can slip mine around his waist and pull him close. “I’m so sorry, Zander.”
With a hard swallow, he nods. “I must tell Atticus.”
“We can go there tonight.”
“We should be in Lyndel, to help strategize and prepare.”
“Then we go to Lyndel first. I don’t think the dragons mind flying back and forth across Islor.” They definitely didn’t mind setting swaths of Saur’goths ablaze. I only wish our efforts had done more. “Do you think Malachi knows what we did in Soldor yet?”
“It matters not. Look what he had time to bring through.” He bites his lip. “I’ve been thinking about what Lucretia said, and she might be right.”
“You’ll have to be more specific. She says a lot.”
“About summoning the fates.”
I pull back to meet his eyes. “Speaking of doing things I promised I’d never do … Are you serious?”
“They are the only potential ally in all of this that we have not yet tapped.”
“For what? So Aminadav can split Islor in half to stop the army from spreading?”
“What if the fates can block the Nulling somehow? What if they could stop beasts from coming through?”
“And Malachi from returning.” I see where he’s going with this.
“Otherwise, if we somehow manage to kill him, we will have no reprieve. He could have ten souls like Sofie’s husband waiting in the Nulling for him to assume their body.”
“And then there’s Aoife to worry about too.” We’ve been so focused on Malachi that it is easy to forget she’s somewhere, wherever the wyvern has taken her.
“If we could stop things from coming through the Nulling, that would be half the battle, won.”
“But there’s nothing to say the fates will answer me.”
“Something tells me they will not ignore the Queen for All if she summons.”
My stomach flutters with nerves with the idea of facing Aminadav or Vin’nyla. “And how exactly will they solve our problems for us?” If Neilina’s journal taught us anything, it is how the fates use every opportunity to further their own agenda.
Zander searches my features. “I fear we have little left to lose.”
How many times have others been in this position, believing the fates might be their only hope? “Can I think about it first?”
“Yes.” He leans down to kiss my temple. “But do not think too long.”
61
Atticus
“I hear this is mine?”
The two Islorian soldiers erecting the command tent rush to their feet. “As ordered by Segland, Commander. Er … Your Highness?” The one on the left falters, not sure what to call me.
Last night, I slept in a small tent surrounded by King Cheral’s guards, but after the entire wing of our army witnessed me stroke that dragon’s snout this morning, they seem to regard me with, dare I say, respect. That, or they believe me insane. Segland even apologized for his reaction and willingly surrendered his title and his tent.
“I will leave you to it, then.” I wander through the camp, surveying the soldiers and our odds for survival. No one from Kier’s side trails me tonight, another satisfying outcome from this morning’s parley. I suppose King Cheral has finally decided to trust me too.
Tuella kneels at the outskirts of our camp much like last night, her head tipped back, her hand cradling a pendant.
I crouch beside her. “At least you have stars to look at now.” A blanket of them paints the black sky above. We rode hard and left the plains behind, trading them for the highlands north of Eldred Wood, peppered with craggy rolling hills. It’s far from ideal for a campsite, especially with the rift so close.
She opens her eyes. “There is that which you can see, and that which you cannot, usurper king.”
I grin. “I so missed our conversations today.” There was no time for idle chitchat once Romeria and Zander left. “Tell me, are you able to control one of those dragons the way you control the kells?” I watch her closely.
“Why are you so quick to betray your brother again?”
“I thought I was saving him,” I snap, not expecting her to move so swiftly for my jugular. “And it is not me I am worried about.”
She smiles knowingly, as if she knew that was where my thoughts were but chose to test me instead. “A kell’s mind is empty, easy to manipulate. Others can be guided in the same way. But those winged beasts? They are ancient, and wise, and cannot be manipulated by anyone. If the queen has their dedication, it is because she has earned it.”