Total pages in book: 222
Estimated words: 213974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1070(@200wpm)___ 856(@250wpm)___ 713(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 213974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1070(@200wpm)___ 856(@250wpm)___ 713(@300wpm)
One side of Ash’s lips quirked. “He probably was.”
Smiling, I watched him trail his finger along the golden swirl.
The imprint.
The direction of my thoughts immediately shifted as it occurred to me that perhaps it wasn’t me who had blessed our union. Maybe it had been the Fates. Or perhaps it happened because we were mates of the heart.
And maybe…maybe the fact that such a thing was real, meant that what I believed about my parents was also true. It explained why the agony of my father’s loss embittered my mother so deeply and how their union was important since it brought me into—I gasped, my head jerking up.
“What?” Concern filled his eyes.
“Holland saw this. He must have. All of this. Remember when he and Penellaphe came, and you were off to the side talking to her while Holland and I spoke? You asked me what he said, and I—well, I lied.”
“Shocker,” he murmured, the eather in his eyes twinkling. It struck me then what about his voice was different. It was lighter.
He was lighter.
My chest burned with emotion, causing Ash’s brow to pinch. The gods knew I’d probably just projected that emotion at his face. I had to suck it back down to speak without crying all over him. “Anyway, he said that broken thread of mine was unexpected and that fate was as ever-changing as the mind and heart. He was speaking of your heart. He told me that love is more powerful than the Arae can imagine. It was like he was trying to tell me not to give up hope.” My nose scrunched. “Because he knew…he knew you could love me.”
“He likely knew I was already in love with you, Sera.”
Hearing that made my heart skip. “And he couldn’t have told us any of this?”
“I think that would be obliterating that fine line he likes to walk,” he replied, lips turning up.
I rolled my eyes. “He could’ve at least been a little less vague. Like, I don’t know, randomly mention mates of the heart surpassing a kardia or—” Feeling the essence stir, I stopped what would surely be a lengthy tirade. “Okay. I’m just not going to think about that.”
His smile spread.
“So.” I drew out the word. “Why do you think you had the dream?”
He raised a brow.
“What? I mean, you had a vision. That’s kind of important.” I sat straight. “Do you think it was the mates of the heart thing? I…” I trailed off, letting that odd sense of knowing fully form without interruption.
It was the one thing more powerful than the so-called Arae.
It was that unexpected thread.
Unpredictable.
It was the unknown.
The unwritten.
Powerful.
It was something not even the Fates dared to predict or control.
The only thing that could disrupt fate.
It couldn’t be found.
It could only be accepted.
It was even more powerful than what coursed through the veins of the Primals and their creators. Equally awe-inspiring and terrifying in its selfishness. It could snap a thread unexpectedly and prematurely.
It could extend a thread of life by sheer will, becoming a piece of pure magic that could not be extinguished.
It was true love of the heart and soul.
“It is because we are…we are heartmates.” I nodded smugly. “I feel very clever for answering my own question.”
“You mean figuring out the very obvious answer?” he suggested dryly.
I swung at him again, and like before, he caught my wrist. “Fuck,” he groaned, pushing me onto my back and bracing his weight on his forearms as he leaned over me. “I love you.”
There was so much we needed to deal with—so much uncertainty. There was Kolis. The other Primals. All the other stuff that kept popping into my head whenever it went quiet. The things those unknown voices that I knew were as old as this realm said to me while I was in stasis. What I saw. What I knew. A lot of it was disjointed, making little sense, but I suspected all the scattered pieces would come together if given time. Then there was how my…my Ascension affected Iliseeum and the mortal realm—the latter something I was almost afraid to ask about because I suddenly recalled the blast of power that had left me, hitting the skies above Lasania. There was Sotoria’s soul, and the plans surrounding it—things that left me uncomfortable.
Plans I was empowered to change.
But right now, the only thing that mattered was Ash. Us. This miracle of a second chance. The first opportunity for both of us to truly be able to live and have complete control of our lives.
“Say it again,” I demanded.
Ash kissed my brow. “I love you, Sera.”
The essence hummed, as did my heart, my soul. “Again,” I whispered.
Laughing, Ash cupped my cheeks and kissed me. “I love you, liessa.”
I clasped the back of his head, feeling my chest swell. “Show me.”
He did.
There were no more confessions or whispered truths. We came together once more, but this time…this time, we made love.