Total pages in book: 241
Estimated words: 229266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1146(@200wpm)___ 917(@250wpm)___ 764(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 229266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1146(@200wpm)___ 917(@250wpm)___ 764(@300wpm)
“There are about two hundred of them left,” he said as the Guardian smiled at that wolven. “But one of them is equal to twenty trained warriors.”
I finally dragged my awed gaze from them. “Do they have…unique abilities courtesy of their bloodline?”
“Only the females born within that bloodline. They are like elementals in terms of strength and mortality, and they do need blood.”
“Are any other warrior bloodlines still alive?” I asked as we entered the other side of the woods.
Casteel shook his head. “They are the only ones left.” He paused. “Besides you.”
Besides me.
It was strange to hear that, knowing I was descended from a line of warriors. “I may not be the only one,” I said, and Casteel focused ahead. “I know it’s unlikely that Ian is my full-blooded brother, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t others out there that no one knows about, including the Ascended.”
“That’s true, but I think it would be highly doubtful that any of them have gone undetected by this point.” His gaze followed a sparrow as it flew across the path. “Makes me think of the first Maiden—if she did exist—and how many more were potentially discovered that we will never know about. And it also makes me think about the time I was held by the Ascended. They always used mortals with Atlantian blood to feed me.”
I resisted the urge to reach out to him with my senses, already knowing what I would find.
“Some were young, just past maturity. Some were older, their hair gray and bodies already breaking down with age,” he said after a few moments. “I tried to keep count of how many had been brought into my cage, but I…I wasn’t able to. Even so, between Malik and me, I don’t know how there could be any more out there.”
Ian had been the last to Ascend, and it had only been him. Before that, it had been several years since the last Ascension. Dread surged through me. Ascensions had been carried out annually for several years, but then they’d all but stopped when I was a child. The implications of that brought forth the concern I’d had before. What if Malik was no longer alive?
Kieran and Casteel both believed that Malik lived, but there was no evidence of that. And I wanted to know if Casteel had truly considered that. I bit down on my lip.
“You look like you want to say something,” he observed.
I did, but how could I ask what I wanted? I didn’t think I should, so I said what I also believed I needed to say. “You did what you needed to do to survive. I hope you truly believe that.”
Casteel didn’t answer, and when I looked over at him and saw the vast emptiness in his expression, my heart ached. Because I knew.
I knew he didn’t.
And all I wanted in that moment was to bring warmth back to him. “I still want to stab you.”
His head shot in my direction.
“Just not as frequently,” I amended.
One side of his lips curled up, and then he laughed. The sound was rough and a little hoarse, but it was real. “I would be disappointed if you didn’t.”
I looked forward, smiling. “That is such a weird statement.”
“What can I say? I have a thing for women with violent tendencies.”
“That doesn’t sound any better,” I said, even though I wondered if Shea had been that way. Prone to stabbing him when she was angry? I wasn’t so sure about that, considering what he’d said I deserved when this was all over. A relationship with no stabbing or punching. Or kidnapping.
I shoved those thoughts aside before they could weigh me down. We were pretending, and that meant there was no future, even if we couldn’t escape the past.
Luckily, a distraction arose a few moments later. Riding out of the wooded area, I finally saw what Casteel had built.
My grip loosened on the saddle as I took in a piece of Atlantia hidden away in Solis.
Stygian Bay glistened like the darkest hour of night to our right. Ahead of us was a town the size of New Haven. Yet again, I was struck speechless as we rode along the dirt road. I only half-noticed those who acknowledged our arrival, who either bowed or called out.
One-story homes made of sandstone and clay dotted the gently rolling landscape. There had to be around a hundred of them, and each one was spaced out to accommodate private, curtained terraces, and small gardens. As we drew closer to the homes, I could see that the gardens were full of ripe tomatoes and tall stalks of corn, cabbage, and other vegetables planted in neat rows. The only homes in Solis that had any land beyond a patch barely large enough to grow a tree were the ones in places like Radiant Row.