Total pages in book: 239
Estimated words: 224443 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1122(@200wpm)___ 898(@250wpm)___ 748(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 224443 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1122(@200wpm)___ 898(@250wpm)___ 748(@300wpm)
I clasped both of my hands together, holding them to my chest as Bele’s muscles relaxed, and her breathing deepened.
“Bele?” Nyktos called, taking his hand from her cheek. There was no answer.
“Is she all right?” Aios asked.
“She sleeps,” Nyktos replied, staring down at the goddess. Several long moments passed. “That is all.”
“That is all?” echoed Ector. His laugh was abrupt. “That is not all.” He was on his knees, the eather pulsing intently behind his pupils as he focused on me—as he stared at me with a mixture of awe and fear.
Slowly, Nyktos faced me. “What you did is impossible. An ember of life shouldn’t have been enough for what you did,” he breathed, searching my features as if he were looking for something. “You didn’t just bring her back. You…you Ascended her.”
Chapter 44
I found myself in Nyktos’ office for the first time, and as I suspected, it had the bare minimum, just like his bedchamber.
His desk was massive, made of some sort of dark wood that glinted with a hint of red in the lamplight, the narrow lamp the only item on the desk. One chair sat behind the desk, and the only furniture in the room was a credenza, an end table, and the settee I was sitting on. The lounge was a light gray color and thickly cushioned. I felt as if I were sinking into the seat. Like it could swallow me whole as I stared at the empty bookshelves lining the walls.
Nyktos was checking in on Bele, who had been placed in a chamber on the second floor. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but there had been no alarms from the Rise alerting us to an impending attack. That didn’t mean any of us relaxed. Saion couldn’t stand still, moving from one side of the room to the other every couple of minutes. Ector did the same, walking in and out of the office. Both kept stealing glances at me—nervous ones. I looked over at Ector, who now stood inside the office. He stared at me and then quickly averted his gaze.
“Can I ask you two something?” I said, wincing a little at the soreness in my throat.
Saion turned, facing me. “Sure.”
“Are you scared of me?”
Ector’s head jerked up. He said nothing. Neither did Saion for a long moment, but he finally spoke as he stared at the shadowstone dagger Nyktos had returned to me. I had placed it on the arm of the settee, within hand’s reach. “What you did in there should be impossible.”
I drew in a shallow breath, tucking my legs close to my chest as I sank further into the cushions.
I hadn’t just brought Bele back to life.
I’d Ascended her.
“Why would that make you scared of me?” I asked.
“We’re not scared,” Ector answered, leaning against the open doorframe. “We are…unnerved. Unsettled. Disturbed. Un—”
“Got it,” I cut him off. “What I don’t understand is why it makes you all feel any of that. I couldn’t have Ascended her.” A limp curl fell across my face. “I don’t even fully understand what that means for a god.”
Saion took a step forward and stopped. “Normally? If this were hundreds of years ago and a Primal of Life Ascended a god? It would mean—what is the right word?” He glanced at Ector. “It means entering a new stage of life. A transition.”
“What kind of transition? What can a god transition into?” As soon as I said that, my heart dropped. I remembered what Nyktos had told me. Primals were once gods. “She’s a Primal now?”
“No,” Ector said and then frowned. “At least, I don’t think she is. Her eyes changed. They were brown before. You saw them. They’re silver now. Just like a Primal. And that shockwave of energy that came out of her. That’s what happens when a god Ascends. But she’s not a Primal.”
“But she’s no longer just a god,” Saion said, crossing his arms. “There was a shift when she breathed; when she came back. A burst of energy I felt. We all felt it. I’m willing to bet she’s more powerful now. I wasn’t around when the Primals Ascended but…”
I looked at Ector. “You were.”
He nodded slowly, his jaw working as he crossed the room and leaned against the desk. “That’s what it felt like. That energy. Not as huge as when a Primal enters Arcadia and a new Primal rises. I don’t think it would’ve been felt in the mortal realm, but it was something. She may not be a Primal, but she’s Ascended, and that’s a big deal. A very unexpected big deal.”
I sensed that there was more to it. “And a bad thing?”
“For the Primal Hanan it could be,” Nyktos answered, coming through the open doors and startling me. My gaze cut to him. He’d changed his shirt and now wore a loose white one untied at the neck and untucked. He was weaponless, but what weapons did he need? “Bele Ascending means that she could challenge his position of authority over the Court of Sirta, and he would’ve felt that.”