Total pages in book: 362
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
However, I was also different now.
“I get it,” I said, closing my eyes. “On some level, I get why you were the way you were. The deal. My father.” Lowering my chin, I opened my eyes and met her stare. “But I don’t know if I can ever forget all of that.”
“I know,” she whispered.
The back of my throat stung, and what I admitted to her next shocked me. “But I…I don’t think I would have survived all I have—and, gods, it has been a lot,”—my voice broke as my thoughts flashed to Kolis and then Tavius—“if I only had my father’s traits. They didn’t get me through any of it. My stubbornness and will? Even my temper?” I laughed hoarsely. “Those weren’t only the traits of the Queen you named me after. They are also yours.”
My mother had gone completely still and silent.
“I’m not sure what that says or even means at the end of the day, but I…I would like to be able to forget. To let it all go,” I said. And, gods, the truth I spoke did something miraculous. A little bit of the weight that was always on my chest lifted. I took a deeper breath. “I don’t know much about my father and would like to learn more. Perhaps you can tell me about him when I return.”
The former Queen of Lasania—the last Princess of the Vodina Isles, my mother—didn’t hesitate. “I would like that,” she said. “I would like that very much.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
“You’re very quiet,” Nektas noted as we entered the gardens.
“I’m just thinking.”
“Are they good thoughts?”
Passing the statue of Maia, I nodded. “They are.”
“Relieved to hear that,” he said. “Your mother is…”
“Something else?”
The sound that came from him was part laugh and part growl. “That is one way of putting it.”
A surprisingly wry grin tugged at my lips. I was still processing everything that had happened with my mother. We hadn’t talked long, but it felt like a major step in a good direction. I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be. There was a lot of messy stuff to sift through, but I meant what I said. I wanted to move on. Let go. And I wanted to have real conversations with her. Maybe I would tell her what had happened before my father died, what he’d attempted to do. Though I didn’t think that would bring her any peace.
“Your sister is very inquisitive,” he said as we stopped near the nepeta blue.
My grin turned a lot larger then. “How many questions did she manage to ask?”
The cool breeze lifted the long strands of his hair, tossing them across his face and chest. “Far more than a mortal should’ve been capable of doing in such a short period of time.”
I laughed. “Sorry about that.”
A dark brow rose. “No need to apologize. The Queen is…amusing. And her wife is extraordinarily polite.” He offered his hands. “They both handled the news of who you are fairly well.”
“Ezra’s known about my ability to restore life for a while, and she’s always been very…pragmatic,” I explained, taking his warm hands in mine. “And her wife? She was the first person I brought back to life. That was before I knew that restoring a mortal’s life meant another paid the price. She doesn’t know. And I don’t want her ever finding out.”
“Understandable.” His fingers curled around mine.
“But I think she…kind of senses something. I don’t know what, but maybe she knows on some kind of unconscious level,” I said, glancing back at the castle’s lit windows.
For the first time since…well, forever, I didn’t feel an overwhelming sense of anger, inadequacy, or hurt. All of that was still there. One decent conversation with my mother wouldn’t erase all of it, but it was muted by something new. Hope.
I pulled my gaze from Wayfair. “Ready?”
Nektas nodded.
I had originally hoped to visit Cauldra Manor—the ancestral Balfour home in Massene—to see if Delfai was still there. Him knowing how the Ancients had been entombed was a long shot, but it was the best we had. However, that was before I’d found Callum having supper with my family. Discovering what the fuck he was up to was the priority now.
Clearing my mind, I pictured the damn empty pedestal in the foyer as eather swelled. Tendrils of gold-streaked silver essence rose from the ground beneath us. The mist thickened and swirled, spinning up our legs. The vanilla scent of the purplish-blue flowers faded as we shadowstepped into the House of Haides.
The throbbing sensation of another Primal echoed in my chest before the mist evaporated. The feeling felt…familiar as I let go of Nektas’s hands and turned, glancing at the closed main doors past the pointed archways.
“A Primal is here,” I announced as I started down the hall, heading for the underground level.
“There is.” Nektas brushed red-and-black strands back over his shoulder. “It’s Attes.”