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)
A flash of intense silver cut through the night sky, and the arrival of another Primal thudded in my chest. In the shadow of the still-rising, deadly tsunami, I saw Phanos’s silhouette. He thrust his essence-lit trident into the wave with a shout, calling forth a roar of powerful wind from all directions. Eather erupted from the trident, exploding into a silvery web that pushed the wave down.
The ground trembled where I stood once more, making me drag my gaze from Phanos. Where the villagers had fallen, shells of packed, hard ash now encased them. Hundreds of them were forever frozen, some sprawled on the ground in clusters. Families. Others were alone on their knees, their arms shielding their heads or raised as if they’d spent their last seconds praying to gods who would not answer.
Because we had brought this ruin upon them.
Fine fissures appeared where Embris had knelt and spread all the way into Masadonia. Small saplings wiggled free of the cracks all around me, growing, expanding, and rapidly becoming thick trunks with glossy, bleeding bark. Hundreds of trees. Thousands. Limbs sprouted like bony fingers, misshapen and bent. Buds sprouted from branches and unfurled.
From where the lower mountains of the Undying Hills once stood to the half-shattered Rise of Masadonia, a forest of dark crimson leaves and glistening bark rose forebodingly in the stark moonlight.
The once bountiful fields of Terra were no more. In their place was a forest birthed from soil drenched in Primal essence and mortal blood. A tomb.
The temperature dropped until I could see my breath, but it did nothing to cool my fury. Dark, choking rage rose like a seething storm, swallowing me. It was like a tempest of darkness roaring through my veins, consuming everything in its path, urging me to crush. Obliterate. It was in every heartbeat, like an echo of wrath with a name as I opened a tear in the realm.
Kolis.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
I walked along the sun-streaked golden road, the scent of blood and death clinging to me.
Ahead, the polished marble and diamond Rise stood tall.
Through the mist shrouding what lay beyond, guards in golden armor rushed along the top of the wall. Several lifted gold-plated bows, aiming shadowstone-tipped arrows in my direction. Others exchanged wary looks. They inched back, their attention shifting to the dark clouds above them. It was almost as if they had been expecting me.
“Halt!” a guard shouted from above the gate.
That would not happen.
Eather swelled inside, and I lifted my hands. Gold-laced essence streaked out from my fingertips and raced across the ground. The clouds above continued to thicken, blotting out the sun. Some guards ran. Others fired arrows.
But it was too late for them all.
Wisps of eather rose, shattering the arrows as the thicker strands of energy poured into the diamond-encrusted Rise. Gold-tinged silver light spread, forming a network of veins that traveled the length of the wall surrounding Dalos.
I snapped my hands into fists.
The crack was like a blast of thunder, freezing the guards where they stood. All across the Rise, gold-winged faces contorted in shock and disappeared. The Rise exploded into fragments of stone and ash.
Lightning struck the ground as I walked forward, the diamonds beneath my feet shattering. Wind tore the purplish-pink trees from their roots and twisted their limbs until they broke. The smaller wall around Cor Palace came into view. It, too, turned to dust. I toppled the trees that bodies had once hung from.
The palace went next as I called for Death to show himself. I shattered the glass doors and peeled back roofs. I brought the walls down, and all that answered was a chorus of short-lived screams.
Chest throbbing, I closed my eyes and shadowstepped farther into Dalos, appearing just outside the sprawling fortress and before a line of ready guards.
Several arrowheads hit their marks, but I didn’t care. I welcomed the pain and gave myself over to it because it was nothing compared to what I felt inside. I stalked forward, sending a crackling web of energy ahead of me. The lines of guards fell. I lifted my hand, ripping the heavy, gold-plated doors from their hinges.
“Kolis!” I shouted, entering the Sanctuary and ripping arrows from where they were stuck. This part of Kolis’s domain had remained unscathed after I escaped.
It would not stay that way.
He’d taken my control. My sense of self. My family. I would take all he had taken from me—threefold.
A bolt of eather came at me when I passed the gold-adorned archways. I spun to the left, spotting several armed gods.
I sent one through the glass and another through a wall as I shot forward, dipping under a raised shadowstone sword. Catching the god’s arm, I rose behind her. “Where is Kolis?”
“Fuck you,” she spat.
“No, thank you.” I tore into her throat, drinking deeply. Hot, thick blood poured into my mouth, and footsteps pounded.