Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 129912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
“We could not intervene!” Korah shouts. “Do you think we wanted to see you suffer? That we wanted the twins to be in duress? To feel abandoned and lonely? No. But if it had not been that way, you would not be where you are now. Yes we are powerful and yes we made this world, but we never made you. The Cold Tethered were never ours to control.”
“This is all bullshit,” I mutter, pushing the chair out of my way. “Send me back to Blackwater. Now.”
“Caspian, listen to me!” Hassha yells.
“No! People have suffered while you lived peacefully in Kessel. People have been murdered, hung, beaten, raped, and living in fear all because the people who were meant to protect this world wanted no part of it anymore. This world doesn’t deserve your praise,” I grumble. “They deserve to watch you suffer, just like Selah.”
I storm for the doors, ready to flee this damn palace, but my momentum comes to a halt. A bright blue sphere closes around me, and heat radiates from it like a blazing furnace.
I slam a fist into it, but it doesn’t break. I hiss when it burns my knuckles and, sensing my aggression, thorns materialize within the sphere, inching closer and threatening to close in on me.
SIXTEEN
CAZ
“What is this? Set me free right now!” I turn back to look at The Regals. Hassha has a hand raised to keep the thorny sphere in place. Her burning blue eyes have narrowed to slits.
“You will only be freed if you agree to the instructions I give you.”
I clench my jaw as she steps closer.
“Tell Willow there was nothing we could do to save Warren,” she orders, holding my gaze.
“What?” I damn near choke on the word. “Why in the fuck would I do that?”
“Because it will be better coming from someone she loves and trust,” Korah answers.
“Cowards, like I said,” I growl. “Perhaps I should go to Inferno Isle and wake Selah up. Figure out what her true intentions are.”
That seems to piss Hassha off. Her eyes flare and narrow as she locks on me.
“This is no longer a game, Caspian!” she roars. “You follow my orders or this world burns. How do you not understand that? Everyone and everything you love will be swallowed in flames if you wake her. Is that what you want?”
“Of course, it’s not what I want!” I bellow.
“So do as you are told. Deliver the news to Willow and wait for more instruction. Korah will go with you so she can sooth her mind while you tell her, that way the devastation doesn’t strike so suddenly. The emotions she’ll feel will be muted for at least a day or two. This will give you both time to process what we’ve told you about Selah and your gift from Yuri. Within a few days, Korah will return again to help you with your powers and prepare you for what’s to come.”
“Fine,” I grumble. Whatever it takes for them to send me back home.
Hassha assesses me. I’m starting to sweat in this bubble of heat. I swipe my sticky forehead with the back of my hand, and she finally drops hers to get rid of the sphere.
“Milandra?” Hassha calls.
Milandra appears at the door in a split second. “Yes, your majesty?”
“Bring Warren to me.”
With a nod, Milandra exits the room only to return moments later with another warrior. Both of them carry the cage with Warren inside. He’s no longer screeching. He simply stares around, as if searching for something. His sister? His mate?
“What will you do to him?” I fight the wave of guilt as Milandra and the other warrior place the cage on the middle of the floor.
“Take him home, sister,” Hassha murmurs, standing in front of the cage and blocking my view of it.
Korah marches toward me and grips my shoulder. I step to the left to see Warren again, and my chest tightens as he stares right back at me.
There’s a knowing look in his eyes. He’s helpless. They say his soul isn’t there, but the way he looks at me proves otherwise.
This is my fault. I sent him here hoping he’d get better. Hoping he’d return with a smile so Willow would be happy. How am I supposed to tell Willow what’s happened? How can I expect her to live with this when she’d searched for so long to find him?
Korah’s grip tightens on my shoulder, and her lavender eyes seem to intensify in color. The crackling of the fire in the hearth transforms into the deafening sound of ocean waves crashing against a shore. The air around us becomes saturated with a salty scent, and I feel a familiar drop in my stomach.
We’ve returned to Blackwater.
When I glance over my shoulder at the black sand being licked by the waves, Korah releases her hold on me and steps away.