Total pages in book: 210
Estimated words: 200096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1000(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 667(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 200096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1000(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 667(@300wpm)
We step into the empty and quiet grand hall and I slip my hand through Zander’s. “What do you need?” More than anything, I want to curl into our bed and hold him in my arms.
“Answers. I need to know how we will win this war so that all this wasn’t for naught.” The look in his eyes is pleading.
“We’ll find a way,” I promise him, infusing as much hope into my words as I can.
“You will not find what you seek in this library,” Lucretia warns in her melodic voice.
“Which library do I have to go to, then?” I ask.
“None. The solutions are not in any library or any tome.”
I sigh with exasperation. “Then where are they, Lucretia?”
She gestures down the hall, toward my throne room. “They must be granted.”
Again, with this. “I am not summoning the fates.”
She shrugs. “Then you will not get your answers.”
Zander rubs his forehead. “I will be in our chamber while you make your rounds.” He rushes up the stairs without waiting for my response.
My chest aches as I watch him go, wishing I could follow him.
Elisaf pats my shoulder. “He always held a special place in his heart for Annika. They were close.”
“I know.” I smile, thinking back to the night I broke out of the tower, only to find her at the bottom of the stairs, there to ensure I escaped. She was willing to betray her brother’s order to protect him. “She hated me.”
“Actually, she was growing fond of you by the end of our time in Cirilea. She told me herself.”
“She did not.”
“She meant to.” He gives my arm an affectionate squeeze.
A lump swells in my throat, thinking about Annika now, about her tragic end. “Let’s get some updates.”
Zander is on the balcony when I arrive in our chamber, dressed in only breeches, his broad shoulders hunched as he leans over the rail. “Anything from the scribes?”
“More of the same. I told Agatha about Kier’s conjurer. She insists we bring her here.”
“She’ll likely dissect her to see what’s inside. I have never met anyone thirstier for knowledge.” He studies a small gold and pearl ring in his hand. “All this effort to get the scribes here, and so far, nothing they have uncovered has helped us in our fight against the fates.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” I press my lips against his bare shoulder, inhaling the scent of lavender soap from our bath. His hair is damp, drying in the sun. “We know what the nymphs will demand if we ask them to close the Nulling, so that option is off the table.” I hesitate. “I was thinking I should fly to Mordain and tell Allegra what we know.”
“Do not tell her of this, Romeria.” Urgency flares in his voice.
“But they should understand what’s at stake, shouldn’t they? And I’m not making any deals with the nymphs!”
“You did not think you would open the door either.”
My jaw drops with shock. “That was unintentional, and you know it.”
“You are talking about killing all casters. It is not an option, because you are also a caster, and the only way I will lose you is in battle, when I fall by your side. Not by sacrificing yourself.” His jaw clenches. “But should I fall—”
“You won’t.”
“Should I fall,” he repeats, “and Malachi achieves whatever he is hoping to achieve, you may find you no longer have a choice. One day, many years from now, your hand may be forced. How do you think Mordain would respond, knowing you have the power to end them all at any time?”
“But if it’s the only choice left—”
“Then it is the only choice, and you will make the same decision as that mystic Nyxalia did, bearing the weight of it on your shoulders alone, because I promise you, Mordain will not make that decision, not for mortals or elven. And should we somehow succeed at defeating Malachi? One day, long after Allegra has passed, there will come a caster leader who does not appreciate your great power, regardless of where your heart lies. Agatha knows this. It’s why she did not argue with me when I ordered her to hide the book.”
That’s also probably why she took the book to her room and had it with her when she found us. She knows some information is best kept hidden.
“I know you think I am too suspicious, but in this, please trust me.”
“I won’t say anything,” I promise. As much as I hate keeping secrets from Solange and Allegra, my gut tells me Zander is right.
His body sinks with relief as he studies the pearl from the ring in the daylight.
“Was that Annika’s?” I ask gently.
He nods. “He had all her jewelry in his pocket, like loose coins. The ironic thing is that he could have earned a hundred times this by protecting her from Tyree and bringing her to safety.”