Total pages in book: 222
Estimated words: 213974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1070(@200wpm)___ 856(@250wpm)___ 713(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 213974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1070(@200wpm)___ 856(@250wpm)___ 713(@300wpm)
“Forgot what?”
“The diamond.” I slipped free of Ash’s hold. Or tried to. He moved with me, his arm at my waist. “The Star diamond.”
Attes stepped around Setti as Ash straightened, asking, “You found it?”
“Yeah. Yes. Do you know what it is?”
Elias shook his head, but Attes nodded. “Eythos told me about it.”
Ash stared at him, a whole lot of stuff likely beginning to click into place.
“You’re not going to believe this.” I twisted around. This time, Ash let me go. Even though my legs felt as if only thin tendons held them together—barely—they were thankfully steady. “It’s here. It’s been here the whole time.”
I shuffled toward the ruined cage. “I don’t think I destroyed it. Hopefully.” I peered inside, relieved to see the cluster of diamonds still at the center of the cage. “There it is. In the ceiling. Kolis had it hidden there.”
Ash joined me, a muscle in this temple throbbing as he surveyed what was left of the enclosure and what remained inside it.
“Up there,” I repeated softly, not wanting him to think about anything else he saw. “I don’t have much time to explain all of this, but we need that diamond.”
His shoulders squared as he lifted his gaze. “You sure that’s it?”
“He summoned it. And when he did, it changed shape, becoming a diamond that looked like, well…a star.”
“How did he summon it?” Attes asked, coming to our side.
“He spoke in Primal, I think.” I wiped my damp palms on my gown. “Do you think The Star could hold Sotoria’s soul?”
Attes rubbed his jaw as he eyed the cluster of diamonds. “I don’t see why not when it can hold embers.”
“I feel as if I’m missing vital information,” Ash remarked.
“You are.” Quickly as possible, I filled him in on the part about Sotoria’s soul. “Kolis said something like…like vene ta meyaah but not.”
Ash repeated what I said back, his brows furrowing. “Do you mean vena ta mayah? It translates into come to me.”
“Yes!” The translation made sense. “Do you think it will work if someone else says it?”
“It’s like some kind of ward,” Ash said, his gaze dropping to the bed. His chest rose. “If so, neither Attes nor I will be able to summon it.” He met my gaze. “But you could.”
“Because of the embers,” I surmised.
He nodded. “But I don’t want you to do that.”
Attes stiffened. “We need to get Sotoria’s soul out of Sera before anything else happens.”
“You may need that,” Ash corrected, eyes flashing a vivid silver. “But what I need, what Seraphena needs, is to not use those embers.”
My stomach twisted at what Ash wasn’t saying. That using the embers would push me over the edge, completing my Ascension.
“You don’t understand,” Attes argued. “We may not be able to kill Kolis yet, but one day, we might, and only Sotoria will be able to do it.”
“I don’t give two shits about one day,” growled Ash. “I care about right now, and what using those embers will do.”
“It’s not just that.” Eather laced Attes’s eyes. “Sotoria’s soul will be trapped here when—”
“Don’t”—a storm of fury blew off Ash—“even think of finishing that sentence.”
Attes stepped back, thrusting a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry—”
“Don’t finish that sentence either.” Shadows bled beneath Ash’s flesh.
Neither sentence needed to be finished. We all knew what wasn’t being said. Sotoria’s soul would be trapped here if I Ascended, which wouldn’t happen. Or if I died, which was happening. That was the strangeness I felt in my body, the hollowness in my chest. Because the embers were no longer there.
They were everywhere now, becoming a soft hum in my blood and a faint vibration in my bones.
Whatever the ceeren had sacrificed for me had either run its course, or what I’d done to put Kolis out of commission and free Ash had used it all up. Attes knew I was dying. That was what he was apologizing for. And Ash…
Ash knew, too.
But Sotoria wasn’t the only reason I needed that diamond. Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the cage.
“Sera,” Ash snapped, suddenly beside me. “I don’t want you in this cage ever again.” Eather streaked his cheeks as he clasped mine. “Not for one second.”
Gods, I loved him.
“You need to conserve your energy,” he said, tension gathering in his body. “And we need to leave. Now.”
Sensing that he was about to pick me up and shadowstep to the gods only knew where, I wished there was another way to share what I’d discovered with him. “It’s not just about Sotoria.” I spoke past the emotion clogging my throat. “It’s about your father. His soul is in The Star.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Ash stared down at me, his lips parting. “What?” he rasped.
“Are you sure?” Attes demanded, his voice nearly as rough as Ash’s.
I nodded. “I’m positive. When I touched it earlier, I…I knew his soul was in there.”