Total pages in book: 248
Estimated words: 236909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1185(@200wpm)___ 948(@250wpm)___ 790(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1185(@200wpm)___ 948(@250wpm)___ 790(@300wpm)
“Just thought you should know.” He grinned. “Erlina left what clothing she finished. She will return when the coronation is held to make any last-minute alterations.”
Whenever the coronation was held. My stomach took a tumble, and I decided that I couldn’t think about that right now. Doing so made me too antsy to remain still, and considering that I had a baby draken sprawled across my feet and was naked, pacing was out of the question. “Where…where is Nyktos?”
“At Court.”
The next breath I took could’ve ignited a wildfire, and it took everything in me not to launch myself from the bed and set something on fire.
Nektas arched a brow. “Your current expression reminds me of Jadis in the moments before she throws herself onto the floor and starts screaming.”
“I’m likely to do way worse than that. I told him…” I trailed off, realizing that Nyktos actually hadn’t agreed to any of the demands I’d made in the courtyard, not even the part about the Vale or going to see Ezra. Damn it. I flopped back, groaning softly as I closed my eyes.
“You told him that you wanted to attend Court with him,” Nektas finished for me.
I frowned. “How do you know? You weren’t there.”
“Ector and Rhain gave me a minute-by-minute breakdown of what happened.”
“Great.” I glanced at him. “I told him I didn’t want to wait on going to the Vale.”
“I haven’t spoken to him about that, but I’m sure he’ll address it soon enough,” he said. I wasn’t so sure. “Ash was supposed to hold Court this afternoon, but he was otherwise occupied. It had to be rescheduled for this evening.”
Nyktos had said he had a few hours before he was needed. He’d missed Court to be here with me? Or had he simply slept longer than he’d planned? And why was I even thinking about it? None of that changed the fact that he hadn’t done as I asked, whether or not he believed I needed my rest. “I’m assuming he’s still at Court?”
“He is, but it’s not being held here. With you and the newly Ascended Bele lurking the halls, he is holding Court in Lethe at the City Hall. He figured it would be safer that way until the coronation and whenever someone figures out what to do with Bele.”
“I didn’t even know he held Court anyplace other than here,” I muttered. Hell, I hadn’t even seen the building the coronation would’ve taken place in. I’d only seen the city at night and from a distance. A City Hall wouldn’t likely have been visible from the places I had been, if they were anything like the old ones in Lasania. They were usually open-air, consisting of amphitheater-type seating surrounding a dais.
“He usually prefers to have them there,” Nektas said. “Ash likes to be seen in Lethe. His presence is welcome, and it’s also a reminder to those who travel in and out of Lethe that he is no absentee ruler.”
And, of course, I didn’t know any of that. “Gods, there’s so much I don’t know about Lethe or even the Shadowlands.”
“Have you asked him about Lethe?” Nektas asked. “Have you shown any interest in learning these things?”
I opened my mouth, but I…I hadn’t asked.
Nektas eyed me. “When Ash decided to honor the deal his father made, he didn’t want to force any of the responsibilities of being a Consort—something he knew you never agreed to—onto you. If he’d learned you were interested, I’m sure he would’ve volunteered whatever information you wanted to know. Instead, he learned that you never had any intention of fulfilling that deal either. That you had other plans.”
My jaw snapped shut.
“Even though he understands what drove you and accepts it, why would he think you wanted to know these things when it was just recently that you told him you wanted to be of use?”
“Okay, you have made a lot of valid points,” I admitted, my cheeks warming at the truth in most of what he’d said. “But there is no way he has truly forgiven me.”
“I never said he has. I said he understands, and I’ll tell you the same thing I told him when he was much younger. Forgiveness benefits the forgiver, and it’s easy. Understanding is acceptance, and that is far harder.” His gaze held mine as Jadis gave a little wiggle. “And if Ash didn’t understand and accept your past actions, you would not be where you are right now. You would not carry his scent on your body, and I would’ve never sensed what I did when I found him with you.”
“What did you sense?” I whispered, my heart stomping in my chest.
“What I sensed before.” That odd little half-grin returned. “Peace.”
Chapter 20
Wrapped in the fur I’d left Nyktos’s chambers in, I ran a hand over the soft blouses and sweaters hanging in the wardrobe, the leggings as thick as breeches, pants like the ones Nyktos and the others often wore made of soft leather, and vests, tunics, and gowns as silky as the array of undergarments I’d discovered in one of the drawers. There were so many colors, both pastels and vivid shades, and they were all mine. If the clothing Erlina had finished was any indication of her talent and taste, the coronation gown would be stunning.