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)
The office was quiet.
“And he warned me that a war among the Primals would disturb the Ancients who’d gone to ground.”
“Disturbing them is not the same as waking them,” Ash pointed out.
“It’s not, but I think it would make them more likely to awaken,” I said. “He also said that the war wouldn’t be won until there was blood and bone.”
Ash frowned. “Won until life and death? What is that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t know. And he wasn’t into explaining things. Maybe he meant it in a figurative sense. Like the war wouldn’t be won until there was life and death.” My brow knitted. I knew he couldn’t have been talking about a Primal of Blood and Bone because that wouldn’t be helpful whatsoever. “But that doesn’t really make sense.”
“Unless he meant it in the sense that, for a war to end, the Primals of Life and Death must come together,” Rhain suggested, his forehead creasing. “To no longer be at odds with each other.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Ash said.
I couldn’t stop the doubt from creeping in. “But by refusing to give him Sotoria, I’m choosing one person over potentially thousands, if not more.”
Nektas leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “If one life isn’t important enough, then no lives are.”
“It’s not just that,” Ash said. “There’s no way he will honor the deal once he has what he wants.”
“Aydun said that if Kolis went back on his deal, there would be consequences. That the realm would seek to rectify it,” I said. “I guess it’s like when an oath is made.”
“Yeah, but none of that means he can’t go back on it,” Ash reminded me.
“I know. I thought the same.” But would Kolis be willing to risk pissing off the Fates and have them do something to Sotoria? Possibly not.
Restless energy surged. “That’s not all.” I slipped from Ash’s lap. He held on for a second before letting go. I walked past the end table and then turned back to them. “I had to counter. I wasn’t happy about being unable to talk to you beforehand, but I…I made him a similar deal.”
The office went quiet again.
My heart kicked against my ribs as I started to pace. “I figured that would be the response, and I know none of you believes that Kolis wants to avoid a war, but even if he plans to renege on the deal he offered, he is still showing restraint.”
The air chilled even further.
“He is,” I insisted, mostly to Ash. “He knows that Sotoria’s soul is in The Star. He could simply tear apart the realm looking for it, which is an act that would erupt into war.”
“She has a point there,” Rhain said.
“Or he simply fears that if he were to do that, you would do something to The Star,” Ash countered.
“True, but again, that shows he’s being somewhat logical.”
“What did you offer?” Nektas jumped in.
“My first thought was to offer him nothing, but that didn’t seem like what a true Primal of Life would do. So, I offered that he could remain in Dalos but would not rule Iliseeum or the Shadowlands. He would renounce the throne and could not seek retribution against anyone,” I told them. “In return, we would let him live out his life.”
The three of them stared at me.
I started pacing again. “I know that’s not desirable.”
“That is the understatement of the century, Sera,” Ash said.
“Yeah.” I twisted my fingers around a strand of hair. “I know. But—”
“There’s a but?” Ash questioned.
I stopped and met his stare. Or glare. The look was somewhere in between. “But I thought about Sotoria’s soul and how I couldn’t do that to her, even for a chance to ensure our safety. And I would do anything for that. Anything but that.” My voice thickened. “And I realized that if one life is that important, then how can the lives of gods and mortals not be more important than our vengeance? Our anger? It can’t be that way.”
Silence greeted me, and what felt like my entire insides started to squirm. “Say something,” I ordered Ash.
He leaned forward, propping his elbow on his knee. “You really, truly believe that Kolis doesn’t want war?”
Obviously, I did. Well, I mostly did. Like, I was ninety-nine percent sure, but uncertainty rose. I wasn’t sure how to answer. “I…I know you think my opinion is influenced by how he acted when he believed I was Sotoria, but even before that—the very first time I spoke to him in Dalos—he didn’t speak of war.”
“Instead, he spoke of killing all the Primals who stood against him,” Ash countered. “How is that not war?”
“I see what you’re saying, but I think…I think he was running his mouth. Wanting to scare me.” My fingers tightened around my hair. “And I’m not saying his plan to kill those who stood against him changed, not even when he believed I was Sotoria. Later, he spoke of giving them the choice to stand with him instead of flat-out killing them. And yeah, that’s not much of an option, but he also knew that most Primals would not go against him if he rose as the Primal of Blood and Bone.”