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)
“I don’t know all the fine details.” Nektas rubbed his chin. “But I do know that the vadentia became stronger as time passed. Eythos could look at a person and know nearly everything about them.”
I frowned. “I don’t think I can do that.”
“It took Eythos several years before he could.” The skin between Nektas’s brows creased. “But the embers were already maturing in you long before your Ascension. It wasn’t like that for Eythos. It may develop sooner in you.”
I mulled that over. “Possibly. I mean, those embers had matured in Eythos and even in Ash to some extent before they were placed in my bloodline.”
Nektas nodded. “But the intuition never worked regarding him either.”
A measure of relief hit me. “So, it’s not just me being broken or something?”
The furrow in the skin between Nektas’s brows deepened. “No, I think it’s more likely that it has something to do with balance.”
“That’s what Eythos believed?”
“Yes. It wouldn’t be fair if one knew how every action and choice affected them, now would it?” Nektas offered up. “It would upset the balance.”
“I guess.” I wasn’t sure what the Fates—the Ancients—had in mind when it came to restoring balance or if it actually helped. Their actions often seemed rather counterproductive.
“Ah, I just remembered something else.” Nektas’s brow smoothed out. “Usually, he had to think about what he wanted to know. Give himself time to, as he put it, listen to what the realm was telling him. That was hard for him.”
I grinned, knowing exactly what he meant. Sometimes, I didn’t allow a thought to finish before I spoke or another thought came.
“I know he was able to sense unrest within Iliseeum and eventually the mortal realm. I’m not sure if that was the vadentia or because he was the true Primal of Life, but he could feel the unrest in Iliseeum before sensing something happening in the mortal realm,” he told me, the furrow between his brow deepening. “But there was something else. Sometimes, a feeling hit him—usually out of nowhere. It was like an urge, guiding him to either a place or a person. Even sometimes an object. When it came, he couldn’t ignore it. It would drive him mad at times, especially when it hit in the middle of the night.” Nektas brushed his hair back from his face. “And he didn’t like not knowing where it was leading him or why.”
That hadn’t happened to me. Yet. “What were some of the reasons he was led to something?”
“It really varied.” Nektas squinted, seemingly looking back through time. I wondered how he could remember all of this. “Sometimes, it was because he needed to see something. Other times, it led him to someone with something he needed to be told. I know there were even random items he came upon. Things that made no sense at the time but did later.”
Curiosity rose. “Like what?”
“One I can think of off the top of my head was an old diamond necklace he was led to. Come to find out, it belonged to Keella and held some sort of personal value to her,” Nektas shared. “She was always fond of Eythos before, but even more so afterward.”
“Which probably made her even more willing to aid him when it came to Sotoria’s soul,” I surmised. “That’s crazy.”
He nodded. “There were other things. A sharpened edge of shadowstone. It was how he discovered its uses.” He looked back at me. “I know I haven’t told you much, but I hope it helped.”
“It did. Thank you.” I smiled, but it faded as my thoughts returned to the test. “I don’t know why I passed the riders’ test.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “What do you mean?”
“I was supposed to slay the monster, and I did. Sort of.” As I explained what had gone down, I pulled my hand from my hair and placed it on the railing. “They said I only wounded it. So, I’m not sure how I passed.”
“You are not without flaw. Neither was Eythos. That did not make him unworthy. Nor does it make you unworthy.”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah, but was Eythos’s monster a cold, murderous part of him?”
“His monster was his ego. A trait shared with his brother and luckily not passed down to his son.” Hair draped over the draken’s shoulder as he cocked his head. “Eythos was not perfect. Ash may not have seen that side of his father. He was a different man by then, but he had an ego on him only rivaled by his joy in giving life. And doing that, creating and restoring life, fed that ego. It took him many lifetimes to tamp down the need to entice that monster.” Nektas’s exhale carried a faint rumble. “Unfortunately, the damage was already done by the time he mastered it.”