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 thanked her. Ash told her we were honored, and when she rose, I saw determination etched into her features.
As she moved back, the Primal Goddess of Rebirth stepped from behind the group. Rich brown hair slipped over her shoulders as she tilted her head back to stare up at Ash and me.
Eather streaked across her eyes, filling them until they turned the shade of a polished diamond. “I think both of you know that I believe in you,” she said, her lips curving into a smile, but there was something off about it. “But I cannot swear an oath to you—to either of you.”
Shock whipped through me, and the entire chamber went silent. Clearly, no one else had been expecting that response either.
“Why?” Ash asked.
“When I assisted Eythos with Sotoria’s soul, I upset the balance. My involvement shifted the future of the realms. Without it, Sotoria would’ve passed into the Vale,” she said, and I saw Penellaphe fold a hand over her mouth. “And when the balance is unequal, it must be fixed.”
“Kolis would’ve found her and brought her back.” Anger was quickly replacing my shock. “How is that not an upset to the balance?”
“It is. And based on how things have turned out for Kolis, I believe he has paid that price, just as I have had to.”
“What?” Ash demanded roughly. “What price were you forced to pay?”
Her chest rose with a weighted breath. “To right the balance, the Fates decided that I must swear a blood oath to Kolis, one that prevents me from ever using my Court against him.”
My mouth dropped open.
“What the fuck?” Bele exploded. “How is that a suitable fix?”
“I cannot answer that,” Keella stated. “But I can only assume that, in their minds, it ensures that I cannot be persuaded in—as the Fates presented it to me—‘affairs that do not involve me.’”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Which Fate made you do this?”
Penellaphe’s head jerked in my direction.
“Kyros,” she said.
Thank the gods it wasn’t Holland because there was a good chance I would lose my shit.
“I know that one.” Nektas’s lip curled. “Never liked him.”
“I wasn’t too fond of him myself.” The wan smile appeared once more on Keella’s lips. “But it is not the Fates who decide such things. It is the essence of the realms.”
Once more, I wasn’t sure how much I believed that. Holland had intervened, as had Aydun in a way. I had a feeling that even this Kyros walked that fine line.
“You never should have been dragged into this,” Ash spoke, the sorrow clear in his tone. “I am sorry that you were.”
“I’m not. I don’t regret my actions. Nor do I regret what must be done next.” Her chin lifted. “The oath I made is between Kolis and me, not my Court.”
“No,” Ash gasped, sending a sense of dread through me.
“It’s okay.” Keella’s smile deepened, and this time, it reached her eyes. “I am very old, Nyktos. Not much younger than Kolis. And with each passing year, it becomes harder to remember the small pleasantries in life and for those we should protect.”
I sucked in a too-short breath as understanding flooded me. I pressed a hand to my chest when Maia’s eyes closed.
Keella’s gaze shifted to me. “We stood against the Ancients in defense of the mortals, each of us knowing the day would come when it would be us who lost the ability to care for them. To continue to see their beauty and appreciate them, flaws and all. I have passed that time.”
“I don’t believe that. You are not cold and cruel,” I insisted.
“That is only because I still care enough to force myself to be warm and kind.” She took another breath, then looked at Maia and Attes. “You two understand.”
“I don’t want to,” Maia whispered. “But I do.”
Attes nodded when Keella met his stare, his jaw clenched.
I racked my brain for an answer that didn’t involve this. “Can’t you go into stasis? Wouldn’t that help?”
“It would if I’d been able to do so many years ago. And perhaps if Kolis hadn’t done what he did, weakening all of us, infecting each and every one of us in some way. If so, sleep would help now. But even if I went into stasis, the Thyia Plains would still be my Court.”
“Then we will fight without your Court,” I decided. “We—”
“I am ready. I’ve been ready,” Keella interrupted. “It’s okay.”
“No.” Emotion thickened my voice. I didn’t know Keella all that well, but I liked her, and this wasn’t fair. “It’s not okay.”
“There is so much mortal left in you, Seraphena. I hope that does not fade,” she said. Ash placed his hand against my lower back. “But you are thinking of me as if I am mortal and on the verge of death. I am not dying. I will pass on to Arcadia, transformed.”