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)
“And why did your father, who had to know this, attempt to create a weapon that could?” I tacked on.
Chewing slowly, Ash raised his brows. “Another good question.”
“Something isn’t adding up.” I brushed a curl back from my face, thinking about Holland and his kindness. I couldn’t picture him as an infinite, unending being older than the realms. I just couldn’t.
“Many things aren’t adding up, starting with why this isn’t more well-known. All Primals should be in possession of this knowledge,” he said. “Why would only my father and Kolis know?”
“I…” I frowned as I studied my fork, seeing nothing in my mind except for a humming white wall. “I…I don’t know.” Frustration rose, but I cooled it before I obliterated another utensil. “But as long as there’s balance, the Ancients won’t be a problem.” The tasty meat soured in my stomach. “You said that Kolis has been weakened due to my Ascension and that it has bought us time. I’m guessing not a whole lot of it.”
Ash nodded, trailing the edge of his fork across his plate. “Exactly how much time cannot be answered, but there’s a bit of chaos in all the Courts. I imagine most of the Primals are unsure how to react to your Ascension, which also gives us time.”
Tension crept into my muscles as I stabbed another piece of delicious cauliflower. “Because they’re using the time to decide whether to continue standing with Kolis or not.”
Interest pinched his brow. “Is that what your foresight is telling you?”
“No. Just an assumption. But I can try to answer that.” I frowned as I eyed the glass of water, trying to determine whether I was correct. Instead of being met with an explanation or silence, I hit what felt like another wall. “There’s like a…a thick cloud of static in my head. I know you can’t see static, but that’s the best I can come up with.”
“Sounds a lot like a mental shield.” His fork hovered over the cauliflower. “It’s what I see or feel when someone’s blocking me from reading their emotions.”
Sending him a wry glance, I thought that a shield was something I needed to work on. “It’s the same thing when I try to think about something I want to know about myself.” I forked up a piece of chicken. “Nektas said it was the same for Eythos when it came to anything having to do with him,” I said. I’d told Ash about me running into Nektas between bouts of sleeping and sex.
Instead of reaching for the water, I willed it to move and continued. “And had to do with balance.” I gasped as the glass shot across the table, smacking against my palm. Water sloshed over the sides, spilling onto the tabletop.
I winced, glancing at Ash. “Oops.”
His lips were pressed together like he was trying not to laugh. “Careful,” he murmured, picking up a napkin.
I grinned sheepishly. “I didn’t realize the glass would move that fast.”
Dabbing at the table, he arched a brow. “Perhaps you should practice with something you don’t need to eat or are trying to consume.”
“Good idea.” I took a careful sip of water.
Ash tossed the napkin aside. “Anyway, about the vadentia. It reminds me of how the Arae can’t see the fate of risen Primals.”
“Seems rather convenient,” I muttered.
“And unhelpful.”
My grin faded as my mind raced back to what he’d said about Hanan. Something about that nagged at me as I poked at what was left on my plate. Ash had said his anger and Hanan being out of practice had helped him defeat the other Primal, but…
“By the way, when you spoke about the Ancients Awakening?” Ash said, drawing me from my thoughts. “You sounded like the true Primal of Life.”
Curiosity rose as I sat back. “How does the true Primal of Life sound?”
“Powerful.”
The corners of my lips turned up. I liked that. Probably too much. “And how do I normally sound?”
“Beautiful.”
Rolling my eyes, I laughed. “I know I normally sound like a rambling, half-intoxicated mess.”
“I like the way you sound—how you normally talk.” His head kicked back as he eyed me. “I wouldn’t describe it as sounding like a half-intoxicated mess, though.”
“But you would describe it as being rambling?”
A half-grin appeared. “I would say entertaining.”
“Uh-huh.” I smiled at his chuckle. “By the way, have you seen Nektas since you threatened his life, and did you apologize?”
A faint flush stained Ash’s cheeks, bringing a grin to my face. “Actually, I did.” He cleared his throat. “He let me know that things were quiet.”
“That’s good.”
“It is.”
Thoughts dwelling on why things were quiet, I ate a piece of chicken. If we were lucky, Kolis was still in stasis, but that seemed doubtful. “It won’t stay that way for long.”
“No, it won’t.” He paused. “Soon, there will be a city full of people wanting to see you.”