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)
Oh, gods.
I’d felt this when Keella died, and I knew who it was. I saw them in my mind, and my heart ached.
Ash was at my side at once, folding an arm around my waist. “What is it?” he demanded. “Where are you hurt?”
“It’s not me.” I rose with his help, the sudden knowledge of where Phanos had gone with his ships and armies weakening me. “It’s Maia. She’s fallen.”
“Fuck,” snarled Ash.
A blast of intense eather drew both our gazes to the hill. My heart clenched as I saw Kyn rise into the air ahead of us, driving Attes to the ground. Ash took to the air again, but one of Kyn’s draken dove for him. Ash’s cold laugh caused a sea of soldiers to look up at the gathering dark storm of energy.
A crack of power drew my attention to the hill. Attes was once more on his feet.
The field shook with the fury of the Primal brothers’ clash as they came together, trading blows upon the hill that split the horizon like the spine of a slumbering draken. Dark clouds rolled above them, responding to the tempest of emotions inside them as their raw power beat the air. That kind of Primal energy kept the fighting gods from them, pushing the soldiers farther and farther back, but Ash and I pushed forward.
Kyn’s and Attes’s forms were blurs of motion, each strike a mirror image of the other. Their brutality was relentless, even as their swords shattered when they clashed. I pushed faster, picking up speed. I didn’t want Attes to be the one to end his brother’s life. I didn’t want him to carry that with him. My wide eyes met Ash’s. I could see that he felt the same.
Fuck.
I threw the sword at a soldier on horseback, hitting him in the chest. Then I shadowstepped, appearing several feet down the hill. Summoning eather, I started to rush up the remaining distance, Ash right beside me—
A wave of Primal power knocked both of us back as Attes yelled, slamming his fist into the center of Kyn’s chest.
The impact shattered Kyn’s armor. I stumbled, falling to my knees as fragments spun through the air, glinting like stars flung from the night sky. They fell to the ground below, merely discarded remnants.
No. No. No.
Kyn staggered, falling to his knees, his eyes widening with shock as Ash dragged me to my feet.
“Don’t do it,” I whispered—or maybe yelled. “Attes!”
He lurched forward, grabbing his brother by the throat. “Lailah,” Attes shouted, my breath wilting in my chest as he turned toward us. Tears streamed down his face, mingling with blood. Eather pooled around his raised hand, crackling and spitting. “Ascend Lailah, Sera. Now!”
I was rooted to where I stood until Ash grabbed me by my shoulders. “You need to go,” he said. “She’s on the Rise by the Black Bay. Ascend Lailah. Do it now.”
I sucked in air, gaze flying to Ash’s. “Stay with him. Please.”
“I will,” he promised, letting go. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I whispered, stepping back as lightning erupted from the dark clouds overhead.
As gold-and-silver mist rose around me, Attes turned back to his brother. The last thing I heard before I appeared on the Rise was Attes screaming, and he sounded just as I had when I found my family impaled to the walls of Wayfair. His scream was that of a wild, broken animal full of sorrow and rage.
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
Only an hour or so past dawn, I’d woken to find Ash gone and suspected he had been at the Pillars since the fight in Vathi had fueled violent storms that swept through the mortal realm. The destruction and death weren’t nearly as bad as they had been after Embris, but… Yeah, it was still bad.
And there was no guarantee that drawing Kolis out would prevent more destruction.
After eating a quick breakfast, I’d felt Ash’s return and left to find him. On the way, I’d stopped by Aios’s chambers and found Rhain there. I had a feeling he may have spent a decent part of the night watching over her.
“I didn’t know what happened until Aios lit up with eather,” Rhain said, standing on the other side of Aios’s bed. “Then I knew.” He sighed, thrusting a hand through his auburn strands. “We all knew.”
“I didn’t know Maia well.” Heart heavy, my gaze flickered over Aios’s peaceful features as I toyed with the button on my vest. I wanted Bele to be here for her when she woke. “But I wish…”
“There was nothing either you or Ash could’ve done,” Rhain was quick to say. “It wasn’t like preparing Saion triggered Phanos into making his choice. There was no way he could’ve readied his armies and left the Triton Isles in that little time.”
“I know.” But I also knew that Keella’s and Veses’ deaths, although for vastly different reasons, could’ve influenced what Phanos decided. It had been a risk, one we knew we were taking. I exhaled long and slow. “I didn’t feel unrest in her Court. The attack must have been quick.”