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)
Something odd had happened when I’d spotted Kars as I climbed the Rise. I’d never been able to tell before if he was a god or a godling—the child of a mortal and a god—but I’d known right then that he was one of the rare godlings who entered the Culling and survived. It was similar to what had happened when I saw the guard on the Rise yesterday.
The vadentia sure was strengthening quickly.
However, the embers inside me since birth had already matured to an extent, which likely explained why things were happening faster for me.
But that rapidly developing ability wasn’t why I was on the Rise.
When I used the essence to fill the riverbed, I’d been focused on bringing water back to the Shadowlands. But I’d restored a lot more than that.
The Shadowlands were virtually unrecognizable.
A pleasant breeze swirled along the Rise, lifting a stray curl as I continued on. I thought I had a good idea how this had happened. When I tapped into the essence, I had also willed life to return to the Shadowlands. That was how the fields of poppies and grass had appeared. How the trees along the road into the Shadowlands straightened and sprouted glossy violet and green leaves. It was why the soil was a rich, dark brown. I did more than I had intended to. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, except that there were dead things moving about in the Shadowlands.
The Shades.
Had my will impacted them?
The eather stirred restlessly as my steps slowed. The sea of vibrant crimson thinned, and the twisted, bare, ashen trees appeared, scattered at first and then becoming more crowded as the woods thickened.
I stopped at a parapet to scan the Dying Woods. A gloom clung to the trees where the forest was the thickest, obscuring everything below the tops of the thin, gnarled branches. My gaze traveled to the thinnest part of the Dying Woods. I could see the dull, lifeless ground through the stagnant fog gathered midway down the trees.
The Dying Woods hadn’t changed.
Movement drew my attention toward the heavier parts. The gloom there had thickened, and it moved. Eather throbbed, pressing against my skin.
Shades.
I sucked in a sharp breath and took a step back. My hands spasmed and then fisted. Wispy gray forms slunk around tree trunks, creeping toward the edges of the Dying Woods. I closed my eyes, pushing down the swell of eather as my fingers tingled. The Dying Woods remained as it had always been. That was good news. A part of me had been half-afraid that I’d brought all the Shades back to life.
And I was a little sad.
Not all the Shades were evil—well, now they were, but they hadn’t all started out that way. Some had just been afraid when they came upon the Pillars of Asphodel, terrified that they would be sentenced to the Abyss for stealing, telling lies, forgery, or adultery. Bad things, but sometimes necessary. Mistakes. Actions that hadn’t damned them.
Until now.
Now, they were lost.
And I knew why that bothered me. I’d spent the better part of my life fearing where I would end up after my death. Even after Ash, I had been afraid. I didn’t know if the Fates would intervene, preventing Ash from judging me kindly. The worst part was that I knew where I deserved to go. It wasn’t the Vale, yet I was the Agna Adice.
The Great Condemner.
And how messed up was that?
A lot. The answer was a lot.
But why hadn’t my will affected the Shades and the Dying Woods? Opening my eyes, I saw that the Shades were closer, gathering near the edge of the trees. The sensation of fingertips along the nape of my neck hit me as the answer to my question formed.
The Dying Woods belonged to Death, as did the Shades. Just like they were mostly prevented from leaving the Dying Woods, I was blocked from bringing life to that stretch of land. But…
I frowned. But neither life nor death was absolute. My thoughts raced. There was something about that. The wards that trapped the lost souls in the woods sometimes weakened, and I had almost brought one back. I had been in the Dying Woods then, touching the Shade. That was the difference.
Death couldn’t break the bond of Life’s touch. That kind of power? It was the same as I’d displayed last night.
I turned away from the Shades and knew that what I had done last night had awakened Kolis.
After spending an ungodly amount of time trying to decide whether to wear my hair loose or in a braid, I finally decided to leave the curls free. Ash liked it that way, and I loved that he did.
I stepped back so I could see myself in the mirror attached to the wardrobe door. The tunic Aios had picked out was fitted at the breasts, almost too tightly, like the measurements might have been off just a little bit, but the cut was flattering, and the stitching Erlina had done was beyond beautiful. I couldn’t remember if I had thanked her for her hard work, and even if I had, I wanted to do so again.