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)
“Perhaps.”
I could see Rhain waiting for us beneath the crystal chandelier as we reached the second floor of the grand staircase, and then Reaver shocked the hell out of me by doing the most childlike thing I’d ever seen him do. He hopped from the next to last step to the floor. When we followed suit, minus the hopping, I caught sight of Rhahar waiting near the vacant marble pedestal with Kars.
I frowned at that damn pedestal. I really needed to find something to put on it.
“You said there was something you wanted to show us?” Ash asked, drawing my attention back to the god.
Rhain nodded, and this time, there was no stopping the concern from taking root at the sudden tension hardening his features. “It’s the crowns.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Reaver and I followed Ash and Rhain as we passed the throne room, Rhahar and Kars keeping pace behind us. I had no idea where the crowns were kept. If I had been told, I’d definitely forgotten. At first, I thought we were heading toward the war room, but it was an antechamber of it, accessed through a door that led to a narrow hall. “I was going to have them polished and made the discovery,” Rhain told us, holding the door.
The chamber was small, and everything was white—the marble floor, painted walls, the ceiling, and the two pedestals in the center. The crown was the only thing that wasn’t white.
Wait.
A crown.
Ash halted as I turned halfway, thinking I’d missed something, but there was nothing else in the space.
“What the…?” Rhahar exclaimed from behind us, his eyes going wide and filling with essence as Ash approached the pedestal.
“Where is your crown?” Reaver asked as he peered up at a pedestal as empty as the one in the foyer.
“I was asking the same thing.” Rhain moved to stand behind the pedestals.
“Shit,” Ash murmured, placing his palm on the flat surface. “Kolis.” He turned to me, his eyes brightly lit. “Touch your crown.”
“What?” I glanced at the beautiful crown I’d only worn once, taking in its shadowstone spires and glittering crescent moons.
“Just touch it,” he insisted.
“I’m glad I understand the context of this conversation for once,” Kars commented under his breath.
Rhahar turned to the godling. “Seriously?”
Kars shrugged.
“Wait.” Ash stopped me. “Better yet, stand still.”
I did as he asked. Reaver watched avidly. “I’m standing still, so will you tell me what your missing crown has to do with…?” I trailed off as the knowledge started to come to me. My eyes went wide.
Ash nodded.
Heart thundering, I watched Ash lift the crown and turn to me. Silently, he placed the crown on my head, and before I could even register its weight, the crown shuddered. The room was suddenly awash in bright, golden light.
Rhahar’s hand fell from the hilt of his sword. “Holy—”
“Shit,” Kar whispered as Rhain staggered back a step.
The fading golden glow warmed Ash’s face as he reached for the crown again. His broad hands carefully lifted it from my head, and even though I knew what I was about to see, I couldn’t believe it.
“Whoa,” Reaver murmured.
Ash held the crown I’d last seen upon Kolis’s head. “The Primal crowns are almost like a chora,” he said, referencing the type of animal that used to be formed from a Primal. “An extension of the Primal that can be summoned to them at will but only called to the true bearer of that crown.”
I stared at the nine shining golden swords and the sun rising from the middle one, glittering with diamonds. As if seeking to confirm it was real, I touched the center sword. The gold turned luminous, casting soft light across the walls.
“Kolis must’ve tried to summon the crown,” Ash said. “And what he got was likely not what he wanted to see.”
Pulling my hand back, I looked up at him. “Your crown is now his,” I whispered.
“And your head will bear the true crown of the Primal of Life,” he replied.
“But yours—”
“It returned to its rightful owner,” he cut in.
I didn’t like that. Not for one second. “At least for now.”
Ash’s gaze met mine. “For now.”
Much to Rhain’s displeasure, I didn’t wear the crown as Ash and I left the House of Haides. It just didn’t feel right with Ash missing his.
Besides, I didn’t believe a crown—no matter how glittery—made a Queen or King.
But all thoughts of crowns quickly fell to the wayside when the sweeping colonnade and endless archways of the City Hall came into view.
It seemed like it had only taken minutes, even though Ash had summoned the warhorse Odin from the silver band around his biceps instead of shadowstepping. That method would’ve been quicker. We wouldn’t have needed nearly every guard on duty to surround us or the three draken that flew above us. But the moment it came time to leave, my stomach began dipping and lurching. My thoughts raced, telling me I would sound completely idiotic when I addressed the people. I knew without a doubt that Ash had picked up on my anxiety and had chosen to travel this way to give me time to, well, find my footing again.