Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
“There is no keeping time,” Afanasiv said, rubbing his temples. “At least not now. My memories were lost to me. I put them away so I did not have to look at the things I did. The words of the contract were such that I could make use of my Carpathian illusions, and I did so. Lilith believed them, and that was what mattered to me. Later, I wondered where the honor was in what I did, but she murdered my parents, so at the time, I cared little whether she got her side of the bargain or not.”
Wait. What was he saying? What did he mean? Vasilisa struggled to understand. Carpathian illusion? His honor in what he did?
“I knew there would be no child, and she couldn’t pretend because she would want me to come back. I insisted she allow me to leave. I told her I would return and when I would return. She struggled with allowing me to leave, but the contract had been signed by both of us. The repercussions to her would have been severe.”
“Then you went back because it was a matter of honor,” Razvan said.
Afanasiv inclined his head. “Yes. I knew getting away would be much more difficult. I had studied their ways and kept maps in my head of the labyrinth, but it changed constantly, so I couldn’t always rely on the layout down below. The one thing that was useful was information on the demons. I was able to catalogue the powers each had. Strength and weaknesses and what each could do. Some were extremely foul and others not so bad. There is a hierarchy. I was able to learn that and how to appeal to the ones who would take bribes. I learned everything I could the first time I was there because I knew that the second time, I would have to find my own way out.”
“I can’t believe you put yourself into their hands a second time,” Ivory said. “That took such courage.”
“Or stupidity. Lilith was wild. She would go back and forth between acting as a lover might and being so angry and hostile, believing I was deceiving her in some way. I was, but she couldn’t catch me at it. She wanted a child and she wasn’t getting pregnant. She wanted my blood and yet the Dragonseeker blood eluded her. She would send me to be tortured and then show up weeks later begging for forgiveness, wanting to take care of me, promising it wouldn’t happen again. It did because Lilith wanted her way and wasn’t getting it.”
“In the time you spent there, did you have any inkling of why Dragonseeker blood was so important to her?” Dimitri asked.
Vasilisa had the uncharacteristic urge to yell at him. Why was he calmly asking that question when Afanasiv was telling them he had been tortured? That he’d been subjected to the whims of Lilith repeatedly for who knew how long? Months? Years? Time meant nothing in the underworld.
“I tried to talk to her about it. She changed her answer often. There were a few times she would talk about Mother Earth and how she paid homage to her, started covens and yet was never accepted as her child. She talked about cousins she had who were so good that Mother Earth accepted them, but not her. But she got her revenge. She slept with the lifemate of her cousin, and he was so corrupt he tried to murder his own lifemate. He killed her mother and nearly managed to kill the unborn baby sister as well. Lilith was so delighted by that. She danced around the room singing. Then she flew into a rage because she wasn’t accepted by Mother Earth as her child, and nothing she said made sense after that.”
Those in the room exchanged long looks as they puzzled out what that meant. Who Lilith was talking about.
“Lilith could be talking about Arabejila. Her lifemate, Mitro, murdered her mother, who was pregnant with Arabejila’s sister. Dax saved the baby’s life. He and Arabejila hunted Mitro, and eventually they were able to defeat him,” Razvan said. He looked at Skyler. “You met this child, Arabejila’s sister, when you were very young. I have caught glimpses of her in your mind.”
Skyler made a little face and turned toward Dimitri, as if he could access the memory for her. “I’m sorry, I have no recollection.”
“She healed your mother’s injuries. There were so many.” There was regret in Razvan’s voice. “Eventually, your mother was taken prisoner by the high mage. He detested her because of her lineage—one that was far more powerful than his. That was why he kept her so weak and drained. “He was certain he knew she was mage, but she kept up the facade of being human to protect you from him. She didn’t want him to know you had any power at all. Once he had you, he would never have let you go. She thought as a human and behaved as one for your protection.”