Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 235897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1179(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 786(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 235897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1179(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 786(@300wpm)
The two men glance at each other, and then the taller one on the left clears his throat. “We’re under orders from Melgren not to allow anyone down these steps.”
“Tell me”—I tilt my head and fold my arms like I’m strapped with every dagger I own…or am at least wearing footwear—“if the man directly responsible for your mother’s death was a flight of stairs away, what would you do?”
The shorter one looks down, revealing a cut beneath his ear.
“Orders—” the taller one starts, glancing at the ends of my sleep-loosened braid.
“He’s behind a locked door,” I interrupt. “I’m asking you to look the other way for five minutes, not give me the key.” My gaze darts poignantly to the key ring hanging on his bloodstained belt. “If it had been your mother, and she’d secured the kingdom’s entire defense system with her life, I promise I’d afford you the same courtesy.”
The tall one blanches.
“Goverson,” the short one whispers. “She’s the lightning wielder.”
Goverson grunts, and his hands flex at his sides. “Ten minutes,” he says. “Five for your mother, and five for you. We know who saved us today.” He motions toward the stairwell with his head.
But he doesn’t know. None of them realize the sacrifice Xaden made to kill the Sage…their general.
“Thank you.” I start down the stairs with wobbling knees, ignoring the pungent scent of wet earth that claws at the outer edges of my composure. “I can’t believe he came down here.”
“He probably seeks information,” Andarna notes. “I cannot blame him for wanting to know what he is.” The longing in her voice startles me on multiple levels.
“He isn’t a soulless venin. He’s still Xaden. My Xaden,” I snap, holding tight to the only thing I’m certain of as I make my way silently down the stairs.
“You know what channeling from the earth does,” she warns.
Know? Yes. Accept? Absolutely not. “If he’d completely lost himself, he would have drained me at any number of points tonight, especially while I slept. Instead, he ensured our safety and risked exposure to sit at my side for hours. He channeled from the earth once. Surely we can repair wherever his soul may have…cracked.” It’s the most I’m willing to admit. “I already know what Tairn thinks, and the possibility of fighting both of you is exhausting, so please, for the love of Amari, be on my side.”
The bond directly between us shimmers. “All right.”
“Really?” I pause on the stair, splaying my hand on the wall to catch my balance.
“I am as unknown as he is, and you still trust me,” she says. “I will not be another battle you have to fight.”
Oh, thank gods. Her words seep into the marrow of my bones, and I hang my head in relief. I hadn’t realized how badly I needed to hear that until she said it. “Thank you. And you have every right to know about where you come from, but I have no doubts about who you are.” I start down the remaining steps, sure of my footing. “You alone should make the choice to find your family, and I’m worried that Melgren—”
“I scorched the venin during the battle,” she interrupts in a rush of words that run together.
“You…did.” My brow puckers as I spiral downward toward the interrogation cells. I’d been too shocked at her appearance, the way her scales had shifted, to think about the burning dark wielder. As far as I know, we’ve never caught one on fire. Tairn hadn’t said anything, either.
“I’ve been thinking about it all night. Magic feels different when I change color. Maybe my use of power in that moment altered the venin, weakened her enough to blister.” Andarna slows enough to enunciate her words, but not by much.
“That could alter…everything.” Muffled voices sound beneath me, and I quicken my pace. “It’s definitely worth investigating later.” Not that I’m willing to risk Andarna by shouting that she might be our newest weapon, especially not when the rumor has already circulated that we’ll seek an alliance with Poromiel. What could be worse than leadership endangering Andarna? The whole Continent’s leadership seeking to do the same.
“You can fight it all you want, but that power streaming through her veins?” Jack taunts, his words growing clearer as I near the final few turns. “There’s a reason the higher-ups want her. A little brotherly advice? Fall in line and find someone else to fuck. That infamous control of yours so much as flickers in her direction—”
“I would never,” Xaden retorts, his voice lethally icy.
My heart rate doubles and I halt just before the last curve in the stairwell, keeping out of sight. Jack’s talking about me.
“Even you don’t get a say in which parts of us are taken first, Riorson.” Jack laughs. “But speaking from personal experience, control goes quickly. Just look at you, freshly fed from the source and already down here, desperate for a cure. You will slip, and afterward… Well, let’s just say that silver hair that has you so besotted will be gray like the rest of her, and those weak-ass initiate rings in your eyes won’t just last a few days—they’ll be permanent.”