Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 132625 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132625 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
He looks around, as if he realizes he’s already said too much and wants to make sure no one witnessed his blunder. “I should go.”
“No, don’t. I—” But he’s already gone.
Chapter Eleven
Jasalyn
The feeble old crone who occupies the chambers in the southernmost tower of the Midnight Palace doesn’t rise when I enter the room. I grit my teeth at the insolence but don’t let myself lash out against her. Good seers are hard to find, and Karmyn is one of the best. In return for her skills, I allow her to march to her own beat. Even when it makes me want to break her neck and watch the life drain from her eyes.
“It’s taking too long,” I say, fighting to keep my voice down. “Abriella should’ve brought me the book by now.”
“She will,” Karmyn says. “You simply need to be patient and she will bring everything you ask right to your throne.”
I clench my fists at my sides. The human peasant brought me the mirror already, just as Karmyn said she would. She took the bait when I bought her sister, just like Karmyn said she would. Now she will bring me the Grimoricon, and after that the crown. “Patience. Fine. If I can finally rule this court from the throne, I will find some patience.”
Her blue-gray eyes go unfocused and she slowly shakes her head. “No. You don’t live to rule from the throne.”
“What?” I throw my power out at her and lift her from her chair. “What did you just say to me?”
Only when she claws at her throat do I loosen my magical hold, allowing her to draw in breath. “I told you before I cannot control whether you will like what I see. You made me promise to give you the truth regardless.”
I did. I’ve executed half a dozen seers in the last year alone after discovering they were telling me what I wanted to hear instead of the truth. When I brought in Karmyn, this was the promise I asked. In return, I released her son from my dungeons and provide a meager allowance to feed her grandchildren. I release my magic completely and she sags, her body going limp with relief. “Tell me. When did you first see this?”
“Only now, Your Majesty.”
“Why not before? What’s changed?”
“The fate of a whole realm can change on something as small as a shift in the winds. I cannot tell why I get visions when I do.”
Death. Death before I claim what is rightfully mine. Death before I come into my full power by wearing my brother’s crown. “I won’t have it.”
I lost three more days to sleep before Fherna woke me again, or so she told me. This time, she dragged me to the dark forest while I was still groggy with sleep, the memories of my dreams making me feel like I was seeing the world through Mordeus’s eyes.
“I can’t keep breaking the rules for you,” she mutters as she leads me deeper into the trees. “Risking everything for a fool who would give in so easily to a bargain that’s still incomplete.”
“What rules? Bargain with whom?”
She jerks to a stop and turns her glare on me. “Bargain with that Eloran witch. Did you forget what you traded for that cursed thing?” she asks, waving to my hand.
“I can’t forget that,” I answer in a whisper. I want to know more—about what she means by “incomplete” in regard to the bargain, about what she knows about the witch. If the bargain isn’t complete, does that mean I can find the witch and get back what I traded?
My mind is swimming with half-formed questions, but it takes all the strength I have to follow her, and part of me already knows she’s right. I need to hunt. If I’m too weak to ask questions, I’m too weak to find Mordeus.
The forest is thick and not even the night’s bright moon can break through the tree cover. I pull a glowstone from my pack and let its light seep from between my fingers as I clutch it to my chest.
“I can only take you a little farther,” Fherna says. “You must trek through the forest alone and find the wolpertinger. Drink the blood from its beating heart and you will have the strength to do what needs to be done.”
The darkness of the forest feels like it might swallow me whole.
She holds aside a cluster of branches and turns back to me. “Just beyond these trees, you’ll find a grand redwood. She soars higher than any other tree in this forest, and at her base is the entrance to the wolpertinger’s burrow. The creature sleeps. When you reach it, make haste, for it will sense any hesitation. If it wakes up before you grab ahold, this hunt will turn much more difficult. Just remember: With your blood you can overcome the flame. You are built to wield the sword.”