Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 153795 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 769(@200wpm)___ 615(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 153795 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 769(@200wpm)___ 615(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
“I smell the sea,” Rynthea says after sniffing the air. “We’re getting close.” She picks up her pace.
I take a deep breath and roll my shoulders back as the path widens, and it doesn’t take long to catch glimpses of the beach through the gaps of bushes ahead.
I look back once more for Thane as we trudge across the dark sands. Algar drops his rucksack, and Rynthea marches toward the boat and drops her bag inside it.
Leaves rustle close by, and I startle, thinking it’s one of the assassins from The Shadow Guild—until I see a familiar outline break through the edge of the forest.
Relief springs to my chest just as quickly as the reminder of his betrayal. I fight to hold back tears once again and turn away from him as he approaches so he won’t see them fall.
Rynthea, however, has no problem expressing her feelings. “You bastard,” she snarls as she points a stern finger at him. “I knew you couldn’t be trusted!”
Thane clings to silence.
I cut my gaze to Algar. He can’t even look him in the eye.
“You’re lucky I don’t feed you to one of the monsters on this fucking island!” Rynthea rages on. “Tell us everything. Now, sorcerer.”
“I…” Thane trails off, but that single word alone is full of pain. His silence seems even louder as the ocean roars around us.
“He was once a part of The Shadow Guild, he stole a crystal, and now Seferin wants it back,” I provide when the silence has gone on for too long. “That’s not all he’s been hiding, though.”
“What do you mean?” Algar asks, limping toward me.
I hold the tome in the air again. “This is the Tome of Azidel,” I explain. “Azidel was the first and most powerful sorcerer of Thelanor. In order to retrieve it, the blood of a brave and noble mortal had to be offered. Thane knew all of this. He just needed a person who was desperate enough to come to The Shallows.” I grit my teeth to fight a new wave of tears. “He dragged me here to get this so he can be the next most powerful sorcerer in Thelanor. He did all of this for revenge.”
“Wait a minute.” Algar holds up his hands, frowning at Thane. “You brought us all here and lied to Zaira about the stones so you could get a fucking book?”
I finally look at Thane, just as he turns his head and clenches his jaw, refusing to answer.
“I knew you were hiding something.” Rynthea clenches her fist as she steps closer to him. I can tell she wants to pummel him into the ground.
“I can’t believe this.” Algar scoffs, not in pure disbelief, but in a way that he should’ve known all along and is upset that he didn’t piece it together. “You jeopardized Zaira’s life! Are you shitting me? Now her sister will die because you were greedy for power. How can you be so selfish?” He comes chest to chest with Thane, pointing a finger at him. “And all this time, I thought the old you was still in there somewhere. I thought you could still be redeemed. I should’ve known better.”
“I don’t understand why you’re so angry!” Thane finally snaps. “You have your treasure! You got what you came for!”
“Yes, but at what cost?” Algar shoots back. “I did this for the treasure, yes, but also because I thought we were doing a good thing here! Breaking a curse, helping Zaira? That felt necessary. Yes, I wanted to change my life with all this coin and crystal, but I just— Fuck, Thane! I just thought for once, everything would work out and I could have a family again. That, if we survived all of this, there would be people I could call on when I didn’t want to spend my nights alone.”
The tears sting my eyes as Algar limps backward.
“But that was never going to happen…was it?” Algar’s voice softens so much an ache develops deep in my chest. With tears in his eyes and a disappointed shake of his head, he gives Thane his back. “I’m fucking done. I tried being there, but you’re too fucked in the head to bother.”
When Algar approaches the rowboat, Rynthea storms past me, reels her elbow back, and punches Thane square in the face.
He grunts as he lands flat on his back on the hard sand. Blood leaks from his nose and mouth as Rynthea stands over him and grimaces with flaring nostrils.
“I’ve been looking for a reason to do that since the day we met.” She looks Thane up and down, still seething. “Get in the boat, Zaira. You don’t need him anymore.”
I don’t need him anymore…
But there was a point when he was all I needed in order to survive. I counted on him. Relied on him. I saw the best parts of him. I gave myself to him, all because I had the stupid idea that he could change—that he could be a better person and get rid of his dark life if he saw just a sliver of light.