Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 121924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Several feet away from the platform, Talon stopped dead. Behind him, we came to a swift, clumsy halt.
“These are the offerings from Phoenixia, I presume,” said the half-blood sat on Minos’ right. Trim and clean-shaven, he was all elegance and poise. “Any trouble there?”
Moving to stand near the wall, his hands clasped behind his back, Talon shook his head.
“Aegeas is getting more and more resentful about having to offer up sacrifices, though,” said Ajax, sidling up to Talon.
The third Sovereign—who possessed a bulky frame and a thick, curly beard—flicked his hand in a dismissive gesture. “He wouldn’t dare make a second attempt to dethrone us.”
“There’s a human who might interest you,” said Ajax.
I went still, my jaw firming.
Minos’ brow dented. “I highly doubt that.”
Ajax waved a hand at the tight cluster of offerings. “See for yourself.”
Minos pushed off his throne. At that, the Phoenixians in front of me began parting swiftly. I thought about mimicking them … but it seemed cowardly. So I remained in place as more and more people moved aside until, finally, I was in his direct line of sight.
The Sovereign made a slow, graceful beeline for me … and yes, my nerves had a breakdown. Still, I remained very still as he made his approach.
Minos gave me an assessing look, his gaze gleaming with interest, his power pulsing around him like a living presence. “You are the human Sayer I once heard about.”
“Human Sayer?” echoed the slender half-blood, clenching the arms of his throne. He looked at Ariadne, accusing. “You said that she would likely not live long.”
“She was a sickly babe, Eacus; none of the townspeople expected her to survive the fever,” Ariadne babbled.
She was sort of right on that. I had been terribly ill as a baby, and most had thought that I’d die. But none of the acolytes had held such a belief, sure that a human Sayer would not be born only to pass within a month of its life.
The third Sovereign, who could only be Rhadamanthus—and what a mouthful that was—spoke. “It should not be possible for a mortal Sayer to exist.”
“And yet, Rhad, here one stands before us,” said Minos, a million questions dancing in his gaze. He glanced back at both of his brothers. “Did you ever imagine that we would see such a thing?”
A thing?
Eacus crossed to us, a line between his brows. “She is the only Sayer to have been born in the past decade, so we have no way of knowing if they will all be human from now on if she is an anomaly. Have the gods ever used you in any way?” he asked me.
I shook my head. “No.”
Minos eyed me closely again. “Your name?”
“Anara,” I told him, my heart now pounding so hard that I was surprised my ribcage wasn’t rattling.
“Anara,” Minos drawled as he very slowly circled me, making my muscles bunch even tighter. “I recognize this garment you wear. You are an acolyte.”
“Ah, so the primordials selected one of their attendants.” Rhad left the platform and walked to his brothers. “But why? A mortal cannot act as a divine conduit—it would kill them. To anoint her was nonsensical.”
“I did always wonder if perhaps she is an experiment,” Minos told him. “It would be like the gods to place the soul of a godkin into that of a human to see if it survived. They do like their experiments. And it would not be the first time they placed a soul in a body that was not intended to home it.”
Eacus’ brow creased in thought. “It would explain why they haven’t used her. Their experiment failed. She survived, but she is useless to them.”
Hmm, this was a theory that I hadn’t before heard. While I’d like to dismiss it, I couldn’t. Because they were right about the gods’ love of experiments.
“The only other possible reason they could have to anoint a human would be to offend us,” Eacus added. “I do not believe that they would seek to do so.”
I personally wouldn’t be so surprised if the primordials had decided to send an I’m not happy with you message. These three half-bloods disregarded the gods’ insistence on peace, played power games, overlooked the humans under their protection, and insisted on sacrifices every nine years.
As rulers, they had major room for improvement.
Rhad set his fists on his hips. “What do we do with her? If we consider her soul to be godkin, then it begs the question of whether we nonetheless treat her as we would a human sacrifice due to the body that she possesses.”
“I do not have an answer for that,” said Eacus, thumbing his earlobe. “Particularly since our theory, while weighty, is just that—a theory.”
Minos hummed thoughtfully. “One thing is certain: the gods honored her when they made her a Sayer. They would want us to honor that, I think. What better way for us to do that than place her in the Black Tapestry?”