Total pages in book: 401
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
She snorted. “I can’t argue with that. But I don’t know the answer to the question either.”
Damn it.
“By the way,” she said to Reaver, “I’m not that vindictive.”
“Uh-huh,” Reaver hummed.
Casteel’s mark brushed against my mind like a gentle caress of pine and winter. We will be talking more about this interest in the Fates later.
I didn’t answer. I’d hoped he’d forget about that interest, as I doubted even he would be on board with me wanting to kill a Fate.
“Earlier,” Seraphena said, “when I spoke of my sons, you felt my emotions.”
“I did.”
“And you wanted to…ease them?”
“Yes.” Wind rattled the windows. “It’s an urge that’s hard for me to ignore.”
She nodded. “You got that from Ash’s side of the family,” she told me, and my curiosity piqued. “He can sense emotions. As could his mother. She could also do more.”
Captivated by the little details, a smile spread across my face. There was so much I didn’t know about where I came from. “I can…taste emotions—well, now I kind of just sense them,” I told her. “Is it like that for him? The tasting part?”
“Taste them?” Her nose scrunched. “Now, I’m curious to know what something tastes like. But no, he can just read what another is feeling.”
“That’s probably why they changed,” Casteel noted.
“You’re likely to see an increase in your abilities as time passes,” Seraphena said. “A sharpening of your senses. It doesn’t happen all at once.”
“You said Nyktos’s mother could also do more?” I asked.
“She passed long before I came to be,” she said, “but from what I know, she could influence someone’s emotions.”
I thought about what I’d done at the Chamber of Nyktos and how Alastir had claimed the Atlantians would see me as a Soul Eater. It used to bother me to even consider that. Now? I didn’t worry if some out there still believed that. I had bigger things to be concerned with.
“She shared lineage with the Gods of Sleep,” Seraphena continued. “They can do something similar—invade one’s dreams to discover their secrets and manipulate what they see.”
My eyes widened at that.
“Sounds like a fun time,” Casteel remarked.
Seraphena snorted, but her humor quickly vanished. “There’s only one left.” Her voice tightened. “When Kolis stole Eythos’s embers, it caused a…catastrophic shockwave. Many gods were lost. Entombing Kolis had a more minor impact, but there was still one. Nothing comes without a cost.” She saw that Reaver had stopped in front of the door. “Kolis can do something similar. He can root out someone’s worst fears and insecurities, amplify those emotions, and then make them live through it. It’s an ability unique to a true Primal of Death so they can ensure those sentenced to the Abyss are punished…effectively.”
“Gods,” I muttered. I remembered Kieran mentioning that Attes had said as much, but I was still somewhat horrified by the idea that the ability even existed.
“You may develop something like it.” She glanced at Casteel. “Both of you may. But be wary. Being newly Ascended Primals, you’re both susceptible to such tactics.”
My stomach hollowed. Kolis had done just that while I was in stasis. The memory was still fuzzy around the edges, but that was how he’d gotten inside my head.
Casteel’s jaw tensed. “Any way to not be so susceptible?”
“Unfortunately, not.” A rush of cool, musty air filled the hall as Reaver opened the heavy iron door. “All you can do is be aware of it and fight against it. Block it out.”
“Creating a…mental shield is something I’ve never been that great at,” I said.
“Actually, you have been doing it,” Casteel said as I followed Seraphena into the stairwell.
“I have?”
“Yeah. I figured you weren’t exactly aware of it.”
“I had a hard time with that myself,” Seraphena shared. “I honestly didn’t realize I was even doing it until Ash pointed it out to me. It took a long time for me to realize that it was tied to the essence inside me. I had to will the shields instead of picturing them.” She looked over her shoulder as Casteel closed the door behind us. “You should try that.”
“I will,” I murmured, thinking it sounded too simple. But if I was doing it without knowing it, then it probably was just that easy. If there were any moments when I was myself while under Kolis’s influence, then I must have put up shields to push him out, at least temporarily.
“Have you been here before?” Seraphena asked.
“No—well, I mean, not before the last time. Though it’s possible I was here as a child before I was sent to Masadonia and don’t remember.”
“How…?” Ducking her head, she tucked several strands of hair behind her ear. “How was your childhood?”
“It was…. It wasn’t bad.”
“Is that the truth?” she pressed.
I could feel Casteel’s stare drilling into the back of my head. “Yes. I mean, it could’ve been worse. I don’t remember much before my mo—before Coralena and Leopold tried to take me away. After, I was…” Seeing Seraphena’s shoulders stiffen, I pressed my lips together and winced when I scraped them with my fangs. I wasn’t sure how honest I should be. Suddenly, Seraphena’s pace slowed.