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)
“You’re right,” Seraphena said. “She is Sotoria reborn. But, at the end of the day, who Sotoria was is gone, and she is Penellaphe.”
Casteel nodded curtly. “Glad we’re on the same page.”
Her gaze shifted to me. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
I opened my mouth, closed it, and then tried again. I felt…numb. Like I had when I learned Kolis could influence me. Detached. “I think I would like something to drink now.”
A small smile appeared on her face. “Understandable.” Turning, she went to the armoire, picked up the bottle, and poured me a glass. “Casteel?”
“I’m good.”
Seraphena turned and started toward us, and I went to rise.
“I got it.” Casteel moved forward, took the short, square glass from Seraphena, and brought it to me.
“Thank you,” I said and took it. Energy passed through our fingers as they brushed. I took a sip of the rich liquor, barely tasting the slight hint of caramel as Casteel moved to stand beside me. “I…I don’t even know what to say.”
Which was true. All I could think about right now was whether Ian knew about this? Was that why he’d told me Sotoria’s story—what was considered a legend now and all but forgotten by the masses?
“You mentioned that you saw something while in stasis,” Seraphena said, skirting the platform.
“A cage.” A muscle in Casteel’s jaw flexed.
The gilded cage Sotoria had been kept in…like a pet. Or, more accurately, a prisoner.
My stomach churned. I wasn’t sure my next drink helped. “I only briefly saw that.”
“Did you see anything else?” Casteel asked as Seraphena approached the sitting area.
“I think so—no, I did see other things—but…” Frowning, I tried to make sense of what I remembered, but it was like trying to view a portrait in the darkness. “It’s like the memories are hazy and out of focus.”
“It was like that for me after my Ascension.” Seraphena sat across from me.
“But I remember seeing people I didn’t recognize and places that looked nothing like anything today. Almost as if they were from a different time.” I forced myself to let go of the chair arms. “I saw her. I remember that now.”
“Sotoria?” she questioned.
I nodded. “I saw her at the Cliffs. She was picking flowers—poppies.” A thin, hoarse laugh parted my lips. Her? She? I couldn’t think of her as me. “It was right before I woke.” My gaze lifted to Casteel as my mind reeled from the fragmented memories, quickly piecing themselves together. “She told me to listen. Said you were calling to me. And I heard you. You asked me to open my eyes.”
Casteel’s chest rose sharply. “I did.” He swallowed. “I did ask you to do that.”
“And I heard you calling to me.” I faced Seraphena. “You said…it was time for me to wake up.”
“How did you do that?” Casteel asked. “I tried to reach Poppy in her sleep but couldn’t find her.”
“I had help from a God of Dreams,” she told us. I think we both had questions, but she continued. “It took a bit, but he was able to find you.” She watched me closely. “Is that all you remember from that dream?”
I started to say yes but couldn’t force it past my lips. “She warned me he was coming.”
Casteel turned his head to the side and stretched his neck. “Kolis?”
“She didn’t say his name. But she said Death. So, yeah…” I cleared my throat. “The dream was pleasant up to that point.”
His gaze snapped to mine. “What do you mean?”
I lifted a shoulder. “It was warm and sunny, and she was humming something. A song.” I took another drink. “But then the sky turned dark, and I—” I stiffened, my heart dropping. “I saw someone else.”
“Kolis,” Seraphena said quietly. It wasn’t a question.
“He was…mostly bone. Crimson bone. And I was…” I didn’t need to say that Kolis had scared me. It was likely clear in the tremor running through my hand. But just moments ago, Casteel’s appearance hadn’t frightened me at all. It had… Heat crept up my throat. Yeah, I wouldn’t think about that at the moment. “She vanished then, and it was just him. But when I saw her, it was like looking at myself without scars in the mirror.” My gaze went back to Casteel. “I just remembered that.”
A faint smile appeared, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“What you saw was a dream.” Seraphena paused, tucking some hair back. “But he was there.”
The air slowly leaked out of my lungs, even though I had already known that.
“I felt him.” Eather pulsed through her eyes. “Smelled him.”
“Stale lilacs,” I whispered, rubbing my palm against my thigh as the grul’s words echoed in my thoughts. How the ceeren didn’t harm me. I thought about the nightmare—the touch before I dreamt of him snapping my neck. Because it was him. His touch.
My skin suddenly felt sticky. Dirty. Like it did when I thought about having drunk Teerman’s blood or having him take mine. I wanted to wash my skin until the sensation vanished.