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)
The shouting was closer, clearer. It was a name, and I felt the presence of a Primal. Attes.
“Do it.” She drifted closer, her hips swaying. “Show them what you can do. Show them what they were not allowed to see at the Bone Temple.” Her voice carried. “Show them what the Queen of Flesh and Fire is capable of.”
My chin lowered as essence sparked from my fingertips. Mist spun, rising behind me as the shadow of twin arcs fell over her. The spinning ball of eather in my chest started to unravel—
“Penellaphe!”
Her laugh was like broken wind chimes as she lowered herself onto her knees. As she dared to bow before me. “Show them who they should fear.”
“Stop.”
The voice sent a jolt through me. I cranked my head to the left as…Valyn dipped under Reaver’s head.
“You need to calm,” he ordered, his voice low and strained. He straightened as Attes stopped on Reaver’s other side.
Calm?
Essence erupted, spilling down my arms. Lightning struck the ground an inch from Valyn. Wind roared through the avenues and whipped around the houses, catching curtains and sending them flapping through open windows.
“Maybe not tell her to calm,” Attes spoke. “In my experience, that never ends well.”
Valyn’s jaw tightened. “Penellaphe,” he tried again. “Look around you. Look.” He tentatively stepped closer, the strands of hair blowing back from his face. “Please.”
My gaze flicked away. I saw the faces of those who lingered. Pale faces.
“This is what she, or whatever the fuck this is, wants,” Valyn said.
“Excuse me?” she huffed. “As usual, my dear Valyn, you have no idea what I want.”
A sound came from my throat. A hiss. My head snapped back toward her.
“Look at them,” Valyn demanded. “See them.”
My attention shifted back to the remaining crowd. I saw faces gray with shock and fear. I felt terror, cold and stinging.
“I wouldn’t—” Attes fell silent as Valyn reached up and grabbed my foot.
My head cut down as the essence spiraled around my palms.
“Listen to me, Penellaphe,” he demanded, his gold eyes flashing. “They aren’t afraid of her right now.”
They’re not…
My gaze swung back to the people, and I tasted the bitterness of their terror as those nameless eyes were latched onto me. Young. Old. Some frozen. Others crying.
Me.
Not her.
This wasn’t what today had been about. I should be assuring them of our protection, assuaging any concerns. Not frightening them.
My gaze swept back to her, to the smirk prettied up in red. Valyn was right. She wanted this—if this was her. This is what she had always wanted.
It was all she knew.
But I knew better.
Sucking in a sharp breath, I calmed the storm of essence and rage. It wasn’t easy. All I managed to do was shove it down and bury it deep.
But I did it.
Because I wasn’t her.
I lowered myself in front of her.
Her pale neck straightened. “Daughter—”
“Don’t,” I warned, knowing that nobody out here needed to hear whatever came out of her mouth next. I took one step forward.
Clasping her hands, she tilted her head to the side in acknowledgment. “I’ve only come to speak with you. Not to make war, my Queen.”
I choked on a laugh, and my chest felt like it burned. “Don’t say another word.”
Her head lowered demurely. Something the woman I knew could not even begin to possess.
“And get the fuck up,” I spat.
Casteel’s presence brushed against my thoughts as she made something as simple as standing an art form. You need to get her out of the public eye. I’ve cleared the Temple.
My fingers spasmed as I dragged in a breath, then immediately regretted it as I stiffened. Roses. I smelled roses. You want me to bring her into Seraphena’s Temple?
We really don’t have a choice.
I stared at her bowed head, knowing he was right. But I couldn’t move. My heart thumped against my ribs as fury at the monster before me and disbelief that she was here coiled tight around blade-sharp sorrow. Because this could be my mother. It all swirled into a knot I wasn’t sure I could untangle. Cas?
My Queen?
My chest twisted sharply. It can’t be her. I killed her.
I know.
It was hard to breathe. But…she smells like roses.
It doesn’t matter, Poppy. Whatever that thing is, one truth remains. She’s nothing to you. His response was immediate. And I know you won’t allow her to think, for even a second, that she has affected you. Get her inside, and we’ll figure it out. I know you can do it.
My hand fisted, and I inhaled through my nose. He was right. I was too strong to show this thing any bit of me. “You will start walking toward the front doors of the Sun Temple. You will not speak or look at anyone. Do you understand?”
Chin still lowered, she nodded. “Yes.” Thick lashes swept up, and her dark eyes met mine. “My Queen.”