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)
Casteel wasn’t here.
I couldn’t look at Kieran as Attes milled about, eyeing the Atlantian banners that replaced the crimson ones—the ones bearing the sun and the sword and arrow crossed evenly in the middle. Instead, I stared up at the glass dome. The paint had been scratched away, allowing the sunlight in. How long had it been since that had happened? Hundreds of years?
Lowering my gaze to where Attes stood near the statue, I knew we could’ve left by now.
Wait.
The statue.
I frowned and turned to it. It was pale, taller than the ones in the Hall of Gods, and richly detailed from the heavy-soled caligae to the shield and spear clutched in the figure’s stone hands.
Ian had once told me how hard it was to paint and carve hands. That it was the most difficult part of the body to render realistically. I wasn’t sure why. I would’ve thought faces would be since so many of the statues were devoid of features. Like this one. My gaze flicked up to the head.
I moved toward it. I had thought it had been a statue of Nyktos, but I remembered what Reaver had said and how he’d said it. Obviously, Isbeth wouldn’t have had a statue of Nyktos in her Great Hall.
Not when she worshipped who she believed was the true King.
Kolis.
I was moving before I realized it, eather rising to my fingertips. The moment I placed my hand against its side, the statue shattered.
“What—?” Attes whirled, his brows rising as he watched large chunks of marble and limestone disintegrate into dust. He turned his head to me. “Did that make you feel better?”
“The statue was of Kolis,” I explained.
Before anyone else could respond, the Great Hall’s large doors opened. I turned, my heart in my throat, even though I knew it wasn’t Casteel.
Delano burst in, the doors swinging shut behind him as his blue eyes swept the Hall and stopped on me.
“How did you know we were here?” Kieran asked.
Delano didn’t answer as he took the wide steps at the entrance two at a time. He was in front of me in a heartbeat, and then his arms were around me.
“I went to the Solar,” he murmured. “We thought you would be there.” He paused, and I had a feeling he was sending a glare over my head at Kieran. “I was afraid I would be too late.”
I smiled against his chest. “You aren’t.”
His arms tightened around me. Gods, Delano gave good hugs.
“I’ll be waiting for you,” he said quietly. “So don’t take too long.”
“I won’t,” I whispered.
With one last squeeze, Delano let go and stepped back. I smiled at him. He didn’t return it. The breath I took felt tighter as I turned to Attes. “We should go ahead and leave.”
“You sure?” he asked, crossing the Hall. “We still have a few minutes.”
I nodded and glanced at Valyn. My senses were locked down, but there was no mistaking the anger etched into his features. Pressing my lips together, I faced Kieran and stepped toward him.
I can’t, he said through the notam. Tension bracketed his mouth. He swallowed. I’m sorry. If I touch you, I won’t—
I understand, I assured him. “I’ll see you when I get back,” I said out loud, surprised by how steady my voice sounded.
Kieran nodded, his jaw so tight I wondered if his teeth were cracking.
I turned to Attes. “Okay. Let’s—”
The throb of awareness in my chest stole my breath. I froze as the charge of eather danced over my skin. I couldn’t move. I was too afraid I was hallucinating. Was I so desperate to see him that I had conjured him from thin air? A second passed, and then another.
The scent of spice, pine, and freshly fallen snow surrounded me.
With my heart in my throat, I spun. My eyes locked with amber ones framed by a heavy fringe of lashes.
Casteel looked as worn down as I felt. He had faint shadows under his eyes, and his features were stark. The tunic he had worn to the address was wrinkled, and his hair looked like he had spent the night running his hands through it.
I was still frozen. The only thing that moved was the fast rise and fall of my chest and the rapid beat of my heart.
Casteel’s eyes slammed shut, and then he was in front of me, one hand fisting my braid and the other cupping my cheek. Both hands shook.
“Cas,” I breathed.
He kissed me, and there was nothing slow or gentle about it. It was a fierce clash of tongues and teeth. It wasn’t nice. It wasn’t a seduction or a reward. It was a devastating claim, full of desperation and anger, yearning and fear. It was too much, yet not enough as I clung to him, and his grip tightened. We kissed until we were both breathless. Until the blade-sharp edge of all those emotions eased a little. We kissed until there was no more time left, and it took everything in me not to hold on to him when his mouth left mine.