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’s hands were still trembling as he dropped his forehead to mine, his eyes open and wide, the golden hue pierced with swirling streaks of eather and crimson-laced shadows. His throat worked on a swallow, and his lips parted.
I placed a finger over them. “I love you, Casteel Da’Neer,” I whispered. “And I will return to you.”
CHAPTER 55
POPPY
The moment Attes and I shadowstepped into Pensdurth, I knew I was surrounded by Death.
I felt it in the bitter dryness clinging to the unnaturally cold air and seeping through my clothing, leaving my skin feeling like it was coated in slime. It was also in the oppressive heaviness of the air. I could see it in the chalky gray grass, the bare branches that framed the road leading to Seacliffe Manor’s entrance, and the dark, gray clouds tinged in crimson. I could also smell it in the stench of stale lilacs that had replaced the briny scent of the sea. I heard it in the utter absence of life and the unnerving silence of the city.
Death.
Kolis.
I looked behind me. The inner Rise was tall, but Seacliffe Manor sat on a bluff overlooking Pensdurth. No one was on the Rise. Or in the streets. I saw no horses or livestock of any kind, and everything was gray and washed out for as far as I could see: the rocky hills leading up to the bluff, the tall, reedy grass of the meadows surrounding the inlet that led to the Bay of Pensdurth… Everything was dead.
My gaze drifted over the ships filling the bay. They loomed like phantoms, their sails slack in the still waters. I started to turn when something in the water caught my attention. I squinted. Even with my improved vision, it was hard to make out what I was seeing. There were lots of shapes—bloated, floating…
Oh, my gods.
They were bodies.
Hundreds of them.
I jerked back, horror clamping down on my chest. Sucking in a sharp breath, I quickly turned away. My eyes clashed with Attes’s.
His jaw was tight. “You will likely see worse than that.”
Swallowing the bile threatening to choke me, I looked at Seacliffe. I can handle this. I’ve seen horrors before. “Great.”
Attes followed my stare. “You ready for this? To do what it will take to get close to him?”
Something like this can’t be okay.
I did what I’d been doing from the moment the thing that called herself Isbeth had shown and delivered the summons. I didn’t give myself a chance to think as I faced him. “Yes.”
His gaze returned to me. “Your mind isn’t on your husband?”
“My mind is always on him.” I adjusted the sleeve, making sure the bone dagger was hidden. “But he’s not my focus right now.”
He didn’t say anything for a long moment. “You do realize he’s going to show up here.”
“He won’t.”
“Penellaphe—”
“Poppy,” I said. “And he won’t. I made sure of it.”
Surprise flickered over his features, tugging the skin around his scar. “What did you do?”
“Made a deal with a Fate.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “That likely wasn’t wise.”
“It probably wasn’t,” I admitted, then turned and started to walk away. We had a bit of distance to go. And, of course, it was mostly uphill. It had to be noon. Technically, we were here, so Kolis would just have to deal with it…for the short period he had left to breathe.
“Hold up.” Attes stopped me. “I need you to understand something I didn’t get a chance to say yesterday.”
I bit down on the inside of my lip, unsure if I wanted to hear this because Casteel’s words immediately whispered through my mind.
Attes stepped in closer, lowering his voice. “I made Sera a promise that I would do everything in my power to not allow any harm to befall you.”
My breath caught. “Did she ask that of you?”
“She did, but she didn’t need to. I know how important you are to her and Nyktos.”
“They don’t know me,” I blurted, feeling my cheeks warm. “I mean, I know I’m important to them—to the realm—”
“Your importance to them has nothing to do with any of this,” he cut in, his eyes narrowing. “You’re of their blood. That is all that matters to them.”
A sudden tightness bloomed in my throat. I didn’t trust myself to speak, so I nodded.
Attes’s mouth opened and then closed as he eyed me. His stare was nearly as intense as Casteel’s. “Look, I don’t know much about your relationship with them, but since I know they just woke, there probably isn’t much of one.”
A choked-sounding laugh left me. “I barely know them.”
“Well, they would like to get to know you,” he said.
Seraphena had said pretty much the same, yet hearing it still surprised me. I wasn’t sure why since Seraphena seemed to care for me. Actually, that wasn’t true. “I know they did everything they could to prevent me from being born.”