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)
Like before, there was no answer.
I swallowed against the knot that had lodged itself in my throat since Ironspire. The desperation I’d felt when I willed Jadis to wake reminded me of the little girl in Saion’s Cove who had passed. Except I’d been able to bring her back. Could it be that Jadis was…no longer alive? That would explain why my touch had no impact.
No, I told myself. Nektas had sensed that his daughter was still alive. So, it wasn’t that. I’d just failed to reach her.
Hopefully, Seraphena would know what to do. Nektas would have to ask her instead of waiting for me, right?
There was only a hint of the sea in the air as I drew in a deep breath and looked over my shoulder.
Right now, I figured Kieran was setting a time to meet with the generals while Casteel went to feed—something he could’ve done inside our chambers, but I could tell he believed I wasn’t ready to see anyone.
That assumption wasn’t entirely unfounded. But it was more that I wasn’t ready to see one person in particular.
Tawny.
My stomach twisted, and I still had no idea why. It was so unlike me. Tawny meant the world to me, as did our friendship. What I was feeling just didn’t make sense.
Pulling my lip between my teeth, I lifted my gaze. From this part of Wayfair, I could see an even larger portion of the Garden District and Croft’s Cross. I looked to where the range of the Elysium Peaks rose against the vivid-blue, star-swept sky, casting a shadow over part of the city and the thick forest below.
What had Ian called it? The Dark Elms? I didn’t think that was their official name. I recalled them being called the Royal Elms, but Ian’s name for them made a lot more sense. As a child, I’d been afraid of the forest because I’d never seen the sun penetrate the canopy.
And likely because Ian had once told me that the souls of those who passed on but feared judgment haunted the forest.
A faint smile tugged at my lips as the memory of Ian holding my hand as we walked rose, but it faded as my stomach dipped. For some reason, I suddenly thought—no, I believed—that what Ian had said about the forest was true.
Shaking my head at another thought that made no sense, I looked up. White-tipped water rushed down the jagged face of the bluff in the Cliffs of Sorrow.
Shivers tiptoed down my spine as I stepped back from the railing, unsure of what unnerved me so much about them. They had never bothered me when I was a child. I’d obviously been more afraid of the woods below them. Maybe it was because I now knew that the story Ian had once written to me about hadn’t just been another of his fantastical tales.
Sotoria was real. And she was…
My skin prickled with unease as the thought trailed off. She was what? Tipping my head back, I closed my eyes and tried to find the lost thought. It felt important. Monumental. But trying to remember it was like grasping at shadows.
Frustration made my skin itchy, so I gave up. I was getting nowhere while standing there with my eyes closed. Turning, I walked back into our more permanent and much larger quarters.
The King’s Solar took up nearly the entire top floor of the eastern wing, with only four chambers outside the quarters meant for stewards or Ladies in Wait. I guessed they were empty now. Could Tawny be moved there? Perhaps Delano and Perry could take one of the chambers. Or Vonetta once she arrived. And if Vonetta took one, did that mean Emil would be staying with her? A wry grin tugged at my lips. I wasn’t sure how Kieran would handle that. Casteel seemed to think Emil would get himself killed, but I wasn’t so sure.
My stare trailed over the spacious room that had clearly been designated for meetings. In the center of the first chamber—the Solar the quarters had been named after—was a rectangular table made of light, cream-colored wood, large enough to seat at least ten. It sat on a slightly raised platform framed by marble pillars flecked with gold, and each end faced doors that opened to balconies.
I’d never explored this area of Wayfair when I lived here. All I knew of this space was that neither Isbeth nor Jalara had occupied these rooms. Instead, the King’s Solar had been used for visiting high-ranking members of society—mortal, high-ranking members.
My gaze lifted to the reason for that. The dome above was glass, as were the ceilings of the other rooms.
I drifted into the next chamber, one I quickly saw was filled with ivory-colored couches and armchairs adorned with golden accents. They’d been placed around low-to-the-floor tables trimmed in gold. The ceiling was slightly lower here, divided into smaller glass panes.