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)
“Why not?” I demanded. “I was there before.”
“You were brought by a Fate,” he replied, the other side of his lips tipping up. “You were invited.”
“Do I have to be invited?”
“Not really.”
“Oh, my gods!” My hands fisted as Casteel jerked me back farther. “I need—”
“Do you need to be conscious and in one piece?” Thorne questioned.
“What kind of fucking question is that?” Casteel asked, his voice low and dark.
“A valid one.” A slight grin appeared on Thorne’s lips. “Because if I hadn’t stepped in, both of you would’ve been hit with the power of the wards put in place by the Arae. And that would’ve…stung.”
My heart turned over heavily as I cast a wary glance at Kieran. “Why are there…?” What had the thing that could be Isbeth said? That Kolis was busy. “You’re keeping Kolis out.”
“Right now, Iliseeum is a one-way realm. You can leave, but to enter, you must either be the Queen or born in Iliseeum. Which means, only he”—he jerked his chin toward Attes—“who I do not see, can return.”
“Is there a reason?” Kieran asked. “Did Kolis do something else?”
“He’s always doing something.” A moment passed. “He’s trying to…pay a visit that no one wants. If we drop the wards, he’ll get in, and that would be bad.”
“Okay.” I exhaled, my mind racing. “Then can you talk to Nyktos—?”
“No.”
“Why not?” I bit out.
“Because….it would be considered interference.”
My mouth dropped open.
Attes tipped his head back and sighed. “I fucking hate them.”
“How,” I began, “is raising a ward to protect Iliseeum against Kolis not considered interference?”
“That is a good question.” His head tilted slightly, and the mark along his jaw pulsed. “Except the ward wasn’t put up to protect Iliseeum.”
Kieran’s frown deepened. “Then why?”
The realization hit me like a spark against tinder, igniting a fiery rage. “It was raised to protect your asses.”
“Correct.”
“Unbelievable,” I snarled as Casteel jerked me back again. “Actually, it’s completely believable. Was it Lirian’s dumbass idea?”
Thorne chuckled, the sound eerily familiar.
I took that as a yes. “So, I guess that also means you can’t tell me if Isbeth’s soul is in the Abyss?”
“You guess correctly.”
My nostrils flared. “Do you have any idea how utterly, unrepentantly irritating you are?”
“I do.”
“At least you’re self-aware.” I supposed I could add that attribute to cowardly and selfish.
“Mostly,” he replied. “By the way, the wards aren’t just because of how cowardly and selfish we are. The Queen is also in trouble.”
My breath stalled. I wasn’t sure I believed they couldn’t read minds. “What?”
“She did something she was not supposed to do.”
I stared at him for what felt like a small eternity. “And that was…”
“Shh,” he said, and my brows flew up. “Never mind, thought I heard Lirian’s…dumb ass.”
I pushed the eather down “Did you harm her?”
“I did nothing,” he replied. “And, no, she was not harmed. She’s simply in a…time-out.”
“A time-out?” Attes repeated under his breath and then laughed. “Bet that went over well.”
“Oh, definitely didn’t almost have to put Nyktos down.”
I blinked. “What could she possibly have done?” I demanded.
“If you want to know, you’ll have to ask her.”
“How the fuck”—my scream echoed off the gold walls—“am I supposed to do that when I can’t enter Iliseeum?”
“That is a really good question,” Thorne said.
I inhaled sharply. I had to turn away before I tried to grab Thorne and do something I’d likely regret. This was unbelievable—all of it. No answer to what I needed to know and proof of how cowardly and selfish the Arae were. Not to mention the fact that Seraphena was in trouble for something.
“Don’t be angry with me,” Thorne advised. “I don’t make the rules.”
I threw up my arms. “Actually, you do!”
“Oh, yeah. I do.” A pause. “Kind of.”
No amount of deep breathing could calm me. “Do you have a reason for still being here?”
“And do you like what you see?” Casteel asked.
What the?
I whipped back around, my body tensing as shadows appeared along Casteel’s face, almost in the same pattern and area as the markings on Thorne’s.
The Fate’s smile spread. It was a stunning—and really creepy—smile. He’d also been staring at Casteel the entire time. “I’d better.”
What kind of answer was that?
“Is there a fucking reason you’ve been staring at me?” Casteel demanded. “Without blinking? Once?”
Thorne hadn’t blinked.
“Yeah,” Thorne answered, then finally blinked and looked away from Casteel. “Can I call you Poppy yet?”
“No,” I growled. “Absolutely not.”
His smile fell. “Maybe next time.”
“There will never be a next time.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Penellaphe.”
I barely stopped myself from arguing, considering he was a Fate. “You can leave now.”
“Rude,” he replied with a deep…smoky laugh. “Don’t think you can break through the ward.” His humor vanished. “You will not be able to. You will hurt yourself.”
Glaring at him, I crossed my arms.
Thorne’s gaze flicked back to Casteel and then over to Attes. “You’d better keep quiet.”