Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 151630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 758(@200wpm)___ 607(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 758(@200wpm)___ 607(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
“That wee thing killed a chimera?” the gnome asks.
I nod his way. He’s sitting on the edge of the water, his feet dangling, and I can see a thin line where they slit his throat. I feel for him, though he seems perfectly happy to be here. His head tilts back as he looks up at the sun through the skylights as though he hasn’t seen it in forever. “She did. She’s fierce. So my question is how did you escape getting sucked into wherever Myrddin keeps the souls of those he kills?”
“My question is how did the priestesses get in, and where have they been hiding?” Rhys says, picking up a muffin. “This looks delicious.”
“They took to the woods years back when my father desecrated the temple. I think they were called by the magic you and Shy created. We could feel the vibrations from it, and it would have been so much fun if I could have participated, but no, you shove me into a safe room with a way too young for fertility rites girl.” Lee’s gaze goes between Rhys and myself, but I don’t think he’s at all disturbed that the two of us are naked. “Do you know how long it’s been since we were blessed with fertility rites? Not that I need a baby, but I’ve been told it’s the best sex ever. That’s how long it’s been. The last time it happened I was a babe.”
I suspect it would have been an orgy. Now I’m worried about my mother-in-law. There is a man who is obsessed with her. “Would it have hit the palace?”
Rhys moves to my side, sipping on the tea he’s been given. “You mean would it have hit my mother.”
Lee’s head shakes. “The palace is far too warded for them to have gotten anything but the edge of it. From what I heard this morning, it did hit the dungeons.”
“Oh, aye,” the gnome says. “I heard them guards talking about how none of their torture came to aught last night and that the spring goddess got away while they were in the woods wanking off. I laughed, and that was when the wizard took me out. I also might have called him a charlatan and thrown some very rich fertilizer at him.”
I wince. “He says your papa is better this morning, and so is Ostara. Sasha got her out. I suppose they left Devinshea because of what could happen to Zoey if they didn’t have him. I suspect Dev wouldn’t leave.” I hate the thought of him being there, but he has given us some cover. “The magic did what we hoped it would, and the wards held. And my new friend threw shit at Myrddin.”
“Who is Shy talking to?” Lee counters.
“A newly dead creature,” Rhys replies. “Do you know of any who would be bold enough to hurl crap at the wizard?”
Lee grins. “That sounds like any number of creatures I know.”
“Dead… Baby, does the dead person have a name?” Rhys asks.
“Hasn’t introduced himself yet. He’s a gnome. Died this morning in the gardens,” I reply.
“Not Benfal,” Lee says with a frown. “I love Benny. Tell me it wasn’t him.”
The gnome grins. “Tell him I love him, too. A good lad. Far better than his father.”
Before I can pass on that message, Lee continues. “But you weren’t there when he died, so you couldn’t have saved him. How did he get away?”
“Oh, I felt the pull, but the temple was far stronger,” the gnome says.
“He felt the temple’s magic and was drawn to it,” I explain to Lee, but I have more important questions. “Someone else mentioned they felt pulled toward the wizard. So you can feel him forcing you?”
“And it weren’t like that. It wasn’t force. It was a song calling to me, telling me I can move on. But the temple meant a lot to me and I heard its song, too. I chose.”
Now that revelation changes things. I thought I was fighting Myrddin himself. It sparks a memory in me. One I didn’t realize I had, but I suddenly know it’s true. I turn to Rhys. “He’s got some kind of spell that’s tricking the dead into a trap. I was worried he had the same kind of soul space I have and he was pulling them in, but I just remembered the dark prophet told me I was unique. I’m the only one with a space like this, that can hold a whole soul and not have it affect me long term. How did I remember that? The day I met your grandfather, Gray Sloane was there. He taught me how to let Harry in. He explained that it wouldn’t change me the way it would other people. You can house a piece of soul or a ripped up soul for a brief time, but they can stay in me and I’ll still be in control.”