Total pages in book: 248
Estimated words: 236909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1185(@200wpm)___ 948(@250wpm)___ 790(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1185(@200wpm)___ 948(@250wpm)___ 790(@300wpm)
“Exactly.”
“But watching me walk through the woods is somehow not creepy?” I crossed my arms.
His attention shifted back to the pool. “I think it was borderline creepy.”
A quiet laugh left me. “I’m messing with you. If I were you, I would’ve been curious, too. Except I probably would’ve been creepy and spoken to you.”
Nyktos smiled at that.
“But that doesn’t really answer why it being my lake mattered when you had this.” I nodded at the pool. “Coming here has to be far easier than entering the mortal realm, even if you can do the shadowstepping thing.”
“I don’t know. The lake is different, and I…” He frowned, scratching his jaw. “I just felt drawn to it. Drawn to you.”
“Because of the ember?”
“Maybe.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, I’d been meaning to show you this because I know you like water, but if I’d shown you this earlier, then I would have had to…”
He’d have had to explain why he’d created such a thing. His visits to my lake. Seeing me. And he hadn’t been ready. I glanced back at the pool. Plus, I had a feeling that this place was a sanctuary for him, even if others used it. Just as my lake had been for me. Sharing this was something else he hadn’t been ready to do.
Until now.
I inhaled deeply, awed and…moved.
Nyktos faced me. “Showing you this pool wasn’t the only reason I brought you here. Remember when I said there were ways we could draw the eather out of you again?”
Every part of me zeroed in on that as I filed what he’d shared away to think about later. “Yes.”
“I figured we could try that this morning. And this is a place very few other than I will venture. So, there should be no risk of anyone else seeing exactly what you’re capable of or inadvertently getting caught in the crossfire.”
Excitement buzzed through me, as did a small bit of trepidation. “Are you sure I can’t hurt you?”
He nodded. “It takes a bit more than a blast of eather to hurt a Primal.”
“But I did.”
“It was just a sting.”
“It turned your skin cold again.”
“It was an icy sting,” he amended. “You’re not going to hurt me, Sera. We don’t even know if you will have such an outburst again.” His eyes glimmered. “But if you behave yourself, then maybe you can go for a swim.”
“If I behave myself?” My brows shot up as I ignored the happy thrill I felt at the prospect. “Like some sort of child you’ve creepily watched walking through the woods?”
“Yes.” His lips twitched. “Did that make you feel like you could call on the essence?”
“No, but it made me feel like I should punch you.” My eyes narrowed on him. “Did you just try to goad me into using the eather?”
“I did.”
I laughed. “Oh, you’re going to have to do better than that. It takes a lot to anger me.”
“I want you to repeat what you just said and ask yourself if that’s the truth,” he replied.
My lips pursed. “Let me rephrase. It takes a lot to make me that angry. I have way more control than you realize.”
I’d expected some kind of—rightfully—sarcastic response, but there was none. Nyktos eyed me for a few moments. “Let me see your dagger.”
“How do you know I have it?”
“You always have it, Sera. Hand it over.” He paused, extending his hand. “Please.”
“I hate it when you say please,” I grumbled, bending over and reaching inside the shaft of my boot. I slid the dagger out, straightening.
“What a strange thing to hate.”
I placed it, hilt first, onto his palm. “Yeah, you’d think.”
“Thank you.” Nyktos turned sharply, throwing the dagger.
My mouth dropped open as it flew through the air, striking the wall above the table with such force that the handle vibrated. “What the hell?” My head whipped toward him. “Now, you’re just annoying me.”
Nyktos smiled, and that, too, was annoying. “Right now, the essence is tied to extreme emotions. It’ll be different once you Ascend, but before then, it can manifest when you’re very angry or frustrated. Extreme grief. Pain.” He began to circle me as he’d done in the courtyard. “I have a feeling if I best you in fighting, you’ll get pretty frustrated.”
“And that’s why you threw my dagger into a wall?”
“I threw the dagger into the wall because I don’t want to get stabbed again, nor do I want you cutting off more of my hair.”
I opened my mouth.
“And don’t even tell me you wouldn’t stab me,” he said. “You would.”
“You’re such a know-it-all,” I muttered, tracking him.
Nyktos smirked. “If we’re able to draw it out of you again, then we can move on to more controlled uses.”
“So, what are we going to do?” I crept closer to him. “Fight hand-to-hand until I get frustrated and use the embers?”