Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 108376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
“You’d start a revolution for a girl you knew for two whole days?”
“Maybe. It was prophesied that I would one day lead. I never understood how it could happen, but I think I understand now.” I stared Vas down and he stared right back at me. We’d locked horns and neither one of us was prepared to back down. Ever since I first learned of Oreylia, and this city where anyone who wasn’t a full-blooded demon was indentured and brought lower than any living being should ever be brought, a spark had lit within me. That spark had since grown into a flame and it was in danger of turning into a full blown inferno.
“Bloody hell, you two can fight this out later,” Sven said in exasperation, interrupting our stand-off. “Right now she needs to be laid to rest.”
I exhaled, finally dragging my eyes away from Vas. “You’re right,” I said, folding my arms, not looking forward to what came next. “I’ll go talk to Demi.”
With that, I went, leaving Vas and Sven to decide where they’d bury her.
***
Demi cried in my arms, her tears soaking my T-shirt but I didn’t care. She could drench the whole thing through if she wanted. Eventually, I offered for her to see her sister’s body before she was buried. I told her she didn’t have to but she said she wanted to see Maya one last time.
Ren held the girl’s hand as we walked to the cave. When we got there Vas and Sven had dug a deep hole. Maya’s body had been placed inside it and she almost looked peaceful there. Demi wailed when she saw her, and after consoling her for a few minutes we left her alone to say her final goodbyes.
Standing outside the cave, I spotted Jalio and two other men walking our way. Jalio’s attention went to Vas and he must’ve sensed something was up because his thick, dark eyebrows drew together.
“Everything okay, Vasilios?”
Vas ran a hand over his face and shook his head. “Maya overdosed on lava dust. She didn’t make it.”
At this Jalio’s features seemed to harden while fury burned in his eyes. They were the only part of him that showed his outrage. “What the fuck? You said you were protecting her.”
“Don’t you think I know that? I couldn’t watch her twenty-four seven,” Vas retorted. “If she was going to take those drugs she would’ve found a way with or without my protection.”
“Where is she now?” Jalio’s voice was a low rumble.
Vas motioned inside the cave. “We’ve already buried her. Her sister is inside saying her goodbyes.”
Jalio gave a stoic nod, his features remaining stony while his eyes were wild. “Do you see now how something needs to be done?”
“What can possibly be done?” Vas asked and Jalio glanced at the two men on either side of him.
His voice was low when he replied, “We can kill the Dicteps, take over the Opal Palace. Establish a new order.”
There was that word again. Dicteps. I noticed something odd flash in Vas’ gaze when he heard it. “An admirable plan, no doubt. There is the slight problem of the army that protects him night and day.”
“There are ways to get past the army,” Jalio said, his voice still low.
“Is that so? Well, in that case I hope you succeed.”
Jalio frowned. “You don’t want a part in this?”
“I escaped and was recaptured. I’ve since lost my appetite for mutiny.”
“Or perhaps the rumours are true,” Jalio said, pausing a moment before he continued. “Though if my own grandfather left me to rot in a mine for a century I’d be more than happy to slit his throat.”
I blinked. Wait a minute. Was he saying what I thought he was? The Dicteps, ruler of Treyu, was Vas’ grandfather? I thought back on what he’d told me of his mother and how she came from a ruling family who disowned her when she began a relationship with Vas’ father, Theodore. I hadn’t considered that they might be the top ruling family.
“Exactly,” Vas replied finally. “If those rumours were true I’d be the first to join your ranks. Unfortunately, there is no truth to them.”
With that, he turned and walked away. I glanced at Jalio then hurried to catch up with Vas.
“What was all that about?”
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”
“He just insinuated that the Dicteps is your grandfather? That’s the ruler of Treyu, right? Basically, some kind of king?”
He cast me a cutting, censorious glare. “The rumours are false, Darya. Don’t bring it up again.”
He kept walking and I fell back, smarting a little from his detached tone. I understood why it was a touchy subject. Being left to rot in a mine by your own family is one of the most horrendous things I’d ever heard. Jalio was right. This city needed to be overthrown, a new order put in place. As I thought about it, I considered that perhaps neither Vas nor I needed to be the ones to stage the revolution. Maybe Jalio was the man for the job. People certainly regarded him with a healthy dose of fear and respect.