Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 235897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1179(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 786(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 235897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1179(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 786(@300wpm)
“Give me sixty seconds to knock out the guards, then come down,” Imogen orders, disappearing around the first curve.
“Do I get to know yet?” Maren asks.
“No,” Bodhi and Ridoc answer simultaneously.
“And how does the Empyrean feel about this?” I tap my fingers on my thigh, counting out the seconds.
“You have the full support of the Aretian riot. We will find out how the others feel in the morning.”
So we’re begging forgiveness instead of asking permission. Understood.
We start down the steps, Bodhi and me taking lead. “Xaden’s going to be pissed,” I whisper so the others don’t hear.
“Which is why you’re going to be the one to tell him when we pull it off,” he answers with a grimace. “He won’t kill you.”
We wind our way down, keeping a pace Sawyer seems comfortable with, and my chest grows tighter with every step. There should only be two guards on tonight, which is absolutely no challenge for Imogen, but the anxiety doesn’t let up until she comes into view, waiting for us on the bottom step with her arms folded.
“We have a slight problem,” she says, her mouth tensing as she steps aside. “I wasn’t sure you’d want me knocking out this particular guard.”
Mira walks into the center of the chamber and tilts her head at me in an uncanny imitation of our mother.
My stomach hits the floor. “Shit,” I mutter.
“Shit is about right.” Mira puts her hands on her hips. “And to think, I figured I was overreacting when I dismissed the guards and took their place.”
“How did you know?” I meet her in the middle of the tunnel, noting that she stands between me and the entrance to the wardstone chamber.
“Because I know you.” She levels a withering look on me, then glances over my shoulder. “You pulled that rider from his sickbed?”
“I’m the one who gets to say how ‘sick’ I am,” Sawyer counters from behind me.
“Right.” She swings her attention back to me. “You shouldn’t do this.”
I lift my chin. “Are you going to stop me?”
Her eyes narrow slightly. “Can you be stopped?”
“No.” I shake my head. “You were there when we gave our word that the fliers would be educated with the riders. If Navarre wants us, then they take all of us.”
“And you’re willing to risk the wards our mother gave her life to power to keep your word?” She lifts her eyebrow.
“You’re the one who told me this can be done.” I skirt the question as the others move to stand beside me.
“Which is something I’ll have to live with.” She looks at each rider. “You’re all aware that if we fail, the wards could fall? And if we succeed, there’s every chance we’ll be charged with treason and executed by dragon?”
“That’s not happening,” Tairn assures me with a low growl.
“I’m sorry, what?” Maren looks down the line from the right.
“Relax.” Imogen knocks her with an elbow. “Your only job is to wield. You’ll be clear of the rest.”
“We know the risks,” I tell Mira. “If the wards fall, then it looks like there’s a mass migration to Aretia, and I’m truly on a ticking clock to find Andarna’s kind. But they won’t, because you found the solution, and you’re never wrong. So I’m asking you again: Are you going to stop me?”
She sighs and drops her arms at her sides. “No, but only because I know you’ll just try again, and I might not be here to make sure it works next time. You have the best shot with both of us.” She pivots on her heel and disappears through the entrance to the ward chamber.
With Bodhi keeping watch, the six of us make our way into the narrow passage, Maren and me holding Sawyer’s crutches as Rhiannon and Ridoc shuffle sideways with Sawyer’s weight braced between them.
Only when we enter the massive chamber housing our kingdom’s wardstone do I fully comprehend what Mira had meant by us.
“This little venture tells me you’ve been hanging out with Riorson too long,” Brennan says, waiting beside Mira in front of the massive iron pillar and its eerie black flame.
Guess this is now a family affair. The corners of my mouth rise. “You’re the one leading a revolution with him. Maybe you rubbed off on me.” I keep my gaze on my siblings, ignoring everything else about the chamber in the name of self-preservation.
“And to think, you could have been wasted on the Scribe Quadrant.” He flashes a smile, but it falls quickly as he gets serious. “Henrick, you’re with Mira. She’ll help you through the process. Flier—”
“Maren Zina,” she corrects him.
“Great. Zina, you prepare to wield whatever lesser magic you’re most comfortable with. You three”—he points at Rhi, Ridoc, and me—“don’t touch anything.”
“And you?” I ask.
“I’m here in case it all goes to shit.” He glances back at the stone. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve mended it.”