Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 130619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Silas grunts and stuffs his burger in his mouth. How does he live on burgers? “It was spectacular,” I say, but my voice lacks the excitement it would have had only hours before.
What’s wrong? Micah asks, reaching for the path that connects us.
Nothing, is all I say without looking at him. Now is not the moment to discuss my frustrated hunt for a needle in a haystack with thousands upon thousands of books to read. Micah has had centuries to hunt for an answer that we now have only days to locate, and this has me wondering if the proper book with our answer is even in this library, rather than another. And he’s not found what I need to find without that luxury of time.
At present, I focus on my empty belly and food. With a quick scan of the table, it seems everyone has provided their own spellcasted meal. Micah is eating tacos. Gabriella is enjoying a sandwich, and Silas is once again chowing down on McDonald’s. I treat myself to mac and cheese from my favorite steakhouse, since apparently dying of a heart attack isn’t in the cards for me.
“And Braylon?” I ask, still not looking at Micah.
“Checking on the garrison,” Micah explains.
Concern rockets my gaze to his. “Is there a problem?”
“I sent him to place Celine on alert in case Jeremy comes looking for you.”
I shift in my seat and angle toward him. “What if there is a problem? How will you know if you’re here?”
He turns his hand over and shows me a small star on his wrist. Gabriella and Silas do the same. “It’s a magical blood bond, and those who wear it can communicate and find each other regardless of location. I have a small group of people, all of who you have not met, who can reach me.”
“Shouldn’t we link in Ember?” Gabriella asks.
“No!” I say way too sharp and fast, and I’m left with honesty as my explanation. My hands plant on my legs beneath the table. “I love the idea of being able to find you all and communicate, but we all know I’m the Aza. We all know what that means. If I turn, I want you to kill me, not the opposite way around.”
“Ember,” Gabriella says softly. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Agreed,” Silas says. “Stop that bullshit.”
“You barely know me,” I say to them all. “I barely know me.”
Micah reaches under the table and captures my hand. “I know you, Ember. We’re both a part of Elysium, and it knows you, too.” He glances around the table. “Ember and I are going to train together this afternoon. We’ll reschedule your sessions.”
“No, I want to train with them. I want to stick to the plan.” I turn to Micah. “I’m fine. I need to be ready when we go out there.” I reach for our connection and add for his ears only: I want to train with Silas and Gabriella. Please.
You’re not in the right state of mind. I think you need me.
He’s not wrong, but he’s also no different than them in that we all need to know me better before we place trust in me. Then let me show all of us, them included, that I’m worthy of standing by your side.
He draws in a slow breath and gives a short nod before he faces forward. I straighten in my seat, and Gabriella and Silas are staring at us, as if they know we were just talking to each other through a mental path. They look astounded, and it’s only then that I think this isn’t a normal thing, but it’s this place, it’s the prophecy.
“Her life is your life,” Gabriella whispers, and I can see her mind working, cataloging the butterflies accepting me and Micah speaking to me in his mind.
Silas snorts, clearly not in the know, as he says, “Her life is all of our lives, so we need to teach her to bitch slap a demon.” He points at me. “I’m going to work you like a bitch, and you’ll hate me today and thank me later.”
“I’m ready,” I say, for the same reason I told Micah I want to do this, and that’s the first paragraph of the book he left for me today that reads:
The Aza will, even in concept, be seen as a terrifying mix of good and evil that will one day be only one of these things, but she is in fact a celebration and dramatization of how both human and Nephilim are alike. If she chooses right, her light will illuminate a path that washes away the blood of war.
I cannot be afraid of my power. I simply have to choose to use it responsibly. And to do that, I have to start by finding a way to defeat the serpent.