Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 132437 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 441(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132437 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 441(@300wpm)
Not how things worked, though.
She had to wipe her eyes again. And as her heart ached so badly it was like she’d been kicked in the chest, she dropped her hands and stared at the screen. There were so many similarities, she realized, grids lining up, stars intersecting. It was as if their destinies were, and always had been, inextricably entwined.
t’On had interpreted things in another way, though.
“Oh, who the fuck knows…”
Later, she would think about the moment that came next, dissecting it over and over again to isolate the instant that awareness came to her. There was no way of tracking that, however, because it was a gradual thing, like a camera pulling out details as its lens was focused.
Her eyes drifted over to the family grid on her chart.
She sucked in a gasp.
There were two stars in the death orientation, yes. Except here, they were shining brightly, no shadow that had been interpreted and drawn there identifying a future that could be prevented.
That couldn’t be right.
Frowning, she pulled her parchment back over. God, she wished she’d paid better attention to the homework her tutor had assigned instead of sneaking out to swim in those frickin’ ponds.
She’d thought those astrological lessons had been trigonometry she’d never use. Instead, they were paramount knowledge she desperately needed right now.
Doing what she could to track the differences between what the laptop was showing and what was on the chart that had been drawn, an alarm started going off in her head
Unless she was totally wrong… the constellation arrangement on the screen was a warning to her.
But not for what she’d been told to do.
On the laptop, it appeared as if, were she to continue on her course and mate t’On, that both her parents died and the s’Hisbe was destroyed.
Denne’s eyes went back and forth between the parchment and the screen so many times she got dizzy. Or maybe that was from the conclusion that was propagating in her mind. She just wished she was more confident in her ability to read the grids and stars so she could be more sure.
But it certainly looked like the physical copy of her chart had been doctored: What was shadowed on the parchment was the actual outcome.
And there was only one explanation that made any sense.
t’On had fabricated the whole thing.
Her heart started pounding. She had to go to her parents right now—
“What are you doing?” her mother’s Tretary demanded from the doorway.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Down below at the palace entrance, iAm opened the glass door and stood aside for his shellan. As Catra went by him, he was very aware of having reached a conclusion there was no coming back from. The situation with Denne had been tying him up even before they’d met with Wrath and the Brotherhood about the eminent domain stuff, and he’d been distracted during the discussion. The truth was, however, his mind was locking into a rock-solid position about their only offspring, and he was now stuck trying to figure out how to talk to his beloved shellan about it.
There was just so much swirling around his mate that he didn’t want to add more stress. But he was going to have to voice his opinion.
This was not about the crown and the Territory. This was about him as a father.
“I wish I could do something for Wrath,” his Queen said. “He’s always there when we need him.”
“Amen to that.” He put his arm around her. “You’re an important ally for him, too, though. Humans and lessers are everywhere, and his throne and the Brotherhood are in the thick of it. You’ve helped him a lot as well.”
She laughed a little. “You know what? I don’t think I’ve ever seen Vishous smile.”
“Me, neither. It didn’t last, though.”
“No.” Her brows settled low. “But that’s the way of happiness, isn’t it. The pain tends to be what lingers.”
They didn’t say anything else as they went downstairs to their private quarters. A couple of courtiers passed by on the steps, and the purple robes and the glow in those dark faces was like getting punched in the gut. Once again, he was forced to reflect on how the whole s’Hisbe had come alive in a way it hadn’t been for a decade.
Yet here he was, feeling like they were sending their only young off to the slaughter—
Catra stopped in the middle of the hallway, the glossy white marble floor, walls, and ceiling reflecting her beautiful, robed form.
When her black eyes met his own, he suddenly had the feeling what she was going to say before she spoke the word that was banging around in his own skull:
“No.”
“I’m sorry?” he said urgently, because he had to be sure they were thinking the same thing. “What? What’s no—”
“I cannot let Denne mate him. I don’t care what that chart projects. You and I will protect ourselves, we will take care of us. And if she’s supposed to be Queen now, fine. I’ll step down. But I will not condemn our daughter to a loveless mating just to protect us from something that’s on a piece of parchment.”