Page 47 of The Stolen Throne
Satisfaction sweeps over his features. Just a flash. “Knowing the truth will help you make the right decisions.”
I’m not fooled. That’s what he wants. Is that why Eidolon has been after the queens of my line all this time? To get our amulet? What would he even do with it if he had it? This doesn’t make any sense. “And what decision should I make?”
“That is for you to discern. But know that the next Celestial Alignment is almost upon us.”
Months—not more than two. It is not an event our stargazers can pinpoint with accuracy. My viziers are already preparing a celebration. “Why is that important?”
The ghost’s crooked mouth tilts slightly. “That is for you to discover.”
I scoff. Is he kidding?
“You don’t believe me.”
I give him a pointed look. “What tipped you off?”
He nods, almost to himself. “Something is coming,” he says. “Something…bigger. Be ready when it does. And remember, not everything is as it seems. Don’t be quick to kill. Then you’ll know I spoke the truth this night.”
His form wavers, fading.
“Wait. Kill what?”
He doesn’t wait, though, turning more and more transparent before my eyes. His voice reaches through the night. “You’re not alone out here.”
“Meren.” The call comes from ahead of me.
The ghost of Eidolon vanishes, but in the distance stands a younger version of him. A solid version.
Reven.
21
Us
I don’t know what to think first, my mind zinging from thought to thought like a wind pixie in a storm.
Did Reven see Eidolon’s ghost?
Reven just stands there, too far away to see his face, stance set wide, arms crossed, smoldering at me. I mean it. Even from here I can feel the smolder, and not the good kind. The angry kind.
Oh hells no. He does not get to be the angry one right now.
Hampered by the sand, which only ups my irritation, I stomp across the dunes to him. I don’t stop when I get close enough to see that his jaw is clenched, lips flat, thick brows drawn low over turquoise eyes that look like the ocean in a thunderstorm when the waters churn.
Something, by the way, I shouldn’t find sexy.
That thought is the only reason I stop a few feet away. I need distance to keep a clear head.
“I heard you,” he says.
That takes some of the wind out of me. “Heard me?”
“You cried out for help. In the dark. I felt your panic.”
When Eidolon’s ghost showed up. It had to be. Did he see the specter or not? “I’m fine now.”
“Now?”
He is not sidetracking me. As rattled as I am, as much as I need to talk this out with someone, if I tell him about Eidolon’s spirit, he’ll use it as a reason not to have the talk that we clearly need to have. I’ll tell him after that. I plunk my hands on my hips. “It’s time for you to tell me what in Nova is going on in your head.”
