Total pages in book: 362
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
I started to frown because none of that really sounded like a good personality trait.
“But you don’t when it concerns others,” he said.
That wasn’t always true.
“You thought about it,” he continued, “taking what you felt and what the realms may need, and met it halfway. That is how you have earned respect and loyalty from the gods here, Sera. You’ve done so by fighting beside them to defend the Shadowlands more than once and risking yourself to keep them and their home safe.”
“I only did what any halfway-decent person would do.”
“Most people, be they god or mortal, say they would be the hero and ignore their instinct for self-preservation to rush in and defend others. Even good people believe that about themselves. But the truth is, their instinct for self-preservation is too great. What they say they would do is not what they will do. It’s only what they have convinced themselves.” He touched my cheek. “So, no. You didn’t do what any half-decent person would do. You did far more despite the monstrous parts you may have. You always have.”
I looked away, feeling my cheeks warm at his unwarranted praise. The way he saw me was a version of myself I wanted to live up to.
“I’m going to ask you what you asked me before,” he said, pulling me from my thoughts. “What will you do about the Chosen?”
“Seriously?” I asked.
“Yes. Seriously. The Chosen were something you were clearly concerned about before. You are now in a position to change how things are done once Kolis is dealt with.”
I opened my mouth to answer, but the realization that I would be able to do something about the Chosen struck me silent. He wasn’t asking to hear my irrelevant, at-the-end-of-the-day opinion.
Gods, this felt far more real than being summoned to prove myself worthy to the riders.
I tightened my arms around my legs as my mind bounced all over the place. “I…I saw some of the Chosen while in Dalos. Some appeared to be in positions where they served the gods. They still wore white and remained veiled. Others didn’t.” I could still see Jacinta and the god, Evan, that Kolis had manipulated me into killing—easily. He’d manipulated me. I swallowed. “Kolis said he gave the Chosen a choice: remain cloistered and be Ascended, or not. Those who chose not to act as servants could spend time with others. I didn’t see any being forced to be intimate, but I also knew they weren’t valued. I saw Callum kill one without hesitation. So, I know that just because I didn’t see anyone being treated poorly, it doesn’t mean it wasn’t happening.”
“I believe Kolis spoke the truth about giving them a choice,” Ash said. “But I’ve seen the limitations of that choice with my own eyes.”
I nodded. Too many had seen it for themselves. And then there was Gemma, one of the Chosen Ash had rescued. She had been so traumatized by what she’d experienced in Dalos that after spotting a god from there, she’d panicked and run into the Dying Woods, nearly losing her life. Actually, she did lose her life. I’d brought her back.
A lot of evil happened in Dalos that I hadn’t been able to see.
“But it will not be that way under your rule,” Ash pointed out. “If you choose to continue with the Rite.”
I thought about it. “My immediate answer is to end it. As I said before, what the Chosen go through before they are brought to Iliseeum is bad enough. But you said it wasn’t always that way.” I lifted my gaze to him. “Right?”
“Right,” he confirmed. “When my father ruled, the Chosen were not prevented from interacting with others, and they only went to the Temples the year of their Ascension, where they were taught the customs of Iliseeum.”
Customs of Iliseeum? I hadn’t really seen any of them, but I figured they were something else that went out the window during Kolis’s reign. “You also said that the purpose of bringing in the Chosen and Ascending them to godhood was to ensure there were always gods serving in each Court that remembered what it was like to be mortal.”
Ash nodded.
“And that is necessary.” I folded an arm across my now-unsettled stomach. “So, I think I would continue with the Rite, but only if the third sons and daughters choose to be Ascended.” A thread of excitement wove its way through me. “Like they would have until the year they would’ve entered the Temples under your father’s rule to decide if that is what they want.”
“Okay.”
“And they could change their minds at any time,” I added. “Well, up until the point they Ascend—wait.” My eyes widened. “That means I would have to Ascend them.”
“It does.”
“Do you know how your father Ascended them?” I asked, wondering if what Kolis had said was true.