Page 100 of A War of Embers

“With how long it’s been inside of you, there’s a potential it’s bonded to you. Either the soul already held that type of magic and Lady Gwenyth used you to hide it from others or it was gifted to you at some point after it inhabited your body.”

Neither option leaves a good feeling in the pit of my stomach. “Anything else?”

She hesitates for a moment before sliding one of the larger books out. “I did find a passage referencing godlike souls being housed in immortals.”

Seriously? I lean forward to look at the book, but she keeps her hand tightly on the cover, obscuring my view of what’s on it. Blowing out an agitated breath, I narrow my eyes. “Why are you hiding it?”

“Because it’s not necessarily good news.”

“Meaning?” I prompt.

Alyvia doesn’t respond, instead she removes her hand and begins flipping through pages before settling on a random one. The text is smudged, half the words disappearing due to age, but there’s enough to make out the spider-like blue veins running in the background. A large underlined word catches my attention as I lean to get a better look.

Balance.

Give and take.

Scanning over the text I finally realize what Alyvia isn’t saying. To access the godlike soul, any mortal or immortal souls housed inside the same body must be purged. Only limited access to the godlike soul can be had. Unlike immortal souls which require a Lord or Lady to maintain access, a godlike soul responds to no one but the host. Removing the immortal souls surrounding godlike ones releases the current immortal from service.

“So Micah was right,” I murmur. Once I’m free of the immortal souls, Lady Gwenyth will no longer have any control over my actions or be able to call upon me to fight at her side. Looking back at Alyvia, I ask, “Did you find anything that might tell you where High Lords or Ladies might be located here in Aïdes?”

“No,” she sighs. “I haven’t come across anything at all that speaks about them traveling here.” She gestures towards the page I was just scanning. “Did you finish reading it?”

My brow puckers at her nervous tone. “No,” I respond slowly. “Why?”

“Because it says to give up your godlike soul; it has to be after the immortal ones are removed.”

“I saw that part.”

“And that your godlike soul can only be removed if you truly wish to be free of it. No one can take it out by force.” She awkwardly shifts on her feet. Which shows why Rowan’s soul is able to still be alive, even if fractured, because it's godlike. The piece of the soul back in Tellus used to control his movements and prevent him from crossing the sea.

Fuck. Reality sinks in as I think about how Rowan is able to still be alive even after going through all the trauma of a war. “So he can’t be killed.” Meaning neither can I. At least not without actually wanting to die.

“So where does this leave us?” Alyvia asks, nervously chewing on her bottom lip as her eyes bounce around between the maps and books. “How do we get your immortal souls out since they’re tethered to protecting the godlike one?”

“I need a High Lord or Lady.”

She twists her head to look at me. “But we don’t have any here.”

Really there’s only one option left. The one I dread the most that sends me far away, ready to take on Lady Gwenyth if I have to just to find my freedom from her. But I can’t help Rowan protect his people and go to war if I can be used by the enemy. The answer is simple, “So I go to them.”

Alyvia gapes in horror. “Keres, you can’t do that.”

Determination riots in my chest, like the pounding of a war drum beating in my ears. “Yes, I can. If I stay here and help, then I’m a sitting duck waiting for everyone to get their ass across the sea and use me against you. I told Rowan I want to help and I mean it. I need to go to the Godlands.”

My mind immediately begins spinning with different ideas of how to accomplish this. Diving into the Blood Sea isn’t an option. Sereia would never let me leave, especially if it puts her at odds against her son. Which leaves the only option to use the air as a way of travel.

Shit.

There’s only one person I know who might even remotely agree to this asinine plan and not immediately run off to tell Rowan what I need to do to help save us all. Without looking back at Alyvia, I move towards the door and fling it open, leaving her alone in Rowan’s study while I rush down the hall.

Several servants jump out of my way as I race through the main section of the estate, keeping an eye out for a quick escape. Behind me, I can hear Alyvia calling my name but I’m moving too fast with purpose to let her slow me down.

Throwing open the door to the courtyard, I head towards the forest. Although I can hear the warriors out there colliding with swords as they train, my gaze stays fixated on getting through them to reach the one person who can aid me in my plan.

The wind blasts around us, sending a few people flying backwards right before the ground trembles as the giant onyx dragon lands in the field, puffing smoke out of his nose. His reptilian eyes scan the area, narrowing on me as I come to a halt right before him. The beast shifts, disappearing immediately before retaking his mortal form. When he cocks a blond brow, I swear my heart beats loudly in my throat as I force the words to come out.

“Zeke, I need your help.”

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