As the Shadow Rises: Book Two of The Age of Darkness by Katy Rose Pool

Author:Katy Rose Pool [Pool, Katy Rose]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780356513553
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Published: 2020-08-31T18:30:00+00:00

25

EPHYRA

AT SUNRISE, THEY REACHED THE PART OF THE DESERT THAT NUMIR CALLED THE salt pan. The skiffs could not travel over the salt the way they did over sand, so they left them behind. But Ephyra was almost grateful when they were forced to continue on foot—she had not been looking forward to being cooped up with Illya the rest of the way to the tomb of the Sacrificed Queen. She would rather bury herself in the sand. At least if they were walking, Ephyra could get up to thirty feet away from him.

Instead of the golden sand Ephyra had grown accustomed to, white crystal covered the ground as far as the eye could see. It shone brilliantly in the sun, broken by pockets of sand that made it look almost like seafoam. Long ago, this whole area had been covered in water. This was what it had left behind.

Frustration built inside Ephyra as the sun set behind them. They were as close to Eleazar’s Chalice—to a cure for Beru—as they’d ever been. Yet she’d never felt farther away. The others kept up a steady stream of chatter. Just ahead, Shara and Illya were talking about something evidently very funny judging by how often they broke into laughter.

Ephyra gritted her teeth and marched faster toward them.

“Then he told me that the real treasure was the friends—” Shara paused to glance at Ephyra. A shadow of panic passed over her face and Ephyra froze. Obviously Shara still wasn’t over the argument they’d had yesterday.

Illya raised his eyebrows. “Can we help you?”

“I need to talk to you,” Ephyra said to Shara.

Illya fell back, allowing the two of them a few feet of privacy.

“You can save the apology,” Shara began.

“What apology?”

Shara huffed in irritation, but there was something else in her eyes, and the way they would not quite meet Ephyra’s. It was a moment before Ephyra realized what it was—Shara was afraid of her.

Usually that was not something that would have concerned her. In fact, much of the time, fear was useful. Here, it complicated matters. Would Shara let Ephyra have the Chalice if she feared what she would do with it?

Ephyra steeled herself. “When it comes to it, when we get to the Chalice . . . I just want to know that you’re not going to renege.”

“Why would I do that?” Shara asked.

Frustration twisted in Ephyra’s chest. “I don’t know. Maybe because you’ve been listening to what that snake has to say.”

“Illya has been nothing but helpful to us since we found him,” Shara argued. “I’m not worried about him.”

“But you are worried about me,” Ephyra finished for her. Shara’s expression confirmed it.

“Ephyra, you were perfectly fine with killing someone!” Shara said. “That’s—that’s not a normal response to this situation.”

“You don’t get it,” Ephyra said. “This is life and death to me. My sister is dying.”

Shara narrowed her eyes. “I just want you to know—I have been honest with you from the start. I’ve never lied to you, and in return, you’ve consistently hidden things from me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.