The Chronicle (Erafeen, #4)

by David F. Farris

Ladies and gentleman, I present to you your new leader, King Toth Brench.”

One gentleman.

A mass of wings swarmed into the sky in the distance, stopping Toth mid-sentence. At the same time, Wert shot out of his seat. Falcons scattered into the air, soaring higher and higher. This wasn’t a freak accident, rather the act of a woman who had once been imprisoned in the palace’s dungeons. Toth had wondered what had happened to Spy Pilot Ophala following the uprising.

Well, look at Wert. That's what. She isn't controlling them because her ancient is what Poicus's was.

A goofy smile slipped onto Olivia’s face, forcing Bryson to shake his head. Olivia was still trying to learn how to properly express herself facially. Most of the time, it looked awkward and unnatural.

Yeah, Olivia is great.

“Suadade, Thusia,” said Lilu, “do either of you know how Olivia’s ability is water?”

Mendac.

The begonia pinned to Lilu’s bangs sat under Bryson’s nose. He inhaled the familiar scent and said, “Only fitting.”

This author is an anti-tropist in the best way possible. Father? Bad. Love between initially bonded people? No. Traitors? Yes. Long, gruesome periods where a character is assumed to be dead? Yes. JILLY DYING, YOU EVIL SCUM? Yes. Genius enemies and characters that do not make stupid decisions? Yes.(old)

They’re twins; we don’t know which one of them has the trait.”

Yeah, they do. And that means Bryson is older.(old)

“Does Wert know?” he asked. “I came to you first.” “As Jilly’s father, he has every right to know,” Toth said, “but we must keep this to ourselves. If he discovers his daughter died to protect the man who was supposed to protect her, there would be no calming his rage. He and I are the two faces of the uprising. If a rift forms between us—especially one of that scale—this regime will perish as abruptly as the Amendment Order did.”

Ophala wouldn't. Wert is dead.

“That’s good,” Toono said. Leaning back against the headboard with a sigh, he added, “Now, can we please discuss the identity of the Dev sacrifice? I’m assuming you chose the person a while ago. Can we not just get it out of the way so I can focus on the remaining two: Adren and Intel?”

Well, Toono knows. His plans are much larger than Storshae.

“Those with infectious spirit tend to save many lives through their smile, laughter, or kind words. Without knowing it, they stop people from committing dark acts. It is my theory that they must pay dues for all the lives they’ve saved. They’ve robbed Death to the point where it has no choice but to take them instead.”

Wow. Musku sayin' facts.

But how would the Jestivan react to seeing her now? She was no longer their age. While they ranged in age from eighteen to twenty-three, she was now old enough to be mistaken for their mother. She glanced down at herself, remembering what it was like to see Moros’s reaction when she had first returned from training with Senex. She may have experienced a gradual, natural transformation during that training, but for anyone who wasn’t affected by Senex’s ancient, her body had transformed nearly twenty years in only ten months—a surreal sight.

You mean Musku.

The princess shook her head with furrowed brows. “Nope, that was the extent of the bad news … doesn’t get much worse than that.”

Okay… so she is happy for the pregnancy but no exactly overjoyed.

“Transportation without the use of manual labor

Automobile!(old)

Throwing his bag over his shoulder to keep it above water, Toono allowed the bubbles to burst once they broke the surface. He couldn’t risk Dimiourgos drowning and wasting his last life.

So it is his last life.

Agnos sat up in his hammock, almost toppling out. “Legend of the what?” Gray shook her head. “The Sixth of Six.”

No, fifth of five.

A young boy, no older than five, lay on a table with his shirt off and chest ripped open.

Bryson.(old)

Lilu had never heard of such a theory,

YOU WRONG!(old) STILL RONG! (new)

Who and what was Naipa?

A very high ranking Bozani.

“I don’t care,” Thusia stated, turning back to him. “That information is deadly in the wrong hands. If anyone from the Dark Empire found out about the extent of Mendac’s actions or how it was covered up by the Bozani, there’d be more to worry about than a war down here. Believe me, if conflict arises between the empires, the kingdoms will inadvertently feel the catastrophic wrath.”

FORESHADOWING!! Even though mendac will fight for the dark empire!

“She’s higher than a Pogu,”

I was starting to suspect that.(old) Either the third rank or the top. The latter, right?(new)

“Olethros.”

Well then, he is a good person because he put back his biases and said Rhyparia only might be guilty.(old) I am morality. (new)

There used to be one man who protected such children, but he disappeared a year ago.”

Neeko.

One boy got one wrong, the other missed three, and the girl missed three also. Naturally,

Im guessing, in order, Toono, Agnos, first one.

“Yes,” Kaylee said. “And she was powerful. My goodness, was she powerful. They called her the Thunder Queen. Back then, rulers weren’t like the royal heads of today—they were perceived as divine beings. Commoners didn’t have energy—only the leaders of each kingdom.

Well, obviously Dimiourgos, but the higher than pogu? I forget her name.

“Perhaps Toono eventually came to his senses and realized he couldn’t dive to the seafloor and then decided on an alternative method: King Rehn. Now from what Neeko told me, I’m shocked that Toono would do something like this. Neeko was convinced that the boy was the purest of hearts. He said it all changed when a woman entered the picture.”

Kadlest.

Kaylee placed her book on the table and leaned forward. “I don’t think it’s a weapon. I think there’s some kind of misinterpretation.”

Earth ain't no weapon.

Wert chuckled. “My days off were spent in a medical ward for a week, which is entirely too long for my taste already.” His gaze dropped to his deformed arm before he cleared his throat and said, “No, I’ve come with a routine update. We still have yet to find Ophala Vevlu. At this point, we’re not sure she’s even in the capital.”

HAHA NICE ONE OPHALA

“Those who do not seek, shall not know.”

Well, i guess you could say ROLL CREDITS!

Delilah walked toward him, stopping a few paces away, her hands on her hips. “When this baby comes, Shelly will feel overwhelmed. I know because I felt it when I had her—and I was more suited for it. She will become vulnerable. You will see sides of her that no other human will ever see. Emotions will spill out of her with such ferocity that you’ll have to kick and paddle with all your might in order to stay afloat.” The queen’s green eyes hardened. “One day you’ll go under. All it’ll take is a minor inconvenience to send you over the edge—a slight cramp in the back of your thigh. You’ll scream at each other with tears in your eyes, teetering on the verge of ripping each other’s throats out.” “That won’t happen,” Bryson said. Delilah paused and shook her head. “Said every new couple in the history of time.”

Nice one, Delilah.

The lightning had penetrated six feet of ice, revealing water below.

But..it’s a sea. With salt water. How can it have ice on top?(old) It takes lower temperatures to freeze saltwater but it is possible. (new)

It had held one bruised, cut, and beaten refugee—a young girl with raven hair—and

Illipsia.

“Rhyparia is long gone—that much is certain.

I’m guessing that, in this book or the next, she is going to come into the dark realm and save a losing battle.(old) No, just destroy the whole stratum system of ulna malen. (new)

Storshae finally reached a cell in the back corner of the Confines. It was a unique hold, much larger than the rest, packed with more layers of Permanence in the walls around it. Such a design was required for the Dev Kingdom’s most dangerous captive—a woman who was, according to his father, the biggest threat to the Dev family. Storshae gazed at the woman seated on the floor within. Her raven hair was unnaturally long and in desperate need of a wash and cut. It fell in stringy curtains around her face and body to spool atop the cold, gray floor. With the way her head drooped, she appeared to not have a face. She wore an oversized tunic that reached her shins, once pure white but now stained a permanent tan. The bottom half of her legs were tucked under her, and her hands were crossed in her lap.

Illipsia's mother.

“The rulers before our timeline; the orchestrators of the great war; and, for some, the very essence of energy.”

The Earthlings?(old) Or maybe ones before the Thunder Queen, if not her. (new)

A cane stood in the corner of his office, but Agnos had never seen Neeko use it. When Agnos had asked about it, Neeko explained that it wasn’t meant for walking.

The one Toono has now.

Neeko cracked a smile, then asked, “Will you ever sound like a child?” After Agnos fell silent, unsure as to how to respond, Neeko said, “Yes, continue—you were speaking of the Originators.”

So they ARE the Thunder Queen and others such as Dimiourgos.

“Has Toono ever discussed why he wears a bandage around his head?” Agnos asked, his own hand reminding him of Toono’s most unique trait. “No, he has not,” Neeko replied. “And I do not bring it up. Do you have any theories?”

T UNO

Gracie sat up. “I suppose I can stop worrying. What’s safer than being with the royal family?” Many places,

Yeah, like Brilliance.(old) Yeah. (new)

I’d say it’s time.”

TO LEARN WHAT THE THEORY OF CONNECTIVITY MEANS?(old) YESTHATAARONSTOPSCREAMING!(new)

“So we’ll continue to kill her and bring her back to life until you fail.” Apoleia licked her lips. “A new kind of torture.”

True as hell.(old) And one of the the scariest torture methods ever. (new)

“Leon Kawi

Awwwww!(old) It's hard to feel this after… that. (new)

Himitsu Vevlu, son of Spy Pilot Ophala, was no more.

“Prepare to stem the tide that approaches our walls. The Still Kingdom’s loyalties have shifted; my father moves again.”

“This whole time, I’ve only seen you as number nine.”

Still Queen Apoleia.

Wert’s face began to morph into something else. His golden scruff vanished, the hard angles of his blockish jaw receding into something gentler and smooth; his suntanned skin darkened to a deep caramel; and his messy blonde and gray hair lengthened, falling down his back as it transitioned into jet black. Even his body had changed to that of a woman’s; his uniform baggy over the smaller frame, a hand now present where there was once nothing but a stump. Toth dropped his head. He had already accepted defeat, but to have been toyed with like this for nearly a year—there were no words to describe the humiliation. “Pilot Ophala,” he muttered, his brittle voice piling onto his shame. “You hid while your son died?” “Did you not just see Elyol standing over Jina’s body?” Ophala asked. “He is on our side. What you saw was what I wanted to be seen. The same goes for most of what you’ve witnessed these past several months. This has been nothing but a theatrical performance. That shadow that just cast the street in pitch black; it came from my son. He is not dead. In fact, he even argued to keep you alive while you celebrated his supposed death. But I am not so merciful … not anymore.” A jolt shot up Toth’s spine, and a rush of liquids escaped him again. This time, however, the stream didn’t seem to stop. “A nasty little herb,” Ophala said. “Therapif wasn’t too keen on sending it over to me years ago. It had originally been intended for Itta, but I could never bring myself to use it....