Dovetailed Read Online Free PDF

are wrong.”
    Another cheer, so loud it reverberated off the walls and ceiling, and sent debris down like rain.
    “I won’t force this change on anyone. If you do not desire the gift of immortality, I will not give it. Know this, though. Our enemies have brought something… beyond evil to this planet.” A picture of a creature with large sharp teeth and tentacles came into her mind. She felt Michael shudder behind her. He’d seen what she’d seen. “They are stronger than even the power of the Kelvieri…” Venus gave them a slight smile. “At least, they were.”
    “What does she mean?” someone from the crowd asked.
    “My parents created the power of the Kelvieri boots,” she answered. “The time has come that you will need more than what’s been previously given, and I have the power to give it to you.” She paused, knowing that, even with the improved power, many would still die. “I can’t promise you won’t get hurt, or that your life will be easy. War never is. But if you want it, please come forward. We’re running out of time. The transformation needs to happen immediately.” She shrugged, wishing she could make them like her, but it wasn’t possible.
    Almost as one, the Kelarians walked toward her. Zaren and Palamina came forward and worked to give the crowd some order.

 
     
     
     
     

    “She’s worse now that she knows the truth. I knew she would be,” Amberlee said against Palmo’s neck when he pulled her into a hug.
    “I know,” he returned.
    She allowed herself to lean against his taut chest. His smell always reminded her of a morning breeze. Even after all he’d been through, he still smelled like himself, and she smiled. “I’m glad you’re back.”
    “Me too.” He hugged her tighter.
    They stood like that a long while. Amberlee could hear Venus in the background. She spoke quietly with the souls, performed a group of transformations, and then repeated the process. It was tedious. It stressed Amberlee out, but only because she felt the pressure to get out of this godforsaken place.
    Nothing about Helker held fond memories. She’d come to save Palmo. She’d come to atone for her sins. All too soon after she made her deal with the Ferether, Ramien, it became apparent why one shouldn’t make deals with a demon.
    Venus had saved them all. Well, her and the whatever-he-was Michael. It burned her up inside. She hadn’t ever wanted anything from her sister and she surely didn’t want her help. Or for her sister to be her savior.
    But that’s exactly what Venus had been, still was, and would forever be for Amberlee and Kelari. It was difficult to deal with. That’s why she’d joined The Order. Venus wasn’t really her sister. Venus wasn’t even from their planet, but a being—a god—born of Ith and Aetha. They were from a planet called Stiel. They’d been sent to save Kelari thousands of years ago.
    Amberlee didn’t like being saved by an alien, even if that alien was a god. It irked her more than she wanted to admit.
    She also hadn’t planned on all the death, all the slaughter. It was for that reason she’d betrayed The Order, because more than she believed in The Order, she loved Palmo, and his father had intended to let Palmo die. It was the price of war, he’d said. Death, even of the ones we loved, couldn’t be helped when trying to create a rebirth. He’d said that when her parents were killed as well. She’d accepted it then. But Palmo? She’d do anything for him.
    She’d talked to her parents. Apologized for her part in King Antyon’s plan and begged them to forgive her. They’d said kind words of comfort, though for some reason they felt hollow. She’d asked them to stay, to help her. She’d confessed she needed them, but they’d said they couldn’t stay, that they had to move on, that they were needed elsewhere.
    It was clear no matter what she said, her pleas fell on unhearing ears. So she’d wiped her eyes and told them she loved them,