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Back Into the Dying Light Save as PDF
Chapters (72)
  1. Copyright Notice
  2. Dedication
  3. I
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. BEFORE
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. BEFORE
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. BEFORE
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. BEFORE
  25. II
  26. 18
  27. 19
  28. 20
  29. 21
  30. 22
  31. 23
  32. 24
  33. 25
  34. 26
  35. 27
  36. 28
  37. 29
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. 32
  41. III
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. IV
  52. 42
  53. 43
  54. 44
  55. 45
  56. 46
  57. 47
  58. 48
  59. 49
  60. 50
  61. 51
  62. 52
  63. 53
  64. 54
  65. 55
  66. 56
  67. 57
  68. 58
  69. AFTER
  70. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  71. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  72. Newsletter Sign-up

Her gaze always unsettled him, since the first time he’d met her at that party in Endarrion. She always seemed to know what he was thinking. She was not unlike Anton in that way. Maybe that was just the nature of Prophets.

“You know the truth about me,” Jude said at last.

The Wanderer looked at him thoughtfully. “There are many truths about you, Jude Weatherbourne. To which do you refer?”

“About what the Keeper of the Word really is.” He looked down. “What I am. What I have to do to kill the god.”

She inclined her head.

“So why didn’t you stop him?” Jude asked.

Pain flashed across her face, so brief Jude almost missed it. “If I could have stopped Pallas from doing what he did to Temara—”

“No,” he cut in, realizing that she thought he blamed her for that. “I want to know why you didn’t stop Anton. All of this would be over if he’d just accepted what we needed to do. If he hadn’t tried to go looking for the other Prophets.”

“Have you ever successfully stopped Anton from doing anything?” she asked.

He couldn’t say that he had. From the moment he’d met Anton, it had been one acquiescence after another—letting him gamble the Pinnacle Blade; letting him walk into the Order’s Tribunal like he owned the place; letting him drag Jude to a party, of all things; letting Anton kiss him. Letting him make Jude believe that they could have a future together.

He didn’t answer the Wanderer’s question, but he didn’t need to. He could see her dark eyes reading it all from his face.

“I had my doubts about the other Prophets,” she admitted. “I thought that they had given up and hidden themselves in the farthest corner of the earth to escape the fate they had thrust upon the world. I didn’t think that they were—” She cut herself off, and Jude realized she was emotional. He’d never seen her anything less than perfectly composed, yet here she was, at a loss for words, her dark eyes misting over. “We had our differences. Enough of them that kept us apart for centuries. But what Pallas did … I would despise him for what he did to the others, if I hadn’t already reason enough to hate him.”

Her voice was far away, her gaze distant like she had left the room entirely.

“Tell me about her,” Jude said softly. “Temara. The first Keeper of the Word.”