Read Online Harvest of Dreams (The Gods' Dream Trilogy) by Debra Holland - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Debra Holland
Tags: Romance, Love Story
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ledge, where a wall about waist high protected her, and gazed at the panorama below her. She caught her breath at the sight. Three beams of light beamed into the center between the islands, the rays weak and the light fuzzy instead of sharp. The water roiled where they intersected, bubbling white on the surface and gold in the depths from the power of the SeaGod. Through the churning of the water, she saw glimpses of Yadarius, the heavy chains lashing him to his throne loosened by the struggle.
Through her othersense, the SeaGod’s emotions battered at her—anger as strong as a tempest, determination all the more formidable for being as cold and as fathomless as the depths of the sea.
Dread ran through her body, chilling her. If the crystals continue to fail, Yadarius will escape and take revenge.
~ ~ ~
Thaddis lay on a slab at the foot of the statue of the Goddess Guinheld, trying to calm his fear. He was clad only in a loincloth, after having ritually bathed in the small crescent-shaped pool to the right of the statue. The stone beneath him should have been hard and cold, but instead felt like a sun-warmed cushion. As instructed by Archpriest Devore, Thaddis took deep breaths of the citrusy-scented air.
What is Guinheld going to do to me?
All the Gods and Goddesses had their own ways of reining in their people and punishing them for their sins. Besolet had been known to petulantly slap any who didn’t immediately acquiesce to Her demands, and Yadarius’s well-known scolds were enough to keep most of His people behaving. He’d only heard rumors of Guinheld’s cleansing, but he knew people were never the same after they’d completed the ritual.
Does it really matter? No torment the Goddess put him through could equal what he’d done to the people of Seagem…or for that matter, to his own people.
Devore leaned over him. The Archpriest had tied his white hair in a tail. The expression on the man’s narrow face didn’t change, but his silver eyes gave Thaddis an assessing look. “Remember to breathe throughout the procedure. That will make the process easier on you.”
Thaddis gave Devore a faint nod of understanding before closing his eyes. He could hear the Archpriest’s soft footsteps pad across the room.
Around him, Thaddis could feel the presence of the Goddess. Her essence pressed against his skin, then began seeping into his body—a very different approach from Ontarem’s initial excruciating grab for his mind. He didn’t know whether to relax, or brace for a painful takeover once he’d lowered his guard. As he became one with the Goddess, Thaddis gradually let go of his fear.
With a shift of time, Guinheld returned him to his childhood, and he found himself in a boy’s body. Even though he was the crown prince, he didn’t get away with much. His nanny was strict, but loving, and his parents wanted him raised as normally as possible, although they spoiled him somewhat. Still, Guinheld had him relive the various childhood indiscretions he’d committed, starting with the pastry he’d swiped from a dessert table during a reception, after his nanny had forbidden him to have one. Thaddis had the impression Guinheld weighed each escapade, but for the most part she seemed to consider them boyish antics.
Guinheld lingered at the dark time when his mother died—the shock and pain of her loss. The occasions he’d gone to his father needing a hug and comfort, and the king had turned away… He’d been so sad and lonely.
By his mid-teens, Thaddis no longer had a nanny, and his father remained stricken with grief. Stevenes could barely cope with ruling his kingdom, much less overseeing his son. Thaddis develop a temper and usually had no reason, at least in Ocean’s Glory, to rein it in. The various tutors assigned to the prince were too afraid of offending the future king to force obedience.
With the reins of guidance and discipline all but absent, except when he was fostering in Seagem, Thaddis
Through her othersense, the SeaGod’s emotions battered at her—anger as strong as a tempest, determination all the more formidable for being as cold and as fathomless as the depths of the sea.
Dread ran through her body, chilling her. If the crystals continue to fail, Yadarius will escape and take revenge.
~ ~ ~
Thaddis lay on a slab at the foot of the statue of the Goddess Guinheld, trying to calm his fear. He was clad only in a loincloth, after having ritually bathed in the small crescent-shaped pool to the right of the statue. The stone beneath him should have been hard and cold, but instead felt like a sun-warmed cushion. As instructed by Archpriest Devore, Thaddis took deep breaths of the citrusy-scented air.
What is Guinheld going to do to me?
All the Gods and Goddesses had their own ways of reining in their people and punishing them for their sins. Besolet had been known to petulantly slap any who didn’t immediately acquiesce to Her demands, and Yadarius’s well-known scolds were enough to keep most of His people behaving. He’d only heard rumors of Guinheld’s cleansing, but he knew people were never the same after they’d completed the ritual.
Does it really matter? No torment the Goddess put him through could equal what he’d done to the people of Seagem…or for that matter, to his own people.
Devore leaned over him. The Archpriest had tied his white hair in a tail. The expression on the man’s narrow face didn’t change, but his silver eyes gave Thaddis an assessing look. “Remember to breathe throughout the procedure. That will make the process easier on you.”
Thaddis gave Devore a faint nod of understanding before closing his eyes. He could hear the Archpriest’s soft footsteps pad across the room.
Around him, Thaddis could feel the presence of the Goddess. Her essence pressed against his skin, then began seeping into his body—a very different approach from Ontarem’s initial excruciating grab for his mind. He didn’t know whether to relax, or brace for a painful takeover once he’d lowered his guard. As he became one with the Goddess, Thaddis gradually let go of his fear.
With a shift of time, Guinheld returned him to his childhood, and he found himself in a boy’s body. Even though he was the crown prince, he didn’t get away with much. His nanny was strict, but loving, and his parents wanted him raised as normally as possible, although they spoiled him somewhat. Still, Guinheld had him relive the various childhood indiscretions he’d committed, starting with the pastry he’d swiped from a dessert table during a reception, after his nanny had forbidden him to have one. Thaddis had the impression Guinheld weighed each escapade, but for the most part she seemed to consider them boyish antics.
Guinheld lingered at the dark time when his mother died—the shock and pain of her loss. The occasions he’d gone to his father needing a hug and comfort, and the king had turned away… He’d been so sad and lonely.
By his mid-teens, Thaddis no longer had a nanny, and his father remained stricken with grief. Stevenes could barely cope with ruling his kingdom, much less overseeing his son. Thaddis develop a temper and usually had no reason, at least in Ocean’s Glory, to rein it in. The various tutors assigned to the prince were too afraid of offending the future king to force obedience.
With the reins of guidance and discipline all but absent, except when he was fostering in Seagem, Thaddis
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