Total pages in book: 241
Estimated words: 229266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1146(@200wpm)___ 917(@250wpm)___ 764(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 229266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1146(@200wpm)___ 917(@250wpm)___ 764(@300wpm)
Bright, twin flames passed mere feet from my face as a Guardian kicked off the back of a falling soldier. The dark-haired Guardian spun in mid-air, catching two in the chest. The fiery blades sliced through leather and bone. Landing in a crouch, she rose with the fluid grace of a goddess, her eyes briefly meeting mine. She nodded before disappearing into the crush of soldiers.
A sudden yelp from a wolven spun me around. A fawn-colored one that reminded me of Kieran but smaller, limped backward away from a knight, blood coursing down the hind leg. Vonetta? I wasn’t sure as I shifted the sword to my left hand and withdrew the wolven dagger. The knight lifted the sword as the wolven bared her teeth, crouching on the wounded leg. Flipping the dagger so I held it by the blade, I cocked back my arm and threw it. The bloodstone struck the knight in the forehead, taking him down before he even knew what’d hit him as I shoved the sword into the gut of another soldier who reached for me. The wolven whipped toward me and suddenly launched into the air. My breath caught as she crashed into a soldier behind me. They went down, her jaws locked on his neck. She shook her head, flinging the soldier like he was nothing more than a rag doll. Bone cracked as I turned, scanning the mass of bodies standing and on the ground. There were wolven among the fallen. Faces I recognized. I retrieved my dagger from the dusty ground as a wolven the color of snow darted past me. Delano. I turned, catching sight of Casteel behind the catapults.
Blood streaked his face as he spun out his blades, catching two soldiers in the chest. Yanking the swords free, he stretched his neck, and my heart stuttered. There was a wound on his neck and shoulder, ragged and seeping blood. Surrounded, he roared, fangs bared as he caught a soldier by the throat, ripping into flesh as Delano took a knight down from his horse, his claws tearing through the metal armor like it was nothing more than loose soil. Another wolven shot across the field—an impossibly large, silver one. Jasper? He grabbed the knight’s arm as he swung the sword toward Delano and…good gods, he tore it straight off, sword and all.
I would have to vomit about that later.
Another knight leapt from his horse, landing like a mountain behind Casteel. He tossed a soldier aside to get to Casteel, flinging the mortal into the side of a catapult. The crunch of bones told me that the soldier wouldn’t be getting back up.
I picked up my pace, jumping over a body and closing the distance just as the knight went for Casteel. Grabbing a fistful of the knight’s hair, I yanked his head back as I thrust the wolven dagger into the weak space at the base of his skull, angling it upward. The knight shuddered as I let go, his body breaking apart.
Casteel spun then, fangs bared and mouth streaked with crimson. The sword he swung at me halted a mere inch from my neck. His breath came out in short, ragged bursts.
“You’re welcome,” I panted. “For saving your life.”
Breathing raggedly, he jerked the sword back. A wide, bloody smile broke out across his face. “Would this be an inappropriate time to let you know I’m incredibly turned on by you right now?”
“Yes.” My gaze shifted to the guard staggering to his feet behind him. “Highly inappropriate.”
“Well, too bad.” Casteel pivoted, and the guard’s head went in a different direction of his body. “I find you highly arousing.”
My lips curved up as I turned, seeing the carriage. “Is she in the carriage? The Duchess?”
“I believe so.” He looked over his shoulder at me. “You want to kill her?”
I nodded.
“You’re going to have to beat me to it.”
Jamming the dagger into a soldier’s throat, I said, “Doable.”
Casteel’s laugh was wild as he caught the arm of a knight, spinning him as he drew one of his swords around, cutting through the soldier’s neck. I started forward when fire sparked to life in the waiting darkness of the western road. I drew up short, breathing heavily as the spark repeated itself, over and over and over. The sparks flew into the air—
Arrows.
Casteel crashed into me, grabbing me around the waist as he shoved us under the catapult. His body flattened over mine, pressing me into the hard, blood-and-dirt-packed earth.
The arrows fell, striking Solis soldiers and those who fought on Atlantia’s side alike. I jerked back against Casteel at the sound of arrows piercing flesh, at the sudden intense flares of light all around us as the fire swept over bodies, igniting the catapult beside us. The world descended into chaos and death.