Total pages in book: 248
Estimated words: 236909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1185(@200wpm)___ 948(@250wpm)___ 790(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1185(@200wpm)___ 948(@250wpm)___ 790(@300wpm)
“Reaver’s hurt.” I glanced over my shoulder, wiping the blood off my chin with the back of my tingling hand.
Bele’s gaze briefly met mine as she managed to get between Veses and us. “How bad?”
A knot of emotion lodged in my throat. “Bad.”
“He’ll be fine.” Veses rolled her eyes, but her voice wavered. “He’s a draken.”
“He’s a child!” I spat.
“So?” Veses lifted her chin. “He shouldn’t have come at me.”
“Veses.” Bele tsked softly. “Are you that weak that you saw a youngling as a threat?”
“Not a threat. A disrespect.” Veses sneered. “And you didn’t answer my question about the sword. You can’t attack me.”
“I can’t?” Bele continued edging toward Veses, forcing her farther away from me—and Reaver.
“You know the rules,” Veses said. “She’s not his Consort yet, and the draken, youngling or not, has no right to defend her against me. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Ah, yes, the rules. But as you said, there’s already a bounty on my head,” Bele said. “One I’m sure involves bringing me to Dalos, dead or alive. So what if I break a rule?”
“Reaver?” I touched his cheek. His skin was clammy. Wincing, I grabbed the soft blanket from the chaise and draped it over him. His chest barely moved. Concern grew rapidly. He hadn’t woken up, and he seemed to have unconsciously shifted forms. I’d seen draken do that when gravely injured.
My throat dried as I sent Bele and Veses a quick glance, knowing I was about to take another huge risk. Veses might only suspect that I was the source of the power she’d felt, but I had to do something. I couldn’t let Reaver die, and I feared the throbbing embers were warning me of that. They sensed that death was imminent.
I sensed that.
And whatever risk I was taking by confirming what embers were inside me was worth it. Reaver’s young life was worth it. Just as Thad’s had been.
The embers continued to buzz, pressing against my skin. My senses opened and stretched as I laid the dagger beside Reaver and placed my palm flat on his chest. It was almost like when I’d done it earlier with Thad, but that had been faster, even more instinctive, as if using the embers made them stronger and more responsive. As if the embers were truly mine as I called upon the eather, and it responded to my will.
Pure, ancient power poured out of my chest, flooding my veins for the second time that day. A hot, heady thrill flowed with my blood. The rush of energy felt different this time, like a reckoning. A…homecoming.
There was a gasp as I inhaled deeply, catching the scent of lilacs—freshly bloomed lilacs. Life. Eather hummed through me, sparking from my fingertips and off Reaver’s chest. The shimmering light swept over Reaver’s small frame in one rippling wave and then seeped through his skin, filling the veins beneath the pale, slightly ridged skin and bruised flesh.
The eather flared and pulsed, then receded slowly into a faint glow that lingered for only a few more moments. The bruise on his chest faded, and then the most beautiful thing happened.
Reaver’s chest swelled with a deep breath, and his eyes opened—eyes a shining, cobalt blue before returning to crimson. “Liessa,” he whispered. Tears filled his eyes, clinging to his lashes.
I shuddered, brushing his hair back from his cheek. “It’s okay.”
“The fuck it is,” Veses exploded as Reaver’s eyes closed. My head snapped toward her as I placed my hand on the hilt of the dagger. “I was actually right. It’s been you.” She took a step back, her eyes—the one I’d stabbed now healed—widening and filling with horror. “What has Nyktos done?”
“He hasn’t done anything,” I said.
Veses shook her head. “You’re what—?”
Bele lifted the sword.
The Primal struck like a pit viper, moving faster than I could even track. She caught Bele’s sword. The blade shattered in a flare of silver light. Veses slammed her hand into Bele’s chest, throwing her back several feet.
Bele hit the wall by the balcony and fell forward onto her knees. She lifted her head, shoving the dark strands of her hair back from her face. “Ouch.”
Veses brushed the shadowstone dust from her hands as she started toward Bele. I moved, sucking in a sharp breath of pain as I lifted my arm and threw the dagger at the back of Veses’ head. The Primal spun. Her head tilted. “Really?”
The dagger stopped in midair and then flung back toward me.
Gasping, I ducked. The blade whizzed over my head, embedding deeply into the wall behind me. “Shit.”
Bele rose, rushing Veses—
The Primal held up her hand, and Bele went flying. I didn’t take my eyes off Veses, but I heard Bele’s fall. It was hard. “If you were smart, Bele, you would stay down. If you do, you may live to see another day,” the Primal warned, turning her attention to me. “But you? You’re definitely going to die. Because you”—she inhaled sharply—“you’re an abomination.”