Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 108376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
***
When I came to someone was holding me in their arms. I was vaguely aware of being on a slow moving vessel of some kind. A boat! I shifted in place, realising that Ren was the one holding me.
“Oh, thank God. You’re awake,” he said, relieved when I opened my eyes. The young woman and child I noticed before sat in front of us, their strange pinky-purple eyes staring at me in concern.
“Where are we?” I asked, sitting up and looking around. I didn’t realise until the young woman stared at me in confusion that I’d asked the question in English. Being hit on the head screwed my brain up. I repeated it in Oreylian. “Where are we?”
“We’re being transported to the Severian mine,” the woman answered, her expression curious. “I thought you couldn’t speak our language. Your friend here—”
“He can’t speak it, but I can.” I explained. “Where exactly is the Severian mine? Are we still in Treyu?”
“Yes, we’re in Treyu. The mine is closest to the Hamlivs. It’s owned by the High Demon, Red Armand. I’m not sure if you’ve heard of him.”
Okay, this was good. We were headed in the right direction, so why was my stomach still in knots? Maybe because I’d just been violently attacked. Fury burned within me. I wanted to beat the shit out of the guy who knocked me unconscious.
“I have heard of him,” I replied grimly.
I quickly relayed my conversation with the woman to Ren, who nodded and worried his lip. I sensed he was beginning to regret volunteering to come with me.
I reached out and touched his shoulder. “Hey, are you okay?” My voice was soft. His handsome eyes came to mine.
“I’m fine. I just need to toughen up.”
I sighed. “I think this place is going to toughen both of us up, whether we like it or not.” I paused, shooting him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I never should’ve let you come with me.”
“Don’t be sorry. I made my choice.”
He was putting on a brave face and I was grateful, because in this situation we didn’t have time for either of us to break down.
The scent of blood hit my nose and it took me a moment to realise it was my own. Reaching up, both my ears were covered in dried blood, jagged cuts slowly mending thanks to my accelerated dhampir healing. That bastard demon had made good on his threat and cut the earrings from my ears while I was unconscious. I spotted him standing near the front of the boat and rage roared inside me. Thankfully, the finger he’d broken by standing on my hand had quickly healed.
“I’m going to kill that prick,” I murmured quietly to Ren.
“Let’s just focus on surviving whatever comes next,” he said, trying to soothe my temper.
My attention finally went to my surroundings and I had to stifle a gasp. Whatever rules applied back in my dimension certainly didn’t apply here. There was no other explanation as to why we were floating along on a river of molten lava, the heat so intense my skin felt like it might melt off my bones. I crawled to the edge and glanced out, my heart thrumming at the bright, luminous liquid as it popped and sizzled. The boat, which was made from the same matte black metal as the dolmen coins, remained unbothered by the fiery river it sailed through.
“It’s like a nightmare,” I whispered.
“I’m not even sure our imaginations could conjure a world this hellish,” Ren said.
“No, probably not,” I agreed.
I brought my attention back to the young woman. “My name is Darya,” I told her in Oreylian. “And this is Ren.”
“I’m Maya, and this is my little sister, Demi.”
I’d incorrectly assumed it was her child, but sister made better sense since Maya couldn’t have been more than nineteen and the girl was at least eight or nine. I gave her a small, friendly wave but it didn’t seem to cut through her terror. She clung to her sister’s arm, refusing to let go.
“How did you end up here?” I asked.
Maya’s face fell, her eyes full of haunted shadows. “Demi and I are both orphans. We managed to evade the mines by working as maids for a wealthy family, but about a year ago they lost all their money and decided to sell us off. We were no more than property to them. These last months we worked in a small mine but that closed and Red Armand took ownership of the workers.” She fell silent, a faraway look in her eyes before she glanced at me again. “I thought being a maid was hard but the mining work is…it’s soul destroying.”
Her words cut deep and fear gripped me. I was determined to find Vas and Sven but seeing the look in Maya’s eyes, like she’d lost her faith in everything was chilling.