Total pages in book: 362
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
My hands closed at my sides. “Kyn.”
Attes nodded. “He never stopped breeding them. But they’ve always listened to me. They’re bred only to obey a Primal of Vathi.”
The eather hummed violently as I lifted my gaze to the forest. It had gone eerily quiet. Had I overreacted by coming here? “Did my presence draw it here?”
“No,” Attes answered. “The kynakos are fast, but it would take an hour or so for any of them to make their way here from Vangar, where Kyn resides. Unless…”
“Unless what?” Ash’s arm tightened around me.
“The forests here are thick enough that damn near anything could be inside them and it wouldn’t be seen from the sky,” he said, looking down at the kynakos. “He hasn’t tried it before.”
“But things are different now,” I said. “He knows who you’ve allied with, and he was in Dalos yesterday. He could’ve sent one of them to keep an eye on you.”
“And with you spending your free time shit-faced,” Lailah said, her chest rising with a sharp inhale as Attes’s head jerked up, “you wouldn’t be paying close enough attention to know if one of them was near your home.”
I half-expected him to give her some playful or witty retort, but he didn’t. A muscle flexed in his jaw.
“Let’s hope it was just one of them.” Lailah had drawn closer as she rubbed the heel of her palm against her chest. “No one wants to face a pack of war dogs on the hunt.”
On the hunt…
If they hadn’t been lurking nearby, and it would take them an hour or so to get there…?
My hand went to Ash’s arm. Energy throbbed as I lifted my gaze to the pines once more. It was still so quiet. The prickly sensation remained, telling me I hadn’t overreacted. Attes started to turn, the breeze ruffling his hair, and I remembered. I had been urged to come here for a reason. That…
The pine branches began to rattle again.
“There’s not only one.” My fingers dug into Ash’s arm.
Attes swore, whipping his attention back to the pines. “Get inside the palace. Now.”
It happened so fast that it left no time for escape. The Dogs of War exploded out of the forest—dozens of them. They raced across the field, jaws snapping and tails thumping.
“Motherfucker,” Lailah muttered, withdrawing her sword.
As Ash pulled his shadowstone blade from its baldric, my right hand flew to my thigh but came up empty. “Shit,” I muttered.
“Stay back,” Ash said, flipping the dagger. “You have no weapon, and their bite is nasty as fuck, even to a Primal.”
“You have two daggers,” I pointed out. “And I have the eather.”
“You just used a whole lot of it to restore the Shadowlands,” he reminded me. “And you’re still a—”
“Baby Primal,” Attes threw out as he whirled.
“Exactly,” Ash said as my eyes narrowed. His gaze met mine. “We’ve got this.”
My hands curled into fists. “Have I mentioned how much I miss my dagger?”
Attes dipped, catching one of the beasts around the shoulders as another rushed him.
“Attes!” Lailah shouted, darting forward. “Behind you!”
He cranked his head around as a kynakos leapt over the Primal as if he were just an obstacle in its way.
Clumps of grass kicked up as the Dog of War landed near the steps, its yellow eyes fixed on—
Bone cracked as Ash stepped forward and launched a shadowstone dagger at the kynakos, striking it square between the eyes. It fell back, dead before it hit the ground. “Do I have two daggers?” he responded.
“Asshole,” I muttered as another shot past Attes, saliva dripping from its gaping mouth.
Nektas stalked toward the veranda just as Lailah spun, her long, dark braids fanning out as she brought her sword down on the back of the kynakos’s neck. Dark red blood spurted and mixed with smoke as Nektas’s chin lowered—
“Holy shit.” I jerked back as a powerful stream of silver flames erupted from the draken’s very mortal mouth.
The funnel of fire slammed into the beast, engulfing the creature within a heartbeat.
I stared at Nektas while Attes tackled another war dog. “You just spit fire from your mouth.”
“I did,” Nektas replied, wisps of smoke wafting out from the corners of his lips.
“Yeah,” I whispered, blinking rapidly. Never in my life had I seen anything like that.
“I wish you could see your face right now.” Ash pulled his dagger free from the kynakos and tossed a grin over his shoulder. “It’s quite adorable.” He whirled, releasing the other dagger. The blade struck the kynakos Attes had pinned to the ground.
Lailah cursed as one of the beasts dodged her. “What?” She straightened, her grip firming on the hilt of her sword. “Do I not look tasty?”
“You always look tasty.” Attes grunted as he snatched another kynakos. “Exceptionally so.”
“I didn’t ask for your opinion,” Lailah retorted, stalking past Attes.
Attes replied to her as he twisted the beast’s neck, but I didn’t hear what he said. That prickly, unnerving feeling remained as silver flames swallowed another Dog of War. The scent of burning fur and charred flesh filled the air as my gaze flitted from one kynakos to the next. My fingers twitched as one after another avoided injury, their focus singular. The kynakos were on the hunt. Another skidded to the side as flames pummeled the ground.