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)
“What is it?” Ash demanded, clasping the nape of my neck.
“I…I don’t know.” Swallowing, I shook my head as a new awareness pressed down on me, heavy and dark, thudding in my chest and settling in the pit of my stomach. My hand went to my belly.
Ash’s inhale was sharp. “Is it the babes?”
“No, it’s something else.” The skin beneath my ear erupted in tingles, and I said, “I need a minute to figure this out.”
Ash went quiet but held on to me. I closed my eyes and concentrated. What I felt reminded me of the echo of death, but it was slightly different. “My stomach keeps dipping like…like something is gravely wrong. Not here, but—” My heart lurched, and my eyes flew open. “I think I’m sensing unrest in Iliseeum.”
“Can you tell if it’s in the Shadowlands?” His thumb swept over my fluttering pulse. “Or where it’s coming from?”
“I don’t know.” My skin kept tingling. “But I think I can follow it. Like if I focus on it, I can take us to it.”
A muscle flexed in his jaw. “I’d rather take you home first.”
“We don’t know if that’s what I’m feeling,” I argued. “We need to figure out what’s happening, especially considering what we just found here.”
Ash cursed, then nodded. His skin had already begun to thin as I stepped into him. Concentrating on the feeling of unrest, I summoned the eather and felt the Triton Isles slip away from us. The next breath I took filled my lungs with the scent of scorched earth and the metallic tang of blood as Ash and I shadowstepped smack-dab into the middle of a battle.
“Vathi,” I gasped and knew immediately what we were seeing—what had happened.
Kyn had launched an attack against his brother.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
I staggered back in shock as the ground quivered with the clash of shadowstone and pounding hoofbeats. My gaze darted across the long field that stretched into the horizon, where the sky bled with the silver of draken fire before the snowcapped mountains.
I spun, taking in the carnage. Everywhere I looked, gods dressed in black and others in crimson were locked in a fierce battle, striking down one another with an instinctual grace that almost hid their innate brutality. The shimmering waves of energy arced and crackled across the field as sword blows gave way to deadly streaks of eather. Charging fearlessly into battle, every swing of their swords and motion was a testament to the Primal gods they descended from.
The Primal God of War and Accord, and the Primal God of Peace and Vengeance.
Ash suddenly jerked me to his chest as a horse rushed past us, the rider—the headless rider—slumping to the side.
His eyes met mine. “Phanos is not here.”
“I know. He’s somewhere—shit.” I shot to the side, eather responding at once as a massive, ugly-as-fuck kynakos launched itself into the air, snarling with a mouthful of blade-sharp fangs mere feet from Ash’s back. I threw out my hand, releasing a stream of gold-tinged silver. I winced at the yelp as the essence smacked into the Dog of War, hitting it in the stomach.
Ash twisted at the waist, catching the arm of a soldier in a black uniform with crimson cloth stretched over shadowstone armor. The soldier shouted in pain as Ash broke the man’s arm in one breath and then snapped his neck with brutal quickness in the next.
He spun toward me, eyes filling with eather. “Sera—”
“I’m not leaving,” I cut in. “I’m fighting beside you.” I sucked in a short breath as Ash suddenly lifted me and turned, shielding my body as eather erupted from his palm. A high-pitched shriek told me his aim had been deadly accurate. His gaze returned to mine. “I remember what I promised you,” I said. “No unnecessary risks.”
Ash froze for a heartbeat and then cursed. He clasped the back of my neck, drawing my head to his. “I’d better not see a single scratch on you, liessa. Not even one. So, be the badass Queen you are.”
“Always,” I swore.
He exhaled a ragged breath and glanced up. “Hold off on using the eather as much as you can,” he said quickly, picking up the shadowstone sword the soldier had dropped. He pressed the hilt into my hand. Shadows blossomed over his cheeks. “We need to get to Attes. We cannot let him fall.”
I nodded, stepping back. His hold on me firmed for a moment and then vanished. My gaze swept the field once more, easily picking out Kyn’s soldiers. Crimson covered their armor, and the crests on their helmets were the same bloody shade.
I was really beginning to fucking hate that color.
Snapping forward, I went after the closest soldier, thrusting the sword through his back as a blast of frigid air suddenly rolled off Ash. He rose into the air, his skin hardening as it turned to the color of shadowstone. Dark shadows spilled out of him, spinning and churning as the hazy outline of wings swept out behind him.