Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 129912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
“What?”
“Different,” she breathes, still peering up. “And taller.”
Did I fail you?
I huff a laugh. You’re an arrogant one, aren’t you? I think.
My skin buzzes, alerting me to an imminent threat, and I catch Hassha’s fist just as it tries to connect with my jaw. When I look at her, she smirks with fierce, glowing eyes.
“There you are,” she says just before freeing herself and pressing a solid hand to my chest. With a hard shove from her, I sail across the field, smashing through tree trunks that break from the collision.
I catch myself somehow, skidding backwards, fingers digging into the moist soil. I work my jaw then dart toward the meadow again.
Call for a sword, Yuri’s voice commands.
“Sword,” I shout, still running. The heat in my hands turns solid and creates the handle of the weapon I’ve chosen. “Shit,” I laugh, but it doesn’t last long because Hassha has her own sword drawn and lets out a war cry as she charges me.
Our swords clash with a reverberating ring, and the flames drip to the ground in striking blues and reds.
“You handle your sword well,” she says, keeping steady. “Who trained you?”
She feigns to the left when I break the hold to thrust at her.
“My demented father and his soldiers.” I spin and kick her against the chest and she skids backwards, catching herself, but I don’t stop.
I lunge into the air with my sword, letting out my own battle cry as I bring it down. She throws hers up in time, blocking the strike, and her entire body sparks blue as she pushes forward and shoves me off like I’m the weight of a feather.
I hit the grass, tumbling a time or two before landing on my feet again.
Hassha remains where she’s standing, but when she drops her arms, I notice the glowing red dagger pinned in her chest.
Her warriors gasp.
Willow cups her mouth.
I smirk.
Damn. We did that? Yuri chuckles.
Hassha snatches the dagger out of her chest without looking at it, but she does wince. Pain inflicted on a Regal. I’m the only person who can do that.
“That’s for dropping my mate,” I growl.
“I would’ve caught her if you couldn’t.” She cracks a smile, chucking the dagger aside and forming a defensive stance again. I can’t help loosening up and smiling back. “Do you see what happens when you allow Yuri’s power to take control? He will only guide you. Protect you. He’ll never lead you astray.”
“Careful, Hassha.” I form two swords in my hands this time, gathering my defenses. “I turn into quite the menace when I have power.”
Hassha huffs a laugh as a shield accumulates in one of her hands, branded with a symbolic K. “Milandra, Asteria,” she calls, and her warriors rush to the meadow, standing at her side with their weapons raised for attack. “Let’s rid him of his arrogance, shall we?”
The women holler as they run my way. Swords swing, spears thrust, and shields slam into me, but I move faster.
I kick Milandra away while Asteria manages to get behind me, pressing the handle of her spear to my throat. Grunting, I lean forward to toss her off me, but Hassha claims her place, pressing a hand to my chest and blasting me through the forest again.
“This is how it’ll be, Caspian,” she yells when I crash to the ground. “Selah will be relentless.”
I shoot through the treetops and fly toward the meadow again, punching Milandra first. She eats the blow, grinning with blood in her mouth as she clutches my ankle, reels me down, and punches me back. Surprisingly, it doesn’t hurt.
I press a hand to her, mentally demanding chains to form, and they wrap around her like red snakes. With a flick of my hand, I force her to the ground. She grunts, trying to break free from the chains.
Asteria comes next.
Just let her fall.
I manage to open a hole within the meadow for her to sink into. She screams as she falls in, and though the pit is deep, she’s safe for now.
The only one left is Hassha.
The Regal strikes instantly. She’ll be much harder to conquer. I feel my energy waning, but I don’t stop as I match the fury in her eyes.
“When your energy runs low, think of your source,” Hassha says.
“My source?”
“Think of what fuels you. Family. Blackwater. Power.”
I throw a fist at her. She ducks.
“When you’re this close to Selah,” she says through gritted teeth. “When you’re staring into my sister’s eyes, I want you to grab her like this.” Hassha stops fighting, ridding herself of the swords to grip my head.
Without notice, pain spreads through my mind and seizes me.
“I want you to hold on tight, and I don’t want you to let go,” she says through a ragged breath. “I want you to make her scream as you absorb her energy, as you watch her shrivel and weaken, and when she feels like she can’t stand it anymore, I want you to rip her bloody heart out.”