Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
“Well…we all know what’s brewing,” Nessa said. “Sabby, do we need a sound-resistant bubble?”
“No, not that,” Cyra answered, her tone wispy. “Something more.” She looked up at the sky, her expression contemplative. “Something with an undertow. It’s coming. It’ll suck us all in with it. We’ll have to fight our way out to survive.”
Hollace brought up his knees and leaned forward over them, still staring at the fire. “She doesn’t mean right now. A phoenix can sense large magical shifts. The time scope for those shifts can be a few weeks to several years. What shape they take is anyone’s guess. But what she means is something has been set in motion that will lead to whatever change she’s sensing. I feel it, too. It’s…” He looked out to the right. Blackness crawled in between the trees as the sun dipped over the distant horizon. “It’s imminent. I wonder if that’s why we felt the summons as hard as we did. Like we’d specifically been called. Like we have a larger purpose in all of this.”
“In all of what?” Nessa asked.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ll see when it happens, I guess.”
“I don’t think I brought enough whiskey for this trip,” Niamh murmured.
“There’s not enough whiskey in the world for this trip,” Sebastian replied.
TWENTY
The next morning, Austin escorted Jess along the path of the natural village. He held her hand, knowing today would bring trials but intent on enjoying their time here anyway. She seemed so at peace within these trees. So content.
He’d sent the wolves hunting earlier. They worked together with an efficiency few teams could achieve. Not to mention they wouldn’t raise as much suspicion if a hiker or camper happened to see them. A giant polar bear wouldn’t be as easy to write off as a coyote, since he didn’t think they had wolves around here.
Austin would go fishing in a while. He wasn’t amazing at swatting fish out of a stream, but hopefully, he could catch a few. They hadn’t brought any fishing gear, and the basajaunak didn’t seem to use it.
For now, though, they were showing their faces in the community, Austin and Jess, with Sebastian trailing behind them. Austin had told the others to stay at camp for now. He assumed he’d get some sort of challenge before long, and he didn’t want the fervor of his pack behind him when he evaluated how to handle it. Jess was with him because he wanted her there, and also because she rarely registered when she was being challenged, making it easier for her to ignore them.
As for Sebastian, he was donning his most submissive posture by request and was here in case Jess reacted violently to something. He’d need to quell her magic or at least put up some sort of barrier between it and the basajaunak.
This was such a precarious situation. It wasn’t just that Austin wanted to show well. Which he did, of course. Basajaunak support, even in name, would be amazing for their overall cause. No one wanted to mess with the basajaunak or anyone connected with them.
But he was more concerned about finishing this trip without inadvertently causing offense. He didn’t want these creatures as his enemy, and the ways in which that could happen were numerous. They were prickly at best, prone to violent hysterics. If his and Jess’s crews could leave peacefully, without upsetting the whole group, he’d call that a huge win. Anything else was pure bonus.
He felt the stare before he registered the presence, somewhere to the right.
“Off right and walking closer,” Sebastian murmured. “Medium height. For them, I mean. Medium build. Our basajaun is bigger in all ways.”
A youth, then. The basandere seemed to be just as tall if not so wide in the shoulders and chest as the male of the species.
Austin barely kept himself from grimacing. Youths were a problem in any species, all hot temper and wild stupidity.
He breathed deeply to keep the tension from winding through his body and surging his adrenaline. His strides shortened, and he pulled his hand from Jess’s. He needed to focus. He hadn’t had to act submissive in a while, not since his time in Kingsley’s territory. It would take all his effort to subdue his reflexes and natural drives.
“Still coming,” Sebastian said, and then swore. “Faster now.”
Austin could sense it. The threat of danger sang through his blood like a living thing. His senses warned him of an attack at hand.
“Let me handle this,” he told Jess, stopping and turning.
“Sure. But let’s all get on the same page.” Jess worked her hands, and suddenly, the basajaun blinked into his field of vision.
“Reveal the weapon spell, huh?” Sebastian said, falling back behind Austin and dragging Jess with him. “Nice alteration.”
“Yeah, I was thinking about it last night. I figured it would do the trick.”