Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 145721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
She lifted her chin to meet that gaze. She’d accepted her place as a monster. A monster at his side. And he accepted that in a glance.
No, not accepted. Reveled in it. Devoured it. As if it were destined from the start.
He took a few long strides across the dais, ignoring the remaining carnage. Stepped through the blood of the dead vampire king, slid his hand to the back of her neck, and kissed her with the hunger of a predator. She met him where he was, refusing to give even an inch. A fight, a challenge, a sundering.
Because she had never been kissed the way Graves was kissing her, standing in the blood of their enemy.
Their mouths fitted together. Tongues volleying for dominance. Power coursing through them like a conduit igniting and blazing for everyone to see. Their magic met. A gold glow that twined around each other, not quite melding but mirroring.
When the kiss ended, the world felt as if it had tilted back and this was how it was always meant to be.
“My Wren,” he said.
“I got the spear,” she said, hoisting the thing up.
His eyes flickered to it and back as if he’d been so blinded by her that he hadn’t noticed. “Good. We have to go.”
“We have to get Torra.”
Graves reached for the spear, but she couldn’t let go. The spear didn’t want her to let go. So, she left Graves facing down the impending monster horde and fell to her knees before the vampire’s throne. “Torra. Torra, we have to go. We need to get moving.”
“Kierse,” she said, her voice unsteady. “I don’t think I can move.”
“You can. I’ll help you.”
She put her weight underneath Torra and lifted her slight form off of the ground.
“You killed him.”
“I told you I would,” Kierse said.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“We need to go,” Graves said, swearing under his breath.
“Then fucking help me.”
He swore under his breath and then swept Torra into his arms as if she weighed nothing.
It had been a matter of seconds between killing their king, Graves’s kiss, and freeing Torra, and already the monsters were forming up to come after them. That wasn’t good. The spear was powerful, but she didn’t know if it could take on a vampire army.
Do not underestimate me.
She shuddered at the voice in her head, uncertain if it was her own thoughts or . . . the spear’s.
“This way,” Graves said.
They ran.
She tucked the spear to her side. The weight of it felt right. No, perfect. Impossibly balanced and like an extension of herself. She understood why she’d dealt with all of the training to get to this very moment.
Graves had been busy while he was gone. Every guard between her and the exit had been efficiently incapacitated. Seeing the carnage was not just impressive but terrifying. They came across only a handful of frightened guards as they made their escape toward the secret tunnel out of Louis’s residence. Some fled from the sight of her. The others, Kierse made quick work of. Torra fell unconscious at some point as they got away.
They’d just turned toward the secret tunnel when they came face-to-face with none other than Walter Rodriguez wearing a loaded-down backpack and looking panicked.
His jaw dropped open. “Graves?”
“Hello, Walter,” Graves said.
“You,” he said to Kierse. “You . . . you walked through my force field.”
“And reached through your wards,” she said with a dangerous smile.
His gaze shifted frantically between Graves, Kierse, and the spear as if he couldn’t decide which was the bigger threat. She could smell a faint scent of incense and rainstorms when his shields strengthened at their perceived anger. He’d just admitted that she could get through them, and still he reacted by instinct. “Wh-what are you doing here?”
“Using your exit,” Graves said smoothly. “What a clever little mouse.”
“How do you know about that?” He glanced behind them, inching backward.
“I know everything you’ve been doing for King Louis. But you chose the wrong side, Walter. Your master is dead.”
His eyes widened. “I didn’t choose a side. You discarded me like old garbage,” he said, his voice quavering even as he stood up to Graves. “I went for the next highest bidder, and now I’m getting out of here.”
“We don’t have time for this,” Kierse said. “We need to leave.”
“He’s a threat,” Graves said.
“No, please,” Walter said, backing away. “I just want to get out of here. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“You heard him. He got roped into this,” Kierse said, blocking Graves. “And you did discard him after not seeing his potential.”
Graves met her gaze with what looked like admiration. He’d come to the other side with Mafi. And for the first time, it seemed like he had realized his mistake with Walter as well.
“I did,” Graves said. “You’re done working for the Men of Valor?”