Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 117167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
A sharp, harsh bark of laughter jumped from Rei’s throat. He closed his eyes, his entire body shaking with laughter. Had Xiang actually asked him that question? Did he think he hadn’t killed a single member of the fae when he’d been at Yiyi’s side all those years?
“Called it,” Junjie murmured, his voice barely reaching above Rei’s laughter.
But Rei broke it off suddenly, leaving the silence of the vehicle feeling like it was full of shards of glass. He narrowed his eyes on Xiang, holding his stare unblinking. “I can guarantee that I’ve killed far more of my kind than you ever have, vampire. I started killing members of the fae to protect my life from a young age, and I’ve never stopped. Meeting Yichen only gave me a new reason to slaughter them.”
No one spoke for the rest of the ride, and that was fine with him. It gave him a chance to inspect the bow resting in his lap. His fingertips traced over the intricate carving of a dragon that stretched nearly the full length. It appeared as if the long maned creature was in midflight, prepared to guide each of the arrows loosened to their target.
He wrapped his fingers around the handhold and smiled softly to himself. His fingers fit perfectly into the slots, the same as Yiyi’s. His heart had hoped that their hands were the same size, but his brain had argued it was insane to think such a thing.
Didn’t matter. He would use Yichen’s bow and protect his life tonight. Bring the vampire safely to his clan’s home.
That was his only goal right now. Bring Yiyi home safe. Even if he had to do it every night, he would happily throw his life into the line of fire to keep his Yiyi from harm.
Junjie was the first to break the silence. “Oh shit,” he mumbled as he turned onto a narrow gravel road. Directly in front of them was the other SUV, while the surrounding forest was full of the fae fighting Yichen, Xiao Dan, and Chen. Snow, ice, and frost covered the trees and pockmarked the ground that was already littered with dozens of corpses.
But more were coming. He could feel it. Fae magic was building in the air like a massive wave about to crash into the shore.
Rei pushed the button on the arm of the door to lower his window. “Go around the other vehicle on the right and try to keep an even, steady pace. And try not to hit the brakes suddenly.”
He’d barely finished giving instructions when he began to climb out the window. Small hands grabbed his calf and attempted to pull him back inside.
“What the hell are you doing?” Meimei shrieked.
“I’m going to shoot my arrows at them from the roof. A moving target is harder to hit, and it’ll draw attention away from the others.”
“You’re insane!” Meimei shouted, but she still released his leg.
“Damn. I wish I’d thought of it,” Xiang muttered.
“Next time, it’ll be your turn!” Rei shouted as he climbed onto the roof. The road was bumpy and uneven, but his balance was superb. It took him a second to string the bow, and then it was all death and destruction. He loosed three arrows at a time, expertly hitting his targets with each one. Pixies, hobgoblins, gnomes, faeries, and more fell to his arrows. He never missed. Not when it counted most.
A wicked smile stretched his lips, lifting the corners higher and higher with every twang of the string. Cut them all down. Anyone who would rather see him dead than confront the madness of his parents. Destroy everyone who would harm his Yiyi.
As soon as the thought of his adorable vampire crossed his mind, he paused his rapid firing to search the battlefield. There had been a mere glimpse of Yichen as they approached, but now that they were in the thick of the chaos, he’d lost Yichen to the mounting bodies and growing mist as the ice and snow melted in the summer heat.
Snarling, Rei leaped from the roof of the SUV and charged forward, launching arrows into anything that dared to look in his direction. A few more steps and he shouldered his bow so he could draw his sword. More fell to his blade, but when he lifted his eyes, it wasn’t Yichen that he saw.
It was Trin.
The elf snarled and plowed through the other fae, knocking them aside so he could reach Rei, who was happy to meet him halfway.
Their swords met with a vicious clang. Trin’s pale-blue eyes sparkled like ice in the rising sun while his long black hair clung to his sweaty neck. His thin lips pulled back in a sneer, revealing clenched teeth. The ring of their swords clashing rang out again and again, dulling all the other noises to almost nothing. There was only Trin. His half brother.