Total pages in book: 248
Estimated words: 236909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1185(@200wpm)___ 948(@250wpm)___ 790(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1185(@200wpm)___ 948(@250wpm)___ 790(@300wpm)
I slammed my hands into his shoulders as that energy, that pure Primal essence erupted from my palms and flowed into—
Nyktos.
Chapter 7
Pure silvery-white eather slammed into Nyktos, spreading over him as he rose and something threw him backward. His wings spread, stopping him in midair.
“Nyktos,” I screamed. Real fear exploded in my gut as I jackknifed up, scrambling onto my knees. Eather crackled, racing through his wings and body, filling the network of veins.
My gods, what had I done?
Darkness spilled out around Nyktos, thick and churning. His mouth opened, and the sound he made…it was power. A roar hit the dried-out branches behind him, shattering them. The temperature dropped so severely that it momentarily seemed to freeze what air I could get into my lungs. I was chilled down to my bones as he drifted forward—
A great shadow fell over me, blocking out the trees and the faint glimmer of the stars. I tensed. Air whipped through the clearing as Nektas came from above, a wing sweeping over my head as his front talons slammed into the earth before me. The ground and the still-standing trees shook as if they were nothing more than matchsticks.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I didn’t dare move. I knew death was coming—a painful, fiery death. There was no way it wasn’t. I’d attacked Nyktos. I’d hurt him. I knew this because what had come out of me had been pure, unfettered power. It hadn’t been intentional, but that didn’t matter. Nektas was not only bonded to Nyktos, he also saw the Primal as a member of his family.
Nektas would kill me.
Except the flash of intense silvery fire I knew I would see, even with my eyes closed, didn’t come. Neither did the pain.
Trembling, I opened my eyes. I was inches from the thick, grayish-black scales of Nektas’s side. I knew he was big, but even on the road into the Shadowlands when I first saw him, I hadn’t been this close to him in this form. His body alone had to be at least twenty feet. He had one of his leathery wings above me and was…crouched. Around me.
Nektas’s head swooped down, the row of spiked horns vibrating as his lips peeled back from massive, bone-crushing teeth. The low growl of warning sent chills down my spine.
“It’s okay,” Nyktos rasped.
My gaze flew to him. Dizzy with relief to hear him speak, I swayed unsteadily on my knees, slowly becoming aware that the air no longer felt as if it were freezing.
“Nektas isn’t…a threat to you,” Nyktos forced out between gritted teeth. Snapping, silvery light continued rippling through his body. “He’s…protecting you.”
“From what?”
“Me.”
That didn’t make sense, but the large draken was eyeing the Primal. Not me. “I-I hurt you.”
“He’s worried…that I will…retaliate out of reflex.” Nyktos twisted his head side to side. “That I…will do more than…just hurt you.”
“You wouldn’t.” I twisted toward Nektas. “He wouldn’t hurt me.”
“I almost did.”
Not a single part of me believed that. Maybe that made me a fool, but if he’d wanted to harm me, he could’ve done so a thousand times over by now.
Nektas didn’t budge, though. He had his attention fixed on the Primal, his rumble of warning lower.
Nyktos suddenly lowered, going down on one knee. The shadows around him receded as he pitched forward, planting a hand on the ground. He bowed his head, his broad shoulders shuddering as the waves of eather eased and faded. His wings turned to smoke and scattered. The midnight-stone skin receded. Strands of hair fell against his golden-bronze jaw. He didn’t speak. Minutes ticked by, and only his shoulders moved, up and down with his short, rapid breaths.
Maybe he wasn’t really okay. Concern ate away at the relief. Still on my knees, I started to inch forward. “Nyktos?”
Silence.
Nektas had finally stopped growling. He stretched forward, gently nudging Nyktos’s shoulder.
“I’m fine,” Nyktos said hoarsely, reaching up and flattening a hand against the side of Nektas’s broad jaw. “I just need a minute.”
Nektas withdrew but didn’t take his eyes off him, and that minute felt like an hour.
Slowly, Nyktos lifted his head. Essence-filled eyes met mine. “That was…” He cleared his throat, and when he spoke again, his voice was steadier, stronger. “That was unexpected.”
“I…” Tears pricked my eyes as I shook my head and looked down at my hands. “I didn’t mean to do that. I swear. I don’t even know how I did that.”
“It has to be the Culling. I didn’t think it would happen—figured it would be more like a godling with you. But those embers in you—they’re strong. They’re making you stronger…” He trailed off, that damn awe in his voice returning and lingering in the silence. “When a god enters the Culling, their essence increases and grows stronger. And as they get closer to completing the Culling, they can have…outbursts. It’s usually tied to heightened emotion, but that doesn’t happen with a godling. Not when they go through the Culling. Many of them can’t even harness the essence like that, even if they Ascend. They simply don’t have enough eather in them for that.”