Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 108376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
But in order to travel to Oreylia, she must once again leave the people she loves behind. And this time the decision threatens to tear her and Peter apart for good. There’s no guarantee that she’ll be able to come back, and the uncertainty leaves a gaping chasm between Darya and the first boy she ever loved. The vision of her future burns strong in her mind, and the more it penetrates, the more she comes to realise that she might live up to the prophecy of her birth, but not in the way she or anyone else could’ve possibly imagined.
Blaze: An Oreylia Novel is book #3 in L.H. Cosway’s Blood Prophecy Series. All books in the series must be read in order.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
“The path to paradise begins in hell.”
- Dante Alighieri.
1.
There was a brief period of quiet, just the sound of waves moving against the shore. Then, sirens.
In the blink of an eye the small beach we’d washed up on was surrounded by members of the Guard. My parents, Peter, Rebecca and Grace were there, too. Tears welled behind my eyes. A whack of emotion stole my breath. I’d missed them all like crazy.
Too much had happened in quick succession. Vasilios and Sven were gone. Red Armand took them back to Oreylia and the mark burned like an inferno inside me, raging to act. Now that Vas and I had bonded, the mark didn’t like that we were separated. I could feel it pulsating and rebelling as though it were a living, breathing entity.
“Are you okay?” Peter asked, picking me up and pulling me into his arms. “God, it’s so good to hold you.”
I choked up as his familiar warmth and energy surrounded me. I looked and felt like a drowned rat, and he was just so comforting and full of vitality that I latched onto him and didn’t want to let go. My emotions were being torn in different directions. I was relieved to be back in Peter’s arms, but there was another part of me that felt the urgency to rescue Vas.
Whatever route I took next, it was going to hurt.
Tears clogged my eyes but now wasn’t the time. I had to suck them back. My parents and Sergeant Davis were at my side then, eager for an explanation. Rebecca and Grace stood behind them, matching distraught expressions on their faces.
“Darya, where are the prisoners?” Sergeant Davis asked in a gentler voice than he normally used. He could obviously see that I’d been through a lot. Carrabelle still sat on the sand behind me and I recalled that she was injured. Was she able to stand? Not answering the sergeant’s question, I drew away from Peter and went to help her.
Carra was a slight woman and seemed to have some kind of leg injury that had been left untreated. What a monster Red Armand was to leave her like this. He used her for her magic and then abandoned her when he didn’t need her anymore.
Slowly, I helped her walk a few steps before introducing her to everyone. “This is Carrabelle. She’s a witch and she came here from Oreylia with the man you’ve all been chasing these past few weeks. The same man who murdered Belinda. His name is Red Armand.”
Carra nodded meekly to confirm what I said and Sergeant Davis stepped forward. “My apologies, Miss, but I’ll need to take you to the station to answer some questions.”
“You know she wasn’t an accomplice, right?” I interjected. “She was a hostage. And she can tell you all about Red Armand, but it might not be much use now that he’s portalled back to Oreylia and taken Vasilios and Sven with him.”
“Hold up a moment, Darya,” my father intervened. “He’s taken them to Oreylia?” I nodded. He sighed, running a hand down his face. “I think you’re going to have to start from the beginning and tell us everything you know.”
So, I did. I began with my entry into the prison, how I soon discovered Vas wasn’t behind Belinda’s murder and how Red Armand had come to take him and Sven back to their home dimension. I explained how he framed me because I possessed Vas’ mark, and he needed us close to make Vas stronger so that he could finally escape the wards surrounding the prison. I detailed how Red Armand didn’t have strong magic himself, which was why he’d taken Carrabelle with him so that she could be used to cast spells.
“But why did you escape with Vasilios?” Mum asked. “We were on our way to get you. All you had to do was wait—”
“There was another inmate who knew my real identity,” I explained. “Today she decided to tell the other prisoners about me. I had to leave, otherwise they were going to hurt me. Besides, this way you don’t have to pay that arsehole warden any money.”
“The money has already been transferred,” Dad said and my stomach plummeted. “But don’t worry about that. The main thing is that you’re safe.” He stepped close and drew me into his arms. “I’m afraid there’s a good chance I won’t let you out of my sight for the next century.”
“The next two centuries,” Mum corrected, relief in her voice, and my stomach plummeted even further because I was going to have to leave them again. And soon. If time really did move five times faster in Oreylia then that meant Vas and Sven had already been there for hours. A day here was the same as five days there. It made me even more anxious to get planning how to rescue them.