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)
“I can’t…I can’t breathe,” he sputtered, while several of his wives emitted loud wails. The soldiers tried to move forward but I turned on them, holding them back with my magic. They were too wary of the burning sparks to move against me, and then, Vas made a swift motion with his hands and the Dicteps’ neck snapped. He fell to the floor, lifeless. So strong was Vas’ power now that he’d killed him without even touching him.
He stepped forward, staring coldly down at the dead body of the once most powerful man in Treyu. “That was for her,” he said, his voice flat and I knew he was talking about his mother.
There was dismay in the soldiers’ eyes when they saw their leader was dead. Seeing they’d been defeated, they surrendered without struggle. It gave Jalio and the others enough time to surround them. More rebels filtered in while Jalio’s people took the Dicteps’ wives, children and the Glorin High Priestess captive.
Then, Jalio approached Vas, who still stared down at the Dicteps’ body with hatred and disdain. Jalio had shifted out of his minotaur form so he no longer looked so terrifying.
“You should cut off his head and bring it outside,” Jalio said. “Claim the seat of power.”
Vas snapped to attention, his eyebrows drawing together with conflict as he stepped back. “No. I wanted to be the one to kill him, but I don’t want that.” His eyes searched the room then found mine. “I have another life in mind.”
My heart pounded as our gazes locked. Vas dragged his eyes away and looked to Jalio once more. “You should do it.”
I took a few steps forward and slid my hand into Vas’ as I faced Jalio, too. “I agree,” I said, echoing what I’d hinted at when we spoke before. “It should be you.”
More people chimed in, agreeing that Jalio should be the one to usher in the new regime, one where no one was discriminated against simply because of their heritage. Before long they were lifting him up and hailing him as their new leader.
Vas and I hung back. I glanced at him, searching his eyes. “We have to go. Roman will be reopening the portal.”
“Do you think all will be well here?” he asked.
“Maybe not at first but with time, I think so, yes.”
“We really should get back to the portal site,” Ren said as he and Sven came to join us.
Vas took a deep breath, seeming to steady himself. “Okay, let’s do this.”
21.
Moments later all four of us stood outside Treyu. You could hear a hoard approaching, their pounding feet and roars for freedom sounding in the distance. I thought everyone had gone to the palace, thirsty for vengeance. But no, some had decided to come with us. They wanted to take a chance on a new realm they knew nothing about and their faith made my chest constrict with emotion.
We were in the exact same location as we’d arrived but there was no portal. I tried not to worry. Roman said he’d be peering through every ten minutes to check and see if we’d arrived. That meant we had less than ten minutes to wait.
Something swooped high above us, casting a shadow over our heads and I looked up, heart stilling when the biggest demon gargoyle I’d seen yet appeared. It cut a fearsome image as several more arrived and my stomach dropped when I saw who was riding the largest one.
Red Armand.
I felt the blood drain from my body. He had a new, unsightly scar that went diagonally from one side of his face to the other, a scar I had given him with the sepial dagger. The very same dagger was on me now, secured safely in a holster at my hip. Though with those giant, winged creatures to protect him I doubted I’d get close enough to use it.
Perhaps with my newly acquired magic I could—
“This doesn’t bode well,” Ren muttered as half a dozen beasts landed before us. Their impressive wingspan must’ve measured at least fifteen feet or more. Each flying beast had a demon aboard, and I recognised a few from the Blaze, including Yuri and Lorenzo. It hadn’t taken long for them to figure out the rivers of gold were an illusion. And now with the Dicteps dead they had nothing left to lose.
Judging from the sounds of their shouts and cheers, the miners were still a few minutes away from reaching us. Red Armand’s amber eyes burned with fury as he looked into the distance, hearing the oncoming hoard. Then his eyes fell on us and his fury multiplied.
“How dare you,” he seethed. “Was it not enough that you left me for dead? You seek to destroy my livelihood also?”
Vas stepped forward, his hands at the ready to cast a defensive spell if needed. “Haven’t you heard? The Dicteps is dead. The miners have claimed the Opal Palace. No mine in Treyu will be operating on slave labour any longer.” His voice was pure steel.