Total pages in book: 362
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
“Fuck you, Thrax,” Attes grunted. “That was unnecessary.”
I started for him—
Bad life choice.
Who I assumed was Thrax swept his tail back, and I was in its path. I hit the floor, holding my breath as the tail skimmed over me. One of the spikes grazed my shoulder, ripping my shirt, and only by the grace of the Fates, missed catching any skin in the process.
The ceiling tore back, claws ripping through glass and stone. A draken with fiery red-and-black scales descended into the ruined chamber, its wings beating at the dust in the air as its claws slammed down behind me.
Oh, shit.
I rolled to the right with only seconds to spare.
Massive forelegs landed where I’d been with a force that would’ve crushed me. Mouth dry, I popped to my feet. The draken snarled, its lips vibrating as they pulled back over sharp teeth. Thrax wasn’t nearly as big as Nektas, but he was fast with that fucking tail. He caught me in the back, sending me flying. I hit the floor with a groan. It knocked the air out of me, but I rolled, coming to a stop on my belly. Air—too much air—surrounded me. I turned my head, gasping and seeing nothing but the darkness of a steep drop-off on the side of Mount Lotho.
Why did Embris have to build his palace on a fucking cliff?
I shoved to my feet. Wind roared through the trembling palace, blowing my hair back. My chest suddenly warmed with the echo of death. The flare came again and again as Thrax snapped at Attes. I didn’t see Kyn, but I knew he was close. He was in the palace somewhere—likely the source of the death I felt.
I summoned the eather, feeling it pulse wildly—too wildly. A bolt erupted from my palm, nowhere near as strong as earlier. The silvery-gold stream arced across the chamber, striking the draken in the side.
Thrax yelped and lurched toward me. His jaws opened as he roared, the force sending me back about half a foot, the stench of sulfur and blood choking me.
I pulled the essence to the surface when I saw Attes’s armor appear. The Primal rose into the air, eather crackling and spitting from his splayed hands. Thrax huffed, drew his neck back, and started to turn back to Attes.
“Hey, you fucker,” I shouted. “Your breath smells like your mouth has been up Kyn’s ass!”
Thrax halted and then turned his attention back to me, eyes narrowing.
A stream of bright eather slammed into Thrax. The draken reared back, spraying shimmery blood. I darted out of its path, but Attes was close, continuing to slam the draken with eather. The armor protected his chest, but the sleeves of his tunic burned off, and his flesh smoked.
Thrax went for Attes, releasing a stream of silvery fire. Attes lurched to the side, throwing a bolt of eather that hit the draken in the face. Thrax shot back—
Icy fingers trailed down my spine. I sucked in a shrill breath, catching the scent of stale lilacs—death. The hairs along the back of my neck rose. Everything inside me stopped except for my heart. It beat steadily. Calmly, even. I turned around and saw Attes and the draken spill over the edge where the glass walls had stood, falling over the cliff. There was a shout of pain, but all I saw was the figure in the center of a whirling mass of crimson-streaked shadows in the sky.
“Kolis,” I hissed, feeling a violent rush of energy surge through me. Fury sank its claws into me, climbing my spine and filling my limbs. It filled my heart and wrapped itself around my fingers. So, I seized it. I stalked forward, the marble tile cracking under my steps. Throwing out my hand, golden-silver light rippled down my arm.
Seeing my family’s faces and the horror forever etched into their features, feral rage fueled me, and eather exploded from my palm, racing through the sky. A savage smile lit up my face when the essence struck Kolis, scattering the shadows around him. His head kicked back, and the eather raced across his bare chest, singeing his crimson pants. I lifted my left arm, wanting to cause him pain, wanting to destroy him—
A dark, cold laugh slithered through the air and over my flesh. Kolis’s chin lowered. Crimson-streaked tendrils rose once more in the ink-black sky, writhing and swirling, his eyes gleaming like ruby jewels. All along the cliffs, great elms and pines bent back as if to escape the weight of his power and presence.
A reddish-silver pulse of light rippled across the realm, revealing the draken that had taken flight from the palace. I saw them when the sky growled, a deep rumble building in intensity until it reached a deafening crescendo. Bright bolts of crimson-laced eather erupted from Kolis and danced across the horizon, splitting into multiple veins that streaked through the clouds like writhing serpents.