Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 129912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
I hardly miss it as I leap to the left. The flames consume the grass while I hop to my feet. “This is madness.”
“You’re right. Selah is madness.” This time, the fireball she shoots transforms to a dagger and grazes the upper arm of my shirt. I hiss, peering down at the blood accumulating on my arm.
“Now you’re just pissing me off,” I grumble.
“Good.” Hassha’s eyes flash with amusement. Then she glowers, landing on the ground and summoning a sword. “Now fight.”
She charges forward, swinging her blade at me when she’s near. On instinct, I dodge the first swing, but she catches me by the shoulder when she whirls around. I can’t fight the yell that escapes me.
“How is this fair?” I shout. “You have a fucking sword!”
“You can have one too.” She thrusts her sword forward, but I grip it. The blade slices through my palm and across my fingers. She jerks away, making the cut deeper.
“You’re trying to kill me,” I breathe.
“Not at all, Seed of Yuri.”
When she ducks and swings a leg, it connects with my ankles. I lose my footing and land on the ground with a thud.
“Fuck,” I groan, coughing as I stare up at the sky.
She stands above me with a deep frown. “Why are you not fighting back?”
“You aren’t giving me the chance to,” I grumble, attempting to sit up.
Her foot presses to my chest, forcing me back to the ground, and her eyes turn to ice as she glares at me. Then she picks up her head and looks across the meadow.
I follow her line of sight to where Willow and the warriors are.
No. She wouldn’t.
Oh, trust me. She would. Yuri’s voice has returned, echoing in the back of my mind.
With one more look at me, Hassha darts across the meadow. I roll onto my stomach, my bloody hand landing in thick grass, and watch as she brings Willow back with her.
“What are you doing?” I demand, staggering to my feet.
“I realize that you don’t care about your own life enough to fight for it. When it comes to you, Caspian, someone you love must be threatened in order for your true powers to make an appearance.” Hassha looks from me to Willow, whose eyes are drowning with worry. “I’m sorry about this, Willow.”
Willow frowns. “Sorry about wha—”
Her question twists to a scream as Hassha launches to the sky with her, leaving behind a gust of wind. My heart sinks as I watch Hassha fly with my fiancée past the treetops, going so high they become specks in the distance.
Then, as if she’s standing right next to me, I hear Hassha’s voice in my ear saying, “I’m going to drop your mate, and she and your baby will die if you don’t catch her.”
“You’re out of your fucking mind!” I holler as I stare up. An intense heat brews inside me, and soon my blood is boiling.
“You feel it, don’t you?” Hassha asks.
I’m fuming now, clenching my first.
“You wouldn’t dare, Hassha!”
“Oh, but I would,” Hassha shouts back.
And then she lets Willow go.
SEVENTY-FIVE
CAZ
Willow’s scream rips through the air as she falls from the sky. The heat inside me blisters.
Trust me. Do not hold back. Let it reign.
Yuri’s voice again.
There’s a ringing in my ears, my eyes burning like hot coals. Every single strand on my head feels heavier, my skin thicker, my nerves sparking to life and bursting with energy. The ground crumbles beneath my feet, and a roar shoots out of my mouth as I ascend in a burst of red.
Willow’s screams are nearer. I can feel her heart pounding, her mind racing. She’s begging me to save her.
Caz! Please! Help me! Caz!
It’s all up to you. Are you ready to let me in?
“Fine!” I yell. “You’re in charge now, Yuri. Help me save her!”
I thought you’d never ask.
All that energy I harbor, I soak it in and steep in it while focusing on her. My body ignites, and there’s a feeling I’ve never felt before inside me. It’s like everything that has lain dormant has awakened—like my mind has opened up to new parallels.
I can hear so much more.
See much clearer.
Feel the smallest particles of dust grazing my skin.
It’s electrifying.
The ground disappears beneath my feet, and before I know it, Willow is landing in my arms.
“Caz!” she shrieks, throwing her arms around my neck. “Oh my God! She’s fucking crazy!” Her heart races fast, beating against mine.
“I’ve got you,” I whisper as she hugs me tighter.
I sail through the trees with her, burning through leaves and branches until I reach the meadow again.
I place Willow down near Milandra and the other warrior, and she wobbles on her feet, still clinging to me.
“These Regals are fucking insane,” Willow breathes. “I’m fucking pregnant! What is wrong with them?” She picks up her head, but her jaw drops as her eyes move up, and up, and up. “Caz, you look...”