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)
“What were you thinking?” Korah demands as she and Hassha lower to the ground.
Hassha ignores her as they march in our direction. I take a step back as Cerberus meets next to me, his snout coated in thick black blood. He licks his chops, glaring up at Hassha and Korah while waiting for my next command.
“I’m with Korah,” I toss in. “You shouldn’t have agreed to a war with her. We don’t know what she’ll bring when it happens.”
“It will buy us time,” Hassha says. “Would you rather she take your head right now while you’re weak in power and torch this place like she did Ripple Hills?”
“No, but we haven’t had a war in—”
“I don’t care how long it’s been since your last commoner war,” Hassha snaps, closing the gap between us. “This is a matter of life and death. You have no choice but to prepare yourself and activate Yuri’s fullest power inside you. Now let’s go.” She steps around me, marching toward the forest. “Your training begins today.”
FIFTY-ONE
WILLOW
Something thumps in the distance.
I hop out of my seat in the grand room, rushing with Juniper and Maeve around the corner. Silvera stands in front of me, a growl building in her throat. That growl ceases when she spots Caz walking into the manor.
Only he doesn’t look like how he left. It looks like he’s walked through a battlefield. His skin is dirty, his trench coat stained with rancid black liquid that I can smell from here, and he’s limping. Killian and Rowan stumble their way inside, and we rush to them.
“Caz, what happened? Are you okay?” I clasp his face in my hands, and he holds on to my wrists.
“I’m fine, Willow Woman.” He attempts a smile, but it hardly reaches his eyes.
“What happened?” Maeve’s voice is an octave higher. “Why do you all look like you were attacked?”
“Because we were,” Killian says as he clutches his rib. “Selah appeared, brought a flood of monsters.” His shirt is ripped, revealing streaks of red blood through the tattered material.
“Love of Vakeeli,” Maeve gasps. “But I thought Blackwater was protected. Hassha said she wouldn’t be able to get in, right?”
“That’s what I thought too,” Caz mutters, and as he does, two tall silhouettes appear at the door.
Korah and Hassha enter the manor, looking every bit like gods amongst mortals. While the men are covered in dirt and grime, the sisters are spotless. Minus the deep cut through Korah’s breastplate, they don’t seem to have been harmed at all.
“Blackwater is protected.” Korah steps forward. The closer she gets, I see her breastplate sealing together with purple static. “Selah is cunning. She wanted us focused on holding the barrier long enough for her to find the slightest trace of weakness in it. It is possible that when we exert ourselves doing one thing, our energy ebbs. But I assure you, that will not happen again.”
Cerberus gallops into the house, and Silvera sniffs at him before snorting and scampering away.
“What exactly happened?” Juniper asks, frowning as she watches a filthy Cerberus rush through the hall.
“Long story,” Rowan mumbles, raking his fingers through his hair.
“I’ll have Makoto prepare the tea,” Maeve says, already speeding to the kitchen.
FIFTY-TWO
WILLOW
“Selah will not relent.” Hassha’s voice fills the main room and vibrates in the hollows of my skull.
I look past her, peering out the wall of windows and focusing on the ocean. It’s the only thing that feels real, alive, safe even. Everything else seems like it’ll crash and burn in the blink of an eye.
My throat burns as a wave of nausea runs over me, but I swallow it down and keep my focus on the dark current. Caz takes my hand, and I steal a glance at him as he squeezes it.
We’re okay. His voice is sure, confident. Even while we’re in peril, he’s acting like what we’re facing is normal.
We’re far from okay, Caz.
I feel him studying the profile of my face as I put my attention on the ocean again.
“She will bring everything she can to this war. Those creatures you saw?” I look over as Korah speaks, her eyes landing on every individual in the room, even the wolves. “They may have seemed countless to you, but that was only a speck compared to how much more she can create. She’ll have more dragons, more of those trench hounds, and many other things we won’t even recognize because they’re fueled by her dark energy.
“Some of those creatures were people from Ripple Hills. She took the most wicked and turned them, made them fight for her, and she’ll keep doing that. We are not like Selah. We don’t steal lives. We don’t use people. I feel like we have made that abundantly clear to you. Regardless of what you may think about us, we want to keep you alive.