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)
“You are destined for more, Willow. I know right now you may feel helpless and like you’re at fault, but believe me, you’re not. You are the glue here. If you fall, everyone else around you will too.”
“I think you have that all wrong,” I say. “Caz is the glue.”
“No. It’s always been you. With no mate, Caz wouldn’t be who he is right now. Without you, he wouldn’t be willing to fight. He’d have given Selah Yuri’s energy in the snap of a finger if you weren’t here, and this world would be nothing but ash. Why? Because he didn’t care about living until he found you. A brave, smart, level-headed woman. He’s happy, and when he’s happy, his family is too. You bring out the good in people, Willow. That is a power within itself.”
“That sounds cliché as hell.”
Korah laughs as I do. “Maybe it is, but I mean every word. Now up you get. I want to show you a few more things before that mate of yours comes burning through the trees to find you.”
I smile and stand as she does, dusting my butt off. I go for my sword a few steps away, but when I look back at Korah again, she’s completely still and staring off in the distance. Her eyes widen, and her smile vanishes.
“Korah?”
She raises a hand, scanning our perimeter. “Someone’s watching us.”
SIXTY-FOUR
WILLOW
“Are you sure it isn’t Caz?” I whisper as she withdraws her sword.
Instead of answering, she grips the handle of her weapon, and in a flash, she disappears.
A gasp escapes me as I search for her.
“Korah?” I call. “Korah!”
A gust of wind zips by me, kicking up grass and dust. Korah returns to the center of the field, but she’s not alone. When I see the familiar woman lying at her feet, my breath hitches.
“Spying while drunk.” Korah lifts the tip of her sword to Danica’s chin. “Even if I weren’t a Regal, I’d have smelled you from a mile away.”
Danica grimaces at Korah, a hand raised to block the sun. “I wasn’t spying.”
“Danica?” I call, rushing their way. She looks so different. Her face is hollow, and her hair that was once dark is now streaked with silver. She’s aging. Deteriorating. Dying.
Korah pulls her sword back, and Danica grunts as she wobbles to a stand. I help her, and when she lifts her head to see me, her eyes instantly well with tears.
It’s completely unexpected when she pulls me in and wraps her arms around my neck.
“Willow, I’m so sorry,” she sobs over my shoulder. “I thought he would be safe. I thought they could help.” She jerks away, and I can smell the liquor on her breath. It seems she’s been bathing in it.
“It’s okay, Danica. Don’t worry. I’m just glad you’re here,” I breathe over her shoulder. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
Danica yanks away from me. “This is all your fault!” she shouts, spinning to face Korah again. She snatches out her katana and directs it at the Regal.
“Danica, don’t.” I grab her arm, but she jerks away from me again.
“We trusted you to keep us safe. To keep us alive. Instead, my mate is dead, and I will be too. Look at me!” she screeches, clutching a handful of silver hair. “I’m aging faster than I can blink!”
“If you hadn’t run away, you would be fine, Danica,” Korah responds in a calm voice.
The gentleness of her voice seems to piss Danica off more. “I ran away because I no longer trust you or your sister,” she spits back. “All this time I worshipped The Regals. I prayed to you, trusted in you, believed you were guiding me, but everything I love has been ripped away from me because of you!” Danica moves closer with her sword, but Korah lifts a hand, and like a magnet, the katana flies from Danica’s grasp to settle in Korah’s palm.
“Right,” Danica grumbles. “Take that away from me too. What does it matter anyway?” She tosses her hands in the air with defeat.
“You’re here because you heard about the war,” Korah says, ignoring her statement.
“Yes, I heard about the war. I was in Vanora when Queen Alora delivered the message about it. She’s recruiting fighters, warriors. Their guards are looking for those who know a thing or two about battle. I matched the criteria.”
“And you ran away so you wouldn’t have to fight?” I ask. I wouldn’t blame her in this state.
Danica rubs her milky eye with a sigh. “I didn’t run away. I came to Blackwater because regardless of what has happened, I’m indebted to Caz. If there is a war, I want to be a part of his army. That bitch Selah took my mate from me—she tormented him for weeks, and I want to be on that field so I can watch her bleed. I hear this is more Caz’s fight than anyone else’s anyway.”