Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88025 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88025 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Ametrine looked at the clouds, confusion flitting across her face. Apparently, she’d never gone head-to-head with the Air Weaver. Hale threw out both hands toward her and two bolts of lightning shot out from the clouds around them, slamming into the witch. Her mouth fell open in a silent scream as her body jerked and spasmed.
And then she was simply falling out of the sky, lost to the thick swirling snows that coated the world. The wind no longer cradled her. The weather was no longer at her beck and call. Hale hovered there among the clouds, searing anger burning away at him, feeding the storm that roared from the heavens.
Gunfire and a flare of flames caught his eye. His friends were still in danger from the horde of pestilents. Harrison was in danger.
Hale swooped back down to the ground to see it littered in dead pestilent bodies becoming steadily covered in snow. The Weavers were completely surrounded by pestilents. Only Baer was missing among them, but it was highly likely that he was the enormous bull elephant crashing through the mess, his long trunk picking pestilents up and swinging them around like baseball bats.
He landed beside Harrison, who was splattered with blood and dripping sweat despite the frigid temperatures.
“Snow? Really?” Harrison snapped the second he landed.
“I was angry,” Hale said with a smirk. He reached for the clouds and made a fist, calling another bolt of lightning. It took out at least a dozen pestilents, frying them where they stood.
“They’re too spread out. It’s taking too long to pick them off one by one,” Grey shouted. The poor Soul Weaver sounded exhausted.
“Plus, we won’t have enough ammo,” Cort added.
“Hey, Lucien, I got an idea!” Hale shouted above the cacophony of chaos.
“Better hurry!”
Hale redirected the storm, cutting off the snow and summoning up more wind. Only this time he swirled it into a tight cone. The small twister stretched down from the clouds and cut a path through the parking lot, picking up one pestilent after another while the other Weavers sought cover behind their vehicles.
“Are you shitting me?” one of them cried out.
“Light it on fire, Lucien!” Hale ordered. He might have chortled, but really, who wouldn’t at a moment like that?
“Fire-nado!” Lucien bellowed as one pestilent after another in the cone burst into flames until the entire swirling mass was a brilliant aerial whirlpool of red, orange, and yellow.
Any pestilents that weren’t snatched up by the tornado were dealt with by the other Weavers or simply escaped into the snow-covered mountains around the campsite.
“I think that’s all of them. Let it go, guys,” Grey called out.
“And don’t set the trees on fire!” Clay grumped.
Lucien’s snicker rose above the wind, but he still extinguished the flames. The winds holding the tornado together slowed and started to disperse, raining down charred pestilent bodies on the new dusting of snow.
“Hale!” Harrison cried out.
As he released the last of his powers, Hale turned to see the man who’d stolen away his heart leaving the cover of the SUV with Gio and Grey. He walked briskly over, his bespectacled gaze sweeping over him as if closely inspecting to make sure that he wasn’t hurt.
He looked safe. No gaping wounds or broken bones. But Hale would only feel better when Harrison was in his arms.
Reaching out, he snagged the collar of Harrison’s sweater and pulled him in close. He thought he might have felt something snap, but it didn’t matter when Harrison’s mouth crashed into his. He tasted like heaven and relief and love. Harrison might not have said the words, but he could feel it in the man’s touch, in the way his arms wrapped around him, holding him like he never wanted to be separated from Hale again.
“You scared the shit out of me,” Harrison growled against his mouth.
“Ditto,” Hale countered before biting down on Harrison’s bottom lip. He licked across the wounded flesh and deepened the kiss, not caring that they had an audience, until Grey’s angry voice cut through his senses.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Grey demanded.
With a grin, Hale released Harrison’s mouth and took a step away, admiring the way Harrison’s lips were starting to look red and puffy. Yes, that was a very good look on the man as long as he was the only one causing it.
As he stepped back, the necklace with the Heart of the Earth was threaded loosely in his grip. That was the snap he’d felt. He’d broken the chain when he tugged Harrison into his arms.
“Shit! Angel, I’m so sorry. We’ll get it fixed—” He started to speak, but Grey was already cutting him off.
“Stop! Freeze right where you are! No one fucking move!” Grey shouted.
Other than his darting eyes, Hale didn’t move a muscle. All his companions were also frozen, staring at Grey expectantly.