Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 105815 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105815 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Leo stared at the elf he’d killed, the light extinguished from his green eyes. He wasn’t a killer. He wasn’t even much of a hunter in his cat form. A lazy feline, Leo preferred his meals served in a bowl with a side of chin scratches.
But these monsters wanted to kill his mate and his sweet boy, Erik. They had killed countless humans. No way was he letting them steal the family he’d just found.
A sharp electric snap and crackle filled the air. Leo lifted his eyes, blood dripping from his fangs, to find that the spell holding the dome in place had broken. Kai landed in the field with a ground-shaking thud while Moon’s zombie army poured into the circle held by the wizards. Leo leaped aside to not get trampled by the hoard. The rest of the team was a step behind them. Leo paused for a moment to watch Junjie as he fought with two short swords. His every movement was a graceful dance of death. With each turn and slash, another elf fell dead. And he did it to protect the clan. Leo could do the same.
Not that he was so awfully needed.
The dragon was doing a marvelous job of snatching up the remaining fae wizards in his teeth or stomping them under his feet.
“Ahhh!” Moon screamed.
Leo jumped across the stream to where the vampires had gathered around Moon as he hopped, while shaking his hands.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Moon swore, the words blurring into each other.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” Chen had his hands extended to Moon as if he wanted to pull the necromancer into his arms but was afraid to touch him.
“I’m fine. My dumbass fault,” Moon answered with a slight hiss in his words. “I tried to raise that elf wizard Leo killed, but that thing’s brand of magic doesn’t go well with my magic. It was like trying to cram an American plug into a European outlet. Bad news. Don’t do it.” He turned to Chen and gave a full-body shiver before he offered a lopsided smile. “I’m okay now.”
Chen’s fingers curled and his eyes narrowed on his mate. The vampire looked as if he were seconds away from strangling his beloved fledgling.
Xiao Dan cleared his throat, but it sounded like a choked laugh. “We should hurry to help the others. Trin’s attempts at another spell have been stopped, but we need to destroy the fae king to end this once and for all.”
“Of course, Shixiong,” Chen agreed, dropping his hands to his sides.
They raced across the field, the remains of Moon’s zombies in tow. Leo stretched out his long, muscular body, loving the power that coursed through him with every step. Maybe he had been spending too much time as a house cat. Now that Junjie and the Zhang clan knew his secrets, he could lounge about the clan manor in whatever cat form he wanted. Chasing Huli across the manor grounds as a tiger or leopard could be fun, too.
But that errant thought slid right out of his brain as they reached the crowd of fae and vampires who encircled two combatants—Rei and Trin.
At one spot in the circle, Ellora held Aire Bira on her knees with a long knife pressed to her throat. Sweat and blood streaked both fae women. Their eyes stayed locked on former Crown Prince Rei and King Trin. The winner of this battle held the outcome to the ongoing war.
If Trin won, the fae would swarm the Zhang and Varik clans, wiping them out.
But if Rei won, he could seize control of all the fae, ending the war.
With Junjie at Leo’s side, they worked their way over to where the other team had gathered close to Yichen. The vampire’s face was pale and his brown eyes were glassy as he watched his mate fighting with an impressive display of speed and skill.
Junjie placed a hand on Yichen’s shoulder and squeezed.
“I want to help him,” Yichen choked out. “I want to race out there, Jun-Jun, and kill Trin for him.”
“But you can’t,” Junjie replied.
“Then let me do it,” Kai broke in as he came to stand on the other side of Yichen in his human form. “It’ll only take a second.”
“Rei wants to do this alone. He had unfinished business with his mother, and Trin stole his chance to end things with her. He also feels like Trin used and betrayed him when he ascended to the throne. Rei says he doesn’t want to rule his people, but he wants what is best for them.”
“And that’s not Trin.”
The fight ranged across the large circle that had formed, but it was utterly silent as the fae and vampires watched with breath held as they waited for a victor.
Trin and Rei were splashed with blood, and more red smeared their swords from the hits they’d scored on each other. Trin was dressed in shining silver armor that helped to protect him from more than one of Rei’s strikes. On the other hand, Rei wore a much lighter leather armor on his chest and arms, which seemed to at least give him a speed advantage over Trin.