Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 147891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
A blue sheen of light blocks one half of the room in front of them, and when Cerberus lunges at it, trying to break through it, he yelps. I wince, feeling the sting of it on my skin. It’s a barrier, keeping them contained.
A deep laugh erupts in the room, and my clan goes flying toward one of the walls. Their bodies merge to it, and ice trickles from their heads to their feet, wrapping them up in glacial cocoons. Cerberus barks, and I try speaking to him, but I can’t wrap my mind around this. My clan should have been safe. I thought Decius couldn’t hurt them. Shouldn’t The Council be able to stop this? The Regals? Someone?
A silhouette appears from a corner, and when he steps into the minimal light from the windows, he sneers down at Cerberus. His black cloak drifts behind him, dragging across the ice shards on the floor. His skin is white like snow, lips a deep purple, and his eyes are just as black as his clothing, not a pupil in sight. He snaps his fingers and my clan—my family—is completely buried beneath the ice.
“No!” I yell.
Cerberus growls at him as he steps forward, and I don’t need to say his name in order to know who he is.
Decius.
“You send your wolves to do the dirty work?” Decius stops in the middle of the room, studying Cerberus and then Silvera. “Rather smart, actually—these wolves. Your mother was always three steps ahead. Not for long though.”
I clench my fist on my lap, squeezing my eyes shut tighter.
“She knew the Gilded, Mythic, and Tethered cannot harm Tethered animals.”
He walks closer, and Cerberus’ growl deepens. Silvera snaps at him, daring him to come closer and baring her teeth to prove her point. I wish they’d both attack this fucker, eat his damn face off and be done with him, but something’s stopping them. I can sense Cerberus’ anger. I can feel him wanting to rip this man to shreds, but not being able to do it. What’s stopping him?
“But what your mother forgot is that I’m no ordinary Tether,” Decius goes on, pacing the space in front of the wolves. “I was an original and one of the most powerful, might I add. And these wolves? They’re useless without their owners in the same universe.”
He raises a hand in the air, and a tightness builds in my chest. Cerberus stumbles on his feet, choking for breath. He wheezes painfully, small whimpers slipping through as he collapses on the floor. No. He’s stopped his lungs. I feel his invisible hands wrapping around them from the inside and clutching tight. My wolf can’t breathe, and Decius’ unseeable grip is growing tighter around his lungs.
“Stop!” I shout, but I’m breathless, feeling all the pain Cerberus endures. And I’m aware Decius can’t hear me, but he knows I’m here. He knows.
Silvera tries lunging at Decius, but she can’t break through whatever barrier he’s created, which only makes her angrier. Her barks boom through the room, but Decius keeps his focus on Cerberus, glaring right into his eyes as he lowers to a squat. “Do you feel this?” he rasps, a sneer toying at the edges of his lips. “If you don’t return and fulfill your end of the bargain, I will end your wolf, your entire family, and then I will come for Willow.”
Just when I think Cerberus won’t be able to take another breath, Decius rises to a stand and backs away. Cerberus whimpers as he staggers to all fours again. When he realizes that he was attacked, he barks viciously at Decius. Because that’s my wolf. He never backs down. But I need him to right now. I never thought I’d see the day. He has to go. I can’t lose him.
“Go into hiding, Cerberus. Now,” I demand.
Cerberus prowls the room, snarling at the gloating Decius, eyes locked on him.
“I said now, Cerberus!”
My words bellow inside me, reverberating, and Cerberus finally does as he’s told, rushing out of the castle and toward the fields. Silvera rushes out right behind him, and they sprint toward the forest.
When I can’t take it, I open my eyes and suck in a sharp breath. My hand presses to my chest as the oxygen sinks back into my lungs.
“Hey, hey.” Willow clasps my face in her hands. “Look at me, Caz. Breathe. Breathe, you’re fine.” She holds my face tighter, looking deep into my eyes.
“He—he has my family, Willow! You saw it! He fucking has them!” She climbs off my lap, and I shoot out of the chair to pace the room.
“I know, but we’re going to get them out of it!”
“He’s going to kill them if I don’t fulfill the bargain. We need to get back! I—I have to. I can’t let them die. Not for me.”