Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 108376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
“We will come with you,” he said, and the relief was palpable.
Vas stepped close and took my face in his hands. “You’re incredible,” he whispered, his expression tender and full of affection. “I love you.”
His shocking declaration took me off guard, but then something took over as I stepped into his arms and whispered, “I love you, too.”
Vas’ eyes widened. “You—”
Before he could finish, the miners were grabbing their hammers and making their way out of the mine. Word quickly spread to those who were sleeping. They roused and joined the fray, grabbing whatever tools were to hand as weapons as they blended into the mass exodus. There wasn’t a demon in sight, and it just went to show their greed that they all abandoned their stations with the promise of gold.
Vas took my hand and the four of us moved with them. The giant shaft could carry near to a hundred people at a time. We climbed aboard and made the journey up with the first group. As those who worked in the Blaze began to make their way through the others parts of Red Armand’s mine, more workers downed tools and joined our ranks. Before long it felt like the entire population of miners were with us and adrenaline coursed through me.
It was happening. We were really doing this.
Exhilaration lit a fire inside of me. Ren, Vas, Sven and I were at the head of the mob, leading them from the mine. Along the way we encountered a few demons who hadn’t yet left in search of gold. One’s eyes practically bugged out of their sockets when he saw us coming. He didn’t even think twice about trying to intervene. There were too many of us.
He simply turned tail and fled.
Vas, who still held my hand, glanced down at me, his gaze curious. I could tell he was still shocked by what I’d said to him back in the Blaze. “Did you mean it?” he asked.
“Do you think I’d lie about something like that?” I challenged. “Of course I meant it.”
Swift as lightning, he pulled me into his arms and captured my lips in a hot, searing kiss. My skin practically sizzled at the possessive way his hand cupped the back of my neck. The miners rushed by, obviously to the moment we shared. I placed my hands to Vas’ chest, gently pushing him away.
“We’re in the middle of a rebellion, Vas,” I told him, breathless. “Now isn’t the time.”
He stroked my cheek. “I don’t care. I’ve been wanting to do that again for weeks.”
Dozens more miners filtered past us as Sven called out, “Come on, keep up. We don’t want to get separated.”
Vas looked at me like he wanted to eat me alive and shivers encapsulated my entire body. I cast him a shy smile, which he returned with a heated smoulder, then slid his hand into mine, gripping it tight. I knew what his look meant.
To be continued.
We reached the gates to the mine but they were all locked up. One demon sat on guard by the pillar, but just like the others he ran off as soon as he spotted the angry mob. I had no doubt he’d be informing the powers that be of what was happening.
Miners began climbing the gates. Others hammered at the locks and they soon broke open. Those coming up behind us gave a cheer and a stampede formed.
“To the Opal Palace,” Vas roared, his eyes alight. This was the sort of thing he lived for. Mutiny. Grand escapes. Rebelling against power.
But most importantly: vengeance.
We entered one of the wealthy districts and people cried out in terror when they saw what was coming their way. All hell broke loose as angry miners attacked any demons who foolishly tried to block their path.
By the time we reached upper part of the city our numbers had increased exponentially. Miners flooded in from all directions. I looked over my shoulder, stunned by the sheer number of escapees blanketing a part of the city that had for so long been off limits to them. I spotted a familiar head of dark hair and Jalio appeared, along with the red haired guy and several others who’d been hiding in that small house. They were armed to the teeth and appeared to have supplied many others with weapons, too.
Jalio approached Vas and clapped him around the shoulders. “Good work, my friend! Now comes the hard part.” He smiled, like this was fun to him. I, on the other hand, was running on adrenaline and fumes.
Before long we reached the palace and guards began shooting at us, the strange projectile weapons different from any I’d seen before. They weren’t as advanced as guns, nor did they seem as rudimentary as bows, but I was too far away to see exactly how they functioned. Small, pellet-like bullets spun through the air in our direction.