Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 110080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
The other inmates recognized what was happening and screamed protests about overcrowding. He didn’t care. As if fettered by an invisible chain, the radiant spirits whisked to him and absorbed through his pores. Inside his head, he was right there to greet them with another smile before tossing them into cells. Their screams joined the chorus of noise, and satisfaction filled him.
The cavern shook with far more force, rock after rock tumbling. A serenade of roars erupted in every direction. Distinct roars Roux recognized. Dragons. Not exterminated, after all, but hiding.
The monsters in the underground.
Roux pivoted on his heel, ready to return to Harpina and—the door had vanished.
He patted the air, but it was gone. Either it had faded...or Isla had closed it. Her version of payback? No matter. Working his jaw, he flashed topside, into the sunlight to await the dragons. As the ground beneath his feet quaked and cracked, he summoned his backpack and the array of weapons inside it.
Perfect timing. The first dragon burst from the earth, flinging large clumps of dirt. With a flap of its wings, the horned, scaled creature the size of a cottage launched into the air and spewed a stream of fire. Another dragon followed suit a few yards away.
Aggression and malice prickled Roux’s skin. Focused on his goals, he withdrew a retractable spear. After he killed the fiends, he was getting off this realm. One way or another.
29
THE CULMINATION
Blythe’s eyes widened as ferocious roars filled the bedroom. What was that?
She stood in front of Isla with her daggers steady. She would slay anyone who came through that mystical door. Not that she believed a councilmember would get past Roux. The giant Astra blocked the entrance, his back to her. Before him, the females dropped and screamed. The cavern shook with increasing force. Dust blustered into the bedroom, tickling her nose.
“Roux!” she shouted. “Finish them and come on!” Wait. “The door. It’s fading.” She gasped. Wrong. The door was just...gone. No more roars. No more cavern or dust. Panic overtook her. She dropped the daggers and slapped at the air, searching for some remnant. Nothing. A whimper escaped. “Where did the door go, sweetheart?”
“I think I ran out of power,” Isla replied, her voice strained.
Stomach churning, heart thundering, Blythe crouched before her daughter. The darling had grown pale and trembly. “Are you all right? Were you hurt?”
“I’m okay.” Despite the hint of weakness, the little girl flipped her fall of dark hair over her shoulder, as sassy as ever. “Told you I could do it.”
“Yes, but how did you do it? And can you do it again after you power up?”
“’Course I can do it again.” Isla puffed up her chest. “Creating the door was as easy as I expected. The key was the only hard part. I had to design it myself, since Grandpa Bus never crafted one. But I don’t need to make another door and key, Momma. You’re home.”
“I’m not leaving the Astra behind.” Today, Blythe had made some life-changing decisions. As she’d fought the Phoenix, she’d known Roux would protect her daughter until his last breath. Then. That moment. She’d had no more hate to give, the root of bitterness in her heart withered. And when she’d proved victorious and glanced up, catching the Astra’s eye, desire for him—for a future with him—had overwhelmed her.
She wanted him, and so she would have him. If Laban truly did reside inside Roux’s head, they could search for a way to free him and help his spirit move on to the afterlife. It was the right thing to do, yes? Unless Laban wished to stay there and have some sort of contact with his family?
Ugh. That part still required contemplation.
And what if Roux desired Blythe only because of her first consort’s presence, somehow tapping into Laban’s emotions and experiencing them himself? Will I lose him, too?
A worry for tomorrow. First up, getting her male home. No doubt he’d find a way on his own. The guy was an unstoppable force of nature. But why not help him for once? As harpies like to say, couples who slayed together stayed together. They could take care of vengeful wraiths, a (possibly) recovered Phoenix, and whatever had roared.
“Are you going back to kill him?” Isla asked, her brow wrinkled.
How to explain? Should she even try right now? “We’ll discuss my plans for him later. Here’s what we’re gonna do now,” she said, exploding to her feet and rushing about to grab what she needed. Isla’s key. Bag. Her own clothes. Favorite toiletries. Weapons. “I’m flashing to Ation.” Since she’d visited already, she didn’t need another door to facilitate her arrival. Only her departure. “You’ll stay here. Tell Aunt Taliyah what happened. She’ll supply you with a phantom feast tonight.” An assembly line of powerful immortals would strengthen the girl like never before. “In the morning, if I haven’t returned, you’ll open another door. Under no circumstances are you to speak with...Bus again. He’s a very bad man who harmed Mommy.”