Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 140462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 702(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 468(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 702(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 468(@300wpm)
Shock overpowers Sylvan’s features, but the monster shakes, and a black goo reminiscent of the liquid shadow I’ve seen Sylvan play with, oozes from the cracks between its scales. A tentacle shoots from the pool of shadow at our feet and attempts to strike the creature from the back, but it’s all for nothing, as it’s now protected by some kind of force field.
When the bassal jerks up to descend on us with its thick paws, I pull Sylvan back, saving him from talons that could tear through rock. The beast roars, but as the small body in my arms tenses and the shadows around us thicken, the invisible barrier around the reptile jitters, and the tentacle pressing on it from behind penetrates its bounds.
Heat blooms on my face, because this might be our only chance. I’m faint again, but it doesn’t matter. As powerful as my shadow might be, it’s not an unlimited resource, and we need to strike while the iron is hot.
“Kill it,” I shout into Sylvan’s ear as the creature turns its one functional head to see where it’s been injured. “You just need more shadow. Take it!”
His eyes flash in the dusky fog around us. “No! I’ve already taken too much. I can’t—”
I shouldn’t have been so prissy about his mistake. He was drunk and was only taking baby steps in this whole shadow-borrowing business. Now I made him afraid of doing it even in a situation that warrants it.
I’m such a shithead.
“Doesn’t matter!”
The tentacle twists, stabbing at the bassal where it’s penetrating the barrier, and when the creature rolls off the hill with a cry of agony, Sylvan stares at me, pale as a sheet. “We’ll just run and hide.”
My eyes sting. Have I really suspected this boy of manipulating me? He’s so desperate to avoid hurting me again that it’s making breathing near-impossible. But both he and I know there’s no running from the two-headed gator, so I meet his eyes and speak as clearly as possible.
“You know we can’t. Even if I faint—”
“You could die,” Sylvan cries, and a tear rolls from his sapphire eye. I want to kiss it away, but who has time for tenderness in the heat of battle?
“I should still have a few lives left. I want you to survive this, baby. Even if the worst happens, we don’t need to both die.”
He blinks, squeezing my hands. Time stops, and for a beautiful moment we’re just two men who found one another in the unlikeliest of circumstances, but as the bassal shoots up to the hill, roaring with fury, Sylvan shoves me away.
"We don't need to both die," he repeats. Black goo climbs his form, soon covering his entire body. It makes the beast freeze. Hunger shines in its yellow eyes, and the moment Sylvan leaps off the hill, creating tiny steps out of shadow, the creature charges after him, hungry for more shadowcraft.
He’s making himself bait.
It’s like an ice pick stuck in my brain, and as I drag myself to my knees, terrified by the narrow distance between predator and prey, it’s clear to me that I only have two options. I either run away or follow Sylvan, letting the bassal devour me too.
Suddenly, a new thought pops into my head and radiates life all over my body. Because there is one more choice I can make.
My hands shake when I reach under my clothes and pull out the Sunwolf Crown. I now know magic is real, and that it can warp my body beyond recognition, but I’ve already made up my mind. I was dead serious when I put that ring on Sylvan’s finger, and I’ll either protect him, or die trying.
I hear every detail of my last inhale, but then I slam the mask against my face and scream.
It’s like being drizzled with boiling gold.
Chapter 30
Sylvan
I’m covered in shadow from head to toe, and I materialize levitating platforms in front of my feet in my mad dash toward doom. The power needed for this feat barely skims the surface of Hawk’s darkness, but it’s enough to draw the bassal’s attention to me.
Just three months ago, I was too afraid to face the monster my brother died chasing away. Now I know what it feels like to have someone worth dying for. I might be petrified, but I will not falter. I vowed to never take more than Hawk can give, to never hurt him, and I will prove to him that my words were true, even if it means my own demise.
My only regret is that he will be left to fend for himself in the Nightmare Realm, but that gives him a fighting chance. He deserves that much after what he has been through.
The bassal grunts right behind me, and I smell its breath, so my plan of luring it away is working. But if that’s the case, why is Hawk screaming? It tears right through my heart. Could it be that there are more of these beasts around and my efforts are futile? Or is he insane enough to try attracting the bassal’s attention to himself?