Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 111898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
She stood and dressed in the remaining clothes without a care. Yep, no doubt about it. Zero cares. There were plenty of other thousand-eyed fish in the sea.
“Well?” he demanded. “Will you do it?”
With a cheery if brittle smile, she told him, “Slice into you? Happily.”
Okay, so, maybe she had a slight care.
He gripped her chin, forcing her to peer up at him. This seemed so familiar. Had they argued like this before?
A memory hovered at the edge of her mind...
With fire and brimstone in his dark irises, he said, “You are the most—” He stopped himself. “If I wasn’t—” Again he stopped. His lids slitted anew. His breathing turned choppy.
Her heart pounded against her ribs. “Just say it, whatever it is.”
His lips peeled away from his teeth. “I don’t know what I want to say,” he roared. She knew he roared. The vibration traveled over the ground, through her and—wait. Something approached. Something big.
Rathbone must have realized it, too. He released her, his gaze darting.
As if they’d been partners forever, they grabbed as many weapons as possible and pressed against each other, back-to-back. He watched the rear of the cavern, and she observed the mouth. Until a massive boulder fell into the opening. Bye, bye light. Sheets of dust plumed the air, and she coughed.
“I have a prediction.” She gagged when the putrid scent of decay assaulted her nose. Another vibration started up, this one a bone-rattler. “We’re about to engage in a battle to the death.”
12
Expecting Nova to be running like a well-oiled machine, with no problems or disturbances of any kind, Azar appeared in his home world. His strategy was simple. Speak with the warrior he’d left in charge, visit the Hall of Secrets, and learn more about his opponents. Instead, he discovered nothing but disturbances.
An unusually large number of soldiers congregated in the foyer, filling the area and surrounding Kanta, the male in charge.
What happened?
“Take your wolves north,” the dragon shifter shouted. “Send yours south. Yours east. Yours west. Put your vampires in every room of the catacombs. Set your Amazons loose in the forest.”
In that moment, Azar knew. The Underworld king and his oracle had visited.
He grunted. My mistake. He’d assumed Rathbone would be as easy to manage as before, when Azar’s blessing task had revolved around Lore’s original death. Then he’d had only to await the perfect chance to strike—when her husband and protector was busy winning a kingdom. Why wasn’t he there now, protecting it?
Azar should’ve known this go-round would be different. Lore’s demise had transformed him as well as Rathbone. Change brought, well, change.
Do not think of the goddess yet. Forget.
“Forget,” he echoed. But he forgot nothing. He never had, never would. That was his curse. To see his great shames and mistakes play in Technicolor detail for the rest of eternity.
Kanta noticed him and paused for a beat, momentarily disconcerted. Then the dragon shifter kicked into leadership mode again, completing his litany of orders. When he finished, he joined Azar.
“Tell me,” Azar demanded.
Fury grew in him as the other male outlined the events of the invasion. He balled his hands into fists. The oracle had made it inside the Hall of Secrets. What had she learned?
“The blame is mine,” Kanta said, raising his chin and squaring his shoulders. “I trusted her word.”
“No, you trusted your instincts, and I cannot fault you for it.” The shifter possessed the innate talent to detect truth and lies. The fact that Neeka tricked him meant she believed her own lies, or she wielded an ability greater than his. “I, too, made a critical error with the female.” Though Azar had already regrown his severed hand, the sting of humiliation had yet to lessen. “Continue on. Alert me when you find their trail.” He didn’t await a response. Knowing the shifter obeyed without question, Azar marched off.
Anyone in his path moved out of his way fast. He could’ve flashed to the Hall, but he required the extra minutes of foot travel to prepare himself for what was to come: an onslaught of voices soon to join the others. A permanent part of his life, no matter how terrible.
Had he known he would be forced to kill Lore a second time, he might’ve done this ages ago.
When he reached the red door, tension gouged him. A strike more crushing than those delivered by any enemy. Considering he and his Astra brothers had fought and conquered every species currently living in Nova, he’d overcome a wealth of powerful foes. Kanta was an excellent example. The shifter was able to torch entire cities in a matter of minutes, summon smoke storms and control others with his voice, and yet, Azar had defeated the male on the field of battle. He might have lost limbs in the process, but he’d still rather do that than this.