Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
“Haru will last the longest,” he murmured, mostly talking to himself. “Followed possibly by Shey. And then…”
Adrian’s expression crumpled. “Gee. Thanks.”
Tyche ignored it. He wasn’t about to deliver false hope to make Adrian feel better. It was most important to keep him alive. He took another look at Haru and did a separate calculation. The dragon was his best option if things turned ugly. Well, uglier.
Fuck it. No amount of planning was going to save them from disaster. He had to jump in before too many people died and hope that he got some good luck to swing things in his favor.
Tyche said nothing else as he spun on the balls of his left foot and marched toward the heart of the chaos. The closer they got to the big multi-street intersection, the more chaotic things grew. Instead of it being just a handful of people acting strangely, they all were. The only ones who weren’t lost to Cirina’s dream magic were dead or running in the opposite direction.
“Will it help if I pull on my tie to Kaes?” Shey asked, sounding as if he were talking through clenched teeth. Tyche glanced over his shoulder and caught sight of blood already dripping from Shey’s shaking fist. The pressure in Tyche’s head was building, but he was holding strong. He didn’t know if it had to do with the fact that he was a god or if Yesuntei’s power was giving him a bit of a shield.
“Probably. Go ahead. Use magic.”
The words were barely out of his mouth when an explosion of thunder boomed across the sky. Lightning darted between black clouds that seemed to have appeared from nowhere. The wind whooshed through the streets, howling as it passed. Their clothes flapped and danced on their bodies, trying to pull free.
Tyche looked at Adrian, who flashed him a fragile, crooked smile. He couldn’t guess at the connection between Adrian and the very new god Caelan. He prayed this God of Hope had some power he could lend the man.
“Cael knows. He can feel me, and he is sending what he can,” Adrian said, as if reading his mind, or just his worried expression. “He’s also blowing up my phone right now. I hope Drayce can keep him in Stormbreak.”
Yeah. They didn’t need another god sticking his nose into this mess.
After they’d walked what felt like miles but was just a few hundred yards, they reached the intersection where six different roads met to cross. In the center, surrounded by a cluster of crashed and smoking vehicles, stood a short, slender woman in a wrinkled red floral sundress that waved wildly in the wind. Her long, blondish-brown hair danced behind her like angry tentacles. Tears streaked her pale cheeks, and Tyche’s heart broke for her. There was nothing similar in appearance between Yesuntei and Cirina to make a person think they were sisters other than their slim, almost sickly builds.
“Tyche?” she said. Her voice was soft and confused, almost completely swallowed up by the raging wind and thunder. “What are you doing here?” She took a step closer to him, and her eyes suddenly widened. They snapped to his legs—specifically to the pocket where he carried Yesuntei’s power. “Why do you have that? Did you kill my sister?”
Tyche threw up his hands, palms open. The glass he’d been holding tumbled to the ground and broke again, but he ignored it. “No! Definitely not! I adored her! You know I did. Yesuntei was wonderful, and I would never hurt her.”
Even as he spoke, raw magic slammed into him, and his vision wavered. The buildings started to fade and disappear, replaced by tall trees and old temples. Brightspire…but thousands of years ago. His first home.
“No!” Tyche squeezed his fists, pushing his fingers into the cut that was already in his palm from the glass. Pain ripped through his hand, and the images faded.
“Why is my sister dead? How do you have her powers if you didn’t kill her?” Cirina raged. Her voice shook and cracked.
“She was kidnapped. Taken by bad people who wanted to steal her powers away,” Shey shouted as Tyche struggled to find his voice.
“We killed them,” Haru added.
A fractured sob broke from Cirina’s throat, and she stumbled back two unsteady steps. Her entire body swayed as if it were a struggle to remain standing. She tipped her face to the sky and wailed, sending another wave of raw power slamming into them.
Tyche stumbled, hitting the hood of a luxury sedan with his hip. A giggle danced on the breeze, and Tyche’s head snapped up to see a serene smile spread across Adrian’s face. Tyche clawed his way across the car to Adrian’s side. With as much strength as he could muster, he slapped Adrian, snapping his head around. The dragon snarled, and every hair on the nape of Tyche’s neck stood up, but he didn’t let himself look away from Adrian. His friend blinked and nodded.