Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 110079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
“What’s that?” Tyche called out, drawing their attention to where it was supposed to be.
Adrian’s gaze followed where Tyche pointed, and he spotted a tiny craft cutting through the water away from the battleship, moving toward the dock where Shey’s ship was resting. It was moving fast, bouncing off the bigger waves to crash down again. The wind picked up, sending Tyche’s long hair whipping out behind him and causing the waves to froth up even more.
“Do you think that’s an emissary come to meet with the rest of the dragon clans?” Haru inquired. He lifted a hand to his face, holding it above his eyes to shield them from the wind and sun.
Adrian’s stomach knotted as indecision surged within his chest. Would they send an emissary while Caelan and the others were still meeting with the captain? He would think the king would prefer to finish talking with the people on the ship before they dared to send someone to discuss anything with the dragons.
Yet, as they got closer, it was easier to see that this wasn’t a suited individual who looked like a government official. Soldiers carrying weapons filled the small speedboat. Adrian was about to bark out a warning when Tyche’s next words sent a chill across his skin.
“There’s a god on that boat.”
Adrian’s head whipped around in time to see Tyche clamber from the rock he was standing on. He stumbled and landed on his ass, but he still couldn’t tear his eyes off the boat.
“What do you mean? Like you?” Adrian demanded.
Tyche nodded and shoved to his feet. His eyes remained locked on the bobbing boat as it raced closer. “I-I can’t tell who it is, but I can feel power. Wild and uncontrolled. Something’s wrong with them. It’s…it’s all wrong.” He shook his head hard twice, as if trying to get his thoughts to clear. “We can’t let them dock here. This…god can’t be allowed to step foot on the Isle of Stone.”
“Shou!” Haru swung to his left and laid a hand on his clan brother’s tense shoulder. “Fly to the clan. Warn Rayne and the others that attackers will invade our land by boat. We will need more dragons to fight them and to assist in the rescue of Omari Nori and the others.”
“Got it!” In the blink of an eye, Shou shifted into a fiery orange dragon and flew off toward the Omari clan.
As Shou escaped the beach, a surge of wind gusted out of nowhere. Adrian threw up his arms to shield his eyes from flying saltwater and sand. The force of the wind had him stumbling until a hand pressed into the small of his back, steadying him. He turned his head and gazed over his shoulder to see Haru glaring at the approaching boat while supporting Adrian.
The wind didn’t let up but grew stronger, making it almost impossible to remain standing where they were. Tyche was almost on his knees, trying to keep from sliding and tumbling along the beach.
“Is this from Shey?” Adrian demanded, even as he glanced up at the sky, which remained bright blue. If Shey were conjuring up a storm, there would be dark clouds rolling in and deep booms of thunder.
“No!” Tyche pointed a finger at the boat. “It’s that asshole.”
They stared at the vessel that was close enough to reveal at least a dozen men wearing black uniforms and masks that concealed their faces while carrying automatic weapons. Yeah. That wasn’t a peaceful party aiming to further negotiations with the dragons.
In the center of the group stood a single man with trimmed blond hair and pale skin in a white uniform. Adrian suspected this was the god Tyche had mentioned. Had the Order won a minor god over to their side? Was there a god out there willing to take orders from humans? That seemed kind of insane, unless the human had promised something that they couldn’t attain on their own.
But this wasn’t the time to figure it out. They had to keep the soldiers from landing on the Isle of Stone.
Adrian fought to take a step forward. With a flick of his wrists, throwing daggers appeared in both hands. However, the wind was far too strong for him to be effective at this distance.
“I’ll be right back.” Haru’s low growl rumbled through Adrian a second before his supporting hand disappeared. Adrian fought to catch his balance as Haru shifted into his dragon form. An eardrum-piercing roar erupted from Haru as he launched himself into the air.
The wind gusted up, knocking Adrian and Tyche to their knees. The waves grew taller and more violent, crashing into the shore with the noise of cars smashing into each other. Foam frothed up on the waves, gathering in dirty mounds on the sand. It was as if a hurricane were marching toward them. Yet, when he sneaked a peek at the ship where Caelan and the others were, it didn’t appear as if they were battling the same wind.