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)
“He’s gone. A-Adrian is gone. Can’t…I can’t find him.” Haru’s legs gave out, and he fell to his knees on the broken rocks, pulling Tyche down with him.
“What happened?”
Haru lowered his head, his brow furrowing as if he were struggling to organize his thoughts enough to answer Tyche’s question. His face suddenly jerked up, his eyes wide. “Explosion! There was an explosion. We were walking. Talking about food.”
A small smile lifted Tyche’s mouth. “You and Adrian are always discussing food.”
Tears flooded Haru’s eyes and fell free down pale cheeks. “Yes. Food. I like feeding my Adrian. He makes cute, happy noises. Each time he finds something he likes, he shares it with me.” Haru’s voice caught and his brow furrowed. “Shared with me.”
“The explosion?” Tyche prodded as Haru’s story stalled.
The dragon swallowed hard and nodded twice, the motion sharp and jerky. “Separated. It knocked me out. When I woke up, I couldn’t find him. I-I searched.” He waved a shaking hand at the surrounding city.
Tyche turned, and his stomach twisted into a knot. The illusions of dead Adrians were gone, but what remained wasn’t a big improvement. The dragon had reduced several buildings to absolute rubble, and he didn’t think that was all from the explosion. Blood and cuts covered Haru’s hands from where Tyche could imagine Haru had pawed through the wreckage, first as a human and then as a dragon, in search of Adrian, but he’d never found his body. Whoever had planned the explosion had likely captured whichever of them they could get to. It was a shame they’d reached the human first rather than the dragon. Haru probably would have been able to escape and return to Adrian safely.
“I can’t find him.”
“Someone took him,” Tyche cut in before Haru could deteriorate more. “Someone planned this explosion, and now they’ve taken Adrian to get to you.”
Haru’s eyes flared wide, glowing bright as a flickering road flare. “Took him? I will destroy them.” His voice grew gravelly and deep, as if he were already shifting into his dragon form.
“No!” Tyche pushed to his feet and towered over Haru as he continued to kneel on the ground. He couldn’t let Haru follow this line of thought. Thinking Adrian was dead was dangerous, but allowing him to seek the people who had taken Adrian was worse. A sobbing dragon was easier to manage than an enraged one determined to destroy every living creature until he found his mate.
Haru stared at him, confusion causing his eyes to dim and shift to blue at last. It was only Haru’s trust in Tyche that allowed Tyche to steal his attention.
“You had your chance to protect your mate, and you failed!” Tyche shouted. With every word he spoke, he wanted to pull out his own tongue, but he pressed on. Plunging his friend into the darkness was the one thing that was going to save Sirelis. “Someone took him from you because we were too weak to keep him safe.”
“No!” Haru bellowed. He reached up and gripped a handful of his hair, pulling hard. “My Adrian…I would never let…my Adrian!” He couldn’t even finish a thought; he was crying so hard. A tremor shook the city, and rocks tumbled, sending up clouds of dust. The sky swirled with black and red clouds while a hot wind stirred.
A shimmer of gold dust danced in the air around Haru, and Tyche swore. He thought he’d felt it earlier, but there was no denying it now. The protective good luck he’d put over Yesuntei’s magic orb was dissolving. Haru’s powers were out of control in his grief, and they were gripping the orb tighter and tighter. They were out of time.
Tyche slid his right hand to his hip and slipped his dagger from the sheath. He held it up, letting it catch the flicker of light from the flames that still danced low. “If you trust me, Haru, I can send you to Adrian. You’ll never have to be parted from him again. All this pain will go away.”
Tears streamed down Haru’s pale face, and a beatific smile spread across his lips. “Yes! Yes, please. Do it.”
The dragon even lay on the rocks and threw his arms out to his sides, welcoming Tyche’s strike. The damn creature was so sure Tyche was about to kill him. Tyche was going to be sick, but he forced himself forward, pushing aside heartbreak and fears. He dropped beside Haru and plunged the blade into the dragon’s abdomen where Tyche had pressed the orb into his friend just a month earlier. A pained cry escaped Haru, and his body jerked, but he didn’t stop Tyche in any other way.
As soon as the hole was big enough for Tyche to slip his fingers inside, he tossed aside the blade with a loud clatter and shoved into the dragon’s flesh. Haru hissed, sucking in air through clenched teeth, his eyes squeezed shut.