Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 121924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Reaching the other side, I dragged myself out of the river. The feel of the cool air made me break out in a shiver. On a different occasion, I might have grumbled at how my hair stuck to my head and my sopping wet clothes clung to my body like a second skin. Right now, my priority was getting gone.
Like the rest of my group, I slung my weapon over my shoulder and then raced into the forest. That quickly, it was dark as night. Beams of light only slashed through the canopy here and there, so it wasn’t always easy to evade any obstacles in our path. We all felt the impact of it …
Lear almost tripped over a tree root.
Reeve ran face-first into a thick branch.
Sable stumbled into a bush that tugged at her breeches, slowing her down.
Me? I fell over a log like an idiot, landing hard on and my palms and knees.
Cursing through my teeth, I quickly jumped to my feet and forged on. My wet clothes were like a heavy weight that tried impeding my pace. I didn’t allow it. Didn’t let myself care how they chafed my skin. Didn’t allow myself to sweat over how the snarls and thunder of paws were louder now, telling me that the dogs were closing in on us.
A loud familiar snap of power made me screech to a halt. I pivoted on my heel, my stomach sinking. “Talon.” If I was judging correctly, he had to be somewhere beyond the river we’d just crossed, so perhaps he’d been one of the officiates pursuing our group. “He can’t take the hounds on with only a couple of officiates for backup.” Not unless he shifted into his dragon form, which wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing.
“Neither can we,” Sable retorted, anxiety rolling off her in waves.
“We won’t have to.” Lear pointed at the sky. “Look.”
I tracked her gaze. Through the fog, I could make out Phoenixians flying through the air at top speed. Said Phoenixians were also carrying people in their arms who they then dropped at various spots; people who shifted into either wolves or lions in midair. Other Phoenixians lowered Delphiae to the ground, who then armored themselves in wood.
Before we knew it, we had officiates in our midst. The sheer relief of that was tremendous. It wasn’t common for the Order to bring the fight to any enemies. I suspected they had come only so that any officiates out here weren’t outnumbered, meaning Talon wouldn’t be forced to shift.
I also suspected that many had hung back to remain on the battlements so they could deal with any enemies who might get past the line of defense we created out here.
Spotting me, Glory pinned my gaze with her own. “Just in case you aren’t aware, we’ve got both hounds and centaurs coming our way.”
“Figured as much,” I said as I retrieved my scythe from its scabbard, my hands annoyingly damp from my impromptu swim. I would have used my tunic to dry them off if my clothes weren’t still soaking wet.
“But why would anyone who’s launching an attack send not one but two species that can’t climb the city walls?” asked Reeve.
Glory cut her gaze to him. “Their main aim will be to attain the city at some point, so they’re not interested in invading and destroying it. These attacks are intended to keep up the pressure, pick off our numbers, and provoke the Sovereigns.”
So far, their plan appeared to be working.
More howls went up, closer this time. Pushing down the panic before it could take hold of my thoughts, I threw myself into that mental space where only bloodthirst, determination, and battle-readiness could be found.
Sable unsheathed her sword while Reeve shifted into his lion form.
Lear looked at me, flickers of energy dancing along her palms. “If I die after getting this far into Xalbia, I am gonna come back and haunt the Sovereigns.”
Flicking off the drizzle sliding down my temple, I snickered. “Can’t say I’d blame you.”
The breeze hit again, sliding over my wet skin, causing a chill to ride my spine. I heard water splashing as dogs barked and growled.
They were here.
Dread threatened to pierce my mental state, but I boxed it away fast and tightened my grip on my scythe. The long wooden handle felt almost comforting in its familiarity. With my other hand, I conjured an orb of ash, glad I’d practiced.
Anticipation a burn in my muscles, I remained still as I waited for our enemies to appear. They had the disadvantage of being able to see very little through the fog. I didn’t. And I fully intended to use that against them.
The hounds rocketed out of the gray haze—teeth bared, pointed ears pinned back, tails high. They bulleted toward us, smashing through thick brambles, their paws thundering along the ground.