Total pages in book: 401
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
“Sorry,” I whispered just as Naill had done, wincing as I lowered her to the ground.
A blur of white whipped my head to the right as Delano leapt from the shadows, his large paws slamming onto the back of a man rushing toward me. His powerful jaws clamped down on the man’s throat. Delano snapped the grul’s neck with one quick twist of his head. I inhaled deeply and quickly looked away.
“Poppy.” Casteel caught my arm as I moved forward. “Remember. They are no longer mortal. These are just their bodies. The sooner we put them down, the sooner their souls can be released.”
I took a shallow breath and nodded.
His eyes searched mine for a moment before he said, “I bet I can take out more than you.”
The guard with the child on his back finally grabbed him and twisted, throwing the boy off. “You want to make a game out of this?”
One side of Casteel’s lips curved up, and his dimple appeared.
“You’re so disturbed,” I muttered, looking away. “And you will not get as many as me.”
Casteel chuckled. “We’ll see.”
He snapped to the side, catching a woman—no, a grul—from behind, driving his sword through the base of her skull. “That’s one,” he said as he laid her down. “Or two if you count the one in the house.”
“I already had one,” I retorted, my gaze flickering around. Three shambled up the darkened sidewalk several feet apart.
Walking toward them, I shut my thoughts down and let instinct take over as the closest one noticed me. The low-pitched hiss sent a wave of tiny bumps rising on my skin as I closed the distance between us. I didn’t allow myself to look at the grul’s face. It was easier that way. I thrust the sword up, cutting off the sound with a wet give of tendon and tissue. Pulling the blade free, I looked over my shoulder. My robe spun around my ankles as I whirled, bringing the sword up. The second grul reached for me, and my blade pierced the base of its skull. Leaning to the side, I kicked out, knocking another grul back before laying the one I’d just killed down, doing my best not to notice the paper-thin skin. As I shot forward, I shoved the sword under the third one’s chin.
As I lowered it, a ragged shout snapped my head to the side. A grul had a guard on his knees, its mouth inches from the guard’s already bloody throat.
Sprinting across the narrow street, I drove my sword through the back of the grul’s…small head.
The guard grunted and fell forward onto his hands. “Thank—” His thick locs swayed as he rocked back, his amber eyes widening as blood coursed down his throat to run under his armor. “My Queen.”
“Hi,” I murmured, eyeing the wound. His pain distracted me, scalding my skin as I took in the torn skin, a jagged pale pink against his darker flesh. Exposed muscle gleamed, quivering as it clung to the ruined skin. It was bad. If he’d been mortal, he would’ve been dead instead of bleeding out like he was. Eather swelled in me, fueling a different type of instinct that was the complete opposite of what had pumped through me moments before. I glanced around, finding Casteel a block or so up the street. He spun gracefully, a movement a trained dancer would have been envious of.
“Hold on,” I told the guard, keeping an eye on the street as I placed my bare hand against his cheek.
He jerked in surprise. “My Queen.”
I crouched beside him, maintaining our eye contact as I summoned the essence. “What’s your name?”
“J-Jaeden,” he said as my palms warmed. “J-Jaeden Va’Leir.”
“Jaeden,” I said, tingly heat rushing down my arm and spreading across my fingers. “I don’t believe we have met before.”
“We h-haven’t. I arrived with General…” Jaeden shuddered, his eyes drifting shut.
I lowered my gaze to his throat and manifested my will. Gold light sparked like embers as it washed across the wound. The golden pinpricks pulsed with energy as they sped up the healing process, coaxing Jaeden’s body to repair severed veins and muscle fibers. New skin grew within seconds, covering the wound with taut, slightly ashen skin that quickly flushed from a pinkish-brown to a deeper hue.
Jaeden inhaled, his eyes flaring wide.
I smiled and lifted my hand. “Be careful.”
His lips parted as he lifted his hand to his throat. His fingers trembled. “But be brave.”
My smile grew as I rose and looked down the street. My heart dropped when I turned and saw Setti about half a block away, tossing his head and stomping. Three gruls were getting close. Setti wasn’t a normal horse, but he could feel pain—so would the Primal he was an extension of. Attes. My breath snagged in a way I really didn’t have time to dwell on.