Total pages in book: 214
Estimated words: 195876 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 979(@200wpm)___ 784(@250wpm)___ 653(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 195876 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 979(@200wpm)___ 784(@250wpm)___ 653(@300wpm)
Is he serious? Killing me is still his fucking priority?
Even as I see the shadow rush up from the depths again and aim for one of the remaining two student soldiers, I turn my attention to Malakai. I grip the water again with a power that feels like it's already running thin. I form a rope of thickened water and wrap it around his ankle, anchoring him to the ground.
I flinch as he flies toward me, then watch with surprise as the rope of water actually holds. He's jerked back just inches before he reaches me with his knife.
I make the rope extend, wrapping it around his legs and ankles, squeezing them together and pulling him down until he's stuck on the lake's floor.
My ragged breaths and my pounding heart roar inside the bubble of air I'm channeling around my head.
There's only one of Malakai’s allies left, and they've almost reached the lake's surface. I see them pass through a shaft of sunlight, temporarily revealing enough detail to make out it's a girl swimming in the white offering underwear. Whatever weapon she had is long since dismissed as she focuses on escape.
And then I see the creature swirl and twist up from the darkness below. Its body is elegant and lethal—sinuous lines covered in thick scales that catch the sunlight in glittering patterns. The navy blue serpent keeps its wings tucked tight to its side as it gives a swish of its long, finned tail. It explodes upward, jaws snapping shut around the girl just before the beast's momentum carries it above the lake's surface.
For a moment, it's completely gone, leaving only the disturbed ripples of water from its ascent.
And then it crashes back down, those deep blue eyes pointed straight for Malakai as it pumps its tail, rocketing toward him.
Fuck.
I see him struggling to escape, but he can't. He's still anchored by the magical rope of water I'm channeling.
Maybe he's screwed either way—maybe we both are—but I don't want to be part of his death. Maybe he deserves to die, but I'm not going to stain myself by being the one to do it. I don't have time to think about whether that's the right or wrong decision.
I release the spell, and even from twenty feet up, I can see the relief and confusion in Malakai's face.
I wince, eyes closed because I don't want to see the beast eat him. I wait three heartbeats, then I can't keep them closed anymore. I open my eyes and scream.
Two blue eyes, each the size of dinner plates, hover directly in front of me. White steam curls from reptilian nostrils and rows of teeth like blue crystals are slowly revealed as it opens a mouth large enough to swallow me whole.
Behind the dragon-like head, its serpentine body drifts back, so long that the finned tail is shrouded in shadow. Dread creeps into my bones as I see dark wings spreading slowly in the waters. The sheer size of the monster settles on me, making the blood drain from my head until I think I might pass out.
It’s huge.
Ancient.
Fucking impossible.
To lose consciousness would be a mercy. There's no surviving this thing.
It has to be an elemental, but something so huge and powerful defies all explanation.
It twists suddenly, curling in on itself as Malakai stabs it from below. A small burst of blue blood drifts from the wound as it turns to look at its attacker. With a movement I can only describe as dismissive, it slaps its tail through the water, slamming into Malakai so hard his air bubbles explode again and his body goes limp to float in the water.
It turns its attention back to me.
I can't say what the hell I'm thinking, but I know there's no point in attacking it. And it's close enough to touch, so I reach a hand out and place it on the beast's snout, even as my lungs burn for air.
As soon as I touch it, I feel a rush of power, but it's nothing like when I touched Raith or Bastian or anyone else. This power feels… dirty. Messy. Chaotic.
It surges into me almost greedily, filling me like a waterskin until the pressure seems like it might burst me from the inside.
My body becomes a lightning rod in a storm, every nerve ending screaming as the raw, untamed energy floods through me. I think I scream, but I lose all sense of time as the energy floods me. The only thing I remember is a faint, ethereal voice and the sensation of being lifted.
"Thank you, unbound. If you see me during Confluence Day, you must run. I can't keep it from hurting you. So run."
I blink several times, frown in confusion, and then wonder why I'm not dead. I can sense that time has passed. Seconds or minutes, I’m not sure. But I must have lost consciousness.