Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 42412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
He started to rise, as if to go to him, and then stiffened. He cursed again, wrenching his body around. “Come on,” he said gruffly. “We’ve got to get you out of here.”
He worked his arms underneath me and lifted, igniting a wave of pain. A weak whimper escaped me as the realm flickered in and out of focus.
“Sorry,” he muttered, adjusting me so my head rested on his shoulder.
A crack of energy jerked my attention upward as the god rushed us across the Hall. Everything was blurry as he turned, but I could make out Kolis and Theon. They were high above us, near the highest point of the dome, crimson and silver Primal mist swirling around them in dizzying speeds as they exchanged blows with their hands and eather.
A pained shout echoed, causing my chest to squeeze. Darkness crept into the corners of my vision as the chamber seemed to tilt. Above us, Kolis and Theon almost appeared as if they were embracing each other. That was how close they were. The pulsing, crimson Primal mist stilled, and the air all around us…vibrated. Kolis had his fangs buried in Theon’s throat and his hand… Kolis’s hand was inside Theon.
The Primal’s body jerked, his head kicking back as a crimson glow lit up the veins of his cheek and throat. I dug my fingers into the god’s coat—
Theon flew backward, hitting the wall, but he didn’t fall as his arms stretched out to his sides. The front of his shirt was torn open and—oh, gods—so was his chest. The glow in his veins pulsed and grew, and Kolis…he was holding something lumpy and red in his hand. It fell to the floor below with a wet, mushy splat that turned my stomach as stone cracked along the dome, making it sound as if something was digging at it from outside.
Kolis struck, moving so fast that he was on Theon in less than a heartbeat, grabbing him by his mangled throat. With a roar, Kolis sharply twisted his arm, tearing through muscle and bone.
The god carrying me stumbled, his head jerking back as the draken I’d felt earlier let out a sharp, staggering call, and its thick, dark talons punched through the ceiling. The taste of bitter horror momentarily swamped the metallic tang of blood as the very realm seemed to inhale, sucking the air from the Great Hall.
The helmet—Theon’s crown—hit the floor with a jarring clang. It rocked and shuddered, then vanished.
Chunks of debris fell from the dome as a massive talon, covered in purplish-black scales, appeared, gripping the stone and ripping it free.
Reaver.
It was Reaver.
Fissures formed in the wall that Theon’s body was still pinned to, spreading downward. The pillars below shuddered and then simply disappeared. The floor buckled, tiles rising into the air and breaking apart. The air distorted and warped as Reaver climbed in through the hole he’d made, sending more stone crashing to the floor.
A shockwave of energy slammed into us. Suddenly, I was airborne and weightless, flying in the opposite direction of the god. I glimpsed Reaver’s large form twisting as a blast knocked him backward, his outstretched wings folding under the force. I hit the floor hard, and everything went dark for several seconds.
I came to, lying in something sticky and wet. I tried to drag in air, but I couldn’t take a breath. It felt like my lungs had collapsed. I couldn’t—
“Where do you think you’re going?” Kolis landed less than a foot from me and knelt. I saw a flash of his bloody hand before he gripped the hair at the crown of my head. With a quick jerk of his arm, he cranked my neck back as he dragged me onto my knees. “We’re not done yet.”
Primal essence sparked from him, pure crimson and icy as it spilled into the air. The red glow rose behind him in twin arcs, forming the shape of wings made of pure eather. The flesh of his face thinned until I saw the dull crimson sheen of his cheek and jawbone.
I didn’t want to close my eyes as the ground began to tremble.
I wanted to keep them open. To face Death.
But they slammed shut just as his lips pulled back, and the skin around them disappeared. He bared his fangs, and his head snapped down—
The realm vanished.
There was nothing.
Not even sound. And then a loud crack jerked me from the darkness, and all I heard was snarling and growling as the manor shook, tossing me left and then right.
Suddenly, I was lying on my back. Half of the ceiling was gone, as was an entire wall of Seacliffe. The scent of decay blew in, carrying the faintest traces of the sea. Somehow, I had ended up near Reaver, and there were shouts—pained and furious yelling. I thought I recognized the voice of the god who had tried to get me out, but there was another—a woman’s voice that was blade-thin and full of rage and sorrow. My vision seemed to pinwheel around the chamber. She was screaming…