Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
She wouldn’t have given a shit about those precautions the night Daisy was taken except for being in a moving vehicle. She’d never chased her body while in spirit. She didn’t want to try and fail—and die—when Daisy needed her. By the time she’d gotten home and safeguarded herself, Lexi couldn’t find Daisy’s soul. She could feel it, but it was a strange…echo, almost. Neither in existence nor gone. She hadn’t known what to make of it. Then the next day, the soul was gone entirely. Vanished.
Based on the time frame, they were guessing the echo must’ve been when Daisy had crossed the portal. In this world but…not. She wasn’t in the underworld—Lexi had checked. No one could hide a soul from her, save for Hades himself, and she knew the undertaker personally. Hades didn’t know what was going on.
Then, when her soul vanished, Lexi could only guess—dearly hope—that Daisy had crossed into Faerie, a place ruled by other gods. Older gods with a different spirit plane. One Daisy was hopefully not in. Lexi had to believe her kid was still alive. She had to believe she could still get Daisy back.
To do that, they had to go after her. Lexi desperately hoped she could track Daisy once in the other realm. They didn’t have time to blindly check several kingdoms. Daisy’s life was dependent upon Lexi’s being able to use her magic across the portal.
3
Daisy
Tarian climbed up onto the large beast after her. He scooted forward as far as he could, fitting into a groove between Stratow’s ribs and the start of his back. He then put his hand against her lower back and shoved, sliding her until she was basically bowing around Stratow’s head, with her legs curved around his thick neck and applying a lot of extra weight.
You weigh nothing, the beast countered within her mind.
“Grab his mane tightly,” Tarian said. “Really tight. If you feel like you’re going to fall off, think it as loudly as you can. Takeoff is dangerous for us on his back, and there aren’t usually two riders. The storms are the most dangerous of all, though he’ll afford us some protection through those, as will I.”
“Storms?” Daisy tried to look back at him as muscles bunched and moved beneath her. “What do you mean, storms?”
Images flashed through her mind of blistering lightning, turbulent skies, freezing cold, and rushing winds.
“Yes, I know what a storm is,” she said as Stratow huffed and clawed at the ground. “Why are we going to fly through one?”
“They are stormbacks. They create the storms. Now hold on tightly and squeeze with your legs. He has assured me that he won’t let you fall, but…do what you can to help.”
“Why is he assuring you? Why isn’t he assuring me?”
“He is. You’re just not understanding him.”
No images flashed through her mind. No emotions. If he was communicating, she had no idea how.
Stratow tensed and bowed, his front legs bending and his head coming down. She gripped his mane tightly as he sprang forward.
She screamed, thrown backward by the force of his sudden gallop. Her cheeks flapped in the wind rushing against her face, and her body jolted with each step. A sports bra would’ve gone a long way in this situation. The ground blurred around her, the trees whipping by so fast they lost their shape.
Her butt slid backward as her mind flashed to the knife in her loose and horribly out-of-shape bra. She squeezed with her legs and loosened one of her hands to clutch it, ensuring it didn’t fall.
Don’t you fucking dare, Tarian yelled in her mind. It’s going to get dicier in just a—
Stratow launched into the sky, the power of the move so intense it felt like her teeth were trying to find the back of her throat. Her eyes watered. Her hands slipped on the silky mane.
Hang on, dove, Tarian said with a rough edge to his voice. I’m right behind you. If you slip, push back to me. Slide into my body and I’ll hold us on.
She couldn’t focus enough to ask how he was holding on. The creature was climbing at an insane angle, the massive wings reaching out much farther than she had anticipated they could. Each flap propelled them at a force that tore at her grip. That made her butt continue to slide.
Almost there, Tarian said encouragingly. Just a little more.
Was walking really such a terrible idea?
Too late now, he said, and she could hear the strain in his mental voice.
Wings pumping, Stratow started to level off. Her hands stopped sliding and her legs found their purchase. The wind still tore at her cheeks, and if she opened her mouth, they’d flap, but the fear of sliding off reduced.
You made it, Tarian said, his hand on her lower back. That’s the worst of the climb. Stormbacks typically take off by gliding. It’s why mountains are the best places for them. Taking off from flat land means they need the winds to be right, space to get speed, and it requires a lot of exertion. His mental touch changed slightly, and she realized he was no longer talking to her. Thank you for the effort, friend.