Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
He shoved the mechanic down the hallway and into the main room just as Hunter emerged with two other Kurjans. They had been low-level soldiers before they left the Kurjan nation, and Vero had never worked with either of them.
The first had purple eyes that turned bloodred. “You sided with a demon spawn. Hell, only half of a demon spawn,” he snarled. “Traitor.”
“Yeah, I get that a lot,” Vero drawled, shoving Zelic out the door into the cold.
He looked around to see that part of his team had captured the other soldiers while the others had freed the females. The twelve females wore ragged clothing, like they hadn’t changed in a week. They seemed to range in age from probably around seventeen to forty years old. One struggled against one of his soldiers.
“Stop,” Vero said, his voice commanding.
The female instantly halted.
“You’ll be safe. We’re taking you somewhere safe.”
“You’re kidnapping us again?” a petite redhead snapped, rubbing sleep from her eyes.
He smoothed out his tone. “Not permanently. Let’s head toward the helicopters.” He looked around and saw several shovels leaning against a nearby tree. “I’ll shovel a path for the females.” He handed his prisoner off to Paxton. “Zip tie the rest of these guys good and tight. We can leave them in the snow.” They wouldn’t die, but freezing their junk would teach them a lesson. He’d keep the tablet to see what else he could discover about the assassination plans, but these guys weren’t helpful. They’d obviously intercepted a transmission through the satellite system that now no longer existed.
“You won’t stop us from finding mates,” Ornot snarled.
Vero turned and looked back at him. “The methods you’ve had for hunting down enhanced females are now destroyed.” The Kurjans had created tracking software that traced the energetic emissions of enhanced females, first placed within cities, then used via satellite. He and the Realm had corrupted it so thoroughly it could never be used again.
Ornot fought as Paxton forced him to his knees. “I need a zip tie,” Pax said calmly.
The hair on the back of Vero’s neck rose. He blinked and stiffened, his instincts barreling alive.
Several lasers fired out from the forest toward Paxton.
Vero shouted a warning and leaped into the air, taking the impact of all three. Two slammed into his armor-covered chest, and one burned right through his jugular. He coughed out blood and started to fall.
“Vero!” Paxton yelled.
Vero’s eyes closed. He fell into unconsciousness before he hit the ground.
Chapter Three
Lyrica stepped forward—and froze. A surge of panic cut through her, numbing her more thoroughly than the cold ever could. “Oh no,” she whispered, dropping to her knees beside the still figure sprawled in the snow. The nude woman had completely frozen over. Lyrica’s gloved hand reached out tentatively toward Tekii Bultungin’s lifeless form. “Poor Tekii.”
Tekii lay on her back, her sightless eyes fixed on the sky. Ice coated her skin, from the top of her head to her blue feet, the frost creeping into her flesh. Lyrica leaned closer, her breath catching as she studied the marks on the woman’s neck—deep bruises blooming across her too-pale skin.
“It wouldn’t have taken long for her to freeze out here,” Genevieve whispered, her voice shaky behind Lyrica.
Lyrica swallowed hard and leaned in to study the woman’s face. Red and purple dots speckled the whites of Tekii’s open eyes, her corneas clouded and lifeless. Slowly, Lyrica pushed herself to her feet, stumbling slightly as she tried to back away. “I think she’s been strangled.”
“What?” Genevieve’s voice rose an octave, her panic unconfined and broadcasting wildly. “No, she couldn’t have been. I figured she ended up out here sleepwalking or something and froze to death.”
“She’d never sleep in the nude,” Lyrica said, her voice barely audible as she shielded herself from Genevieve’s emotions. None of the kidnapped females would even consider that. A violent shiver racked Lyrica’s body, the chill cutting through her layers. “It’s too cold out here. We need to get help.”
Genevieve’s teeth chattered. “How? I mean, who should we tell?”
Lyrica paused, the girl’s words sinking in. “That’s a good point,” she said, her voice tight. She glanced around, her thoughts racing. Vero, Paxton, and Hunter remained away on their mission. The Kurjan and Cyst soldiers who had stayed behind had sworn allegiance to Paxton, but Lyrica still didn’t trust them—not fully. How could she, considering their people had kidnapped her?
Genevieve chewed on her bottom lip, uncertainty written all over her face. “Should we wait for Paxton to get back? I mean…it’s not like we can save her now.”
Sorrow welled up in Lyrica, tightening her chest. She had liked Tekii. The thirty-year-old woman had been kidnapped from Palau, somewhere in the Pacific Islands. She often spoke fondly of her homeland, sharing stories about her culture and traditions. Tekii had been counting the days until her release—she would have returned home within the month.