Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 93948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
“This is Kanghri,” I say quietly. “As long as she keeps the damage far from Mairi, it’s likely they’ll look the other way. What’s a little more damage to this place?” I motion around us.
“It’s wrong,” he snaps.
“This is Threshold. You know better.” Nox rolls their shoulders, and I already know I’m not going to like their next words as soon as I see the determination in their pale gray eyes. “I can stop him.”
Bastian and I speak at the same time. “Absolutely not.”
Bowen cuts between us, breaking our line of sight with each other. “Now isn’t the time to argue. We have to move. If Nox can help, then let them do it.” He turns to Dia. “I’m going to have to carry you.”
She grumbles a little but allows him to carefully lift her into his arms. He glances at Evelyn, but she’s already shaking her head. “I can keep up.”
I turn back to Nox, only to find their eyes distant. Around us, the wind begins to pick up. “Damn it, Nox. We don’t have—” There’s no time to argue.
“I’ve got Dia’s bag.” Bastian takes it from Bowen. “You carry Nox. The faster we get out of here, the less magic they have to use.”
“As if that’s going to stop them.” I sweep Nox into my arms and we rush after Bowen and Evelyn, cutting through the streets at twice the pace that I came in. What’s the point in stealth when there’s no one around to see? Morrigan won’t be here. She won’t risk any of her people being harmed by Bull’s attack. The bitch.
In the fifteen minutes it takes to reach the edges of the city, the wind has increased in strength until it’s a fight for every step. I lean down to murmur in Nox’s ear. “It would be helpful if you didn’t make it more challenging for us to flee. Direct the wind overhead and into the storm.” I hate asking them for more effort when I know the cost, but there are thousands of people who live in Kanghri. If I don’t let Nox fight Bull, then the death toll will be astronomical.
“I know what I’m doing.” But the wind shifts around us, no longer a wall to be burst through. Bowen is moving so fast that I have to sprint to keep up with him, and though Bastian is breathing hard enough to make me worry, he keeps pace. Evelyn, on the other hand, is having a difficult time despite her confident words. With a soft curse, I dodge in front of her and go down on one knee. “My back. Hang on.”
“This is so fucked.” She gives a soft oof as she wraps her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck. Even though she tries not to choke me, it’s all but impossible.
We are so fucked.
Chapter 23
Nox
Despite my assurances to the others that I can fight Bull, dismantling a storm is damn near impossible when it’s natural. When it’s magical? It’s a feat that only the most skilled and powerful could pull off. Maybe on my best day I’d have a decent shot at it despite the danger of burnout. This is not my best day.
Being jostled in Siobhan’s arms doesn’t help my concentration, but I know better than to ask her to stop or, gods forbid, to put me down. More importantly, my magic well hasn’t refilled from the last fight. I dip down into it, pulling what I can to me, and can’t stop a sliver of fear at how little there is to gather.
It doesn’t matter. If I don’t fight, then more people will die. People just trying to live their lives. People who didn’t choose to settle in a city that the Cŵn Annwn have apparently decided is disposable.
I close my eyes and devote all my magic to picking apart the gathering wind above us. I’ll make do with what I have. I can’t siphon off the power of the storm with my elemental magic, but I can direct the wind in increasingly chaotic waves that will fight Bull’s hold on it. And if he loses hold, then we’ll be dealing with a normal storm instead of an acid rain. I hope.
“Bowen,” Evelyn calls, “the moment it starts raining, create a shield above us.” She mutters under her breath, and Siobhan’s steps stutter as she shifts on her back. “Sorry. I’m trying to figure out a spell to help.”
“If you want to help, stop fucking moving.” Siobhan tightens her hold on me. “And you. Don’t you dare fucking die.”
I have no plans to. But I can’t speak without losing my hold on the air currents. Damn, this fucker’s strong. Bull must have built up the storm out over the sea and then directed it here. It’s fully formed and fearsome.