Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 151630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 758(@200wpm)___ 607(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 758(@200wpm)___ 607(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
She moved before the werewolf, looking at the place where the spear entered his body. “He could bleed if we take it out. He’s already lost a lot of blood.”
“Oh, he’ll bleed.” Sasha looked back to Daniel, who was trying to get his sleeve rolled up. What had happened to the king? “But I’ll handle it. Vampire blood can heal a lot of damage, and he’s a werewolf. It’s only the silver that’s holding him back. Once we take it out, he’ll begin to heal.” Unlike a custom bullet, which would leak silver into Neil’s bloodstream, the spear simply held him there, kept him in a state where he couldn’t heal. Myrddin hadn’t pierced the heart, so Neil was alive. Sasha would bet Myrddin thought he had. “Why don’t you see if you can help my king? Do you have any energy left?”
She stood and nodded. “Yes, after last night I have a bounty. It will not harm me or make me weak to share some with your king. The energy is still pulsing through, and I feel it out here even more.”
“We’re going to fix you, my friend.” Daniel studied Neil as he spoke. “I got hit with something a few hours ago. Something new. I’ve felt weak the entire time I’ve been on this plane, but this… It had to be a spell of some kind, probably something to do with that wicked altar. I don’t think it was particularly meant for me, but it took all my energy. I wasn’t behind the wards. I was meeting with some of the guards. The ones who want to join the rebels now that they’re out from under the spells used on them. In the middle of the meeting, I felt this wave, and then I could barely move. I forced myself to go to the tunnels, to get back to base, but I saw you come in here.”
Neil’s eyes opened, weariness and pain plain in his expression. “It was Myrddin. He’s moving into end game. He said he can’t wait any longer because he thinks Zoey is going to screw everything up, and now he believes he can use her to get to Bris and avoid the whole soul-peeling thing. I don’t know how, but he believes it. He’s going after Shy, too. He thinks he can use her to put Arawn in a bad position and keep him and the other ascended gods out of the war. Daniel, I think he went to Hell last night and something happened.”
Daniel nodded. “Well, we knew he was meeting Lucifer. I would bet he went to get some advice. Lucifer might be interested in Shy as well if she’s as powerful as we think she is. Do we know where he took Dev?”
Tears slipped from Neil’s eyes. “I don’t know. Daniel…he took Dev but only after he… Goddess, I can’t even say it.”
There was so much blood. Could it all be Neil’s?
Daniel managed to lose more color. “What? What, Neil? What happened to Devinshea? We were supposed to have more time. After last night, Dev should be strong. He should have been able to fight Myrddin off after soaking in Rhys’s magic.”
Sasha braced himself. If Devinshea was dead, the king would never forgive himself. Sasha would never forgive himself. He’d left Dev here.
“He couldn’t do magic. Myrddin blindsided him with a spell. I didn’t see all of it. I just know by the time I was aware, Dev was immobile and… I can’t. I’ll never get the sight out of my head. He worked a dark spell. He wanted to locate where Shy was. He pulled death magic. It’s what you felt, but he needed dead magical flesh to do it. Daniel, he cut off Dev’s hands,” Neil managed, though he was having trouble breathing.
Sasha felt his gut turn. He’d done this. He’d left the high priest, and he was in bed with his wife while Dev had been…
“So he can’t do magic.” Daniel looked like he was going to be sick. “Dev isn’t fully Fae. He’s half human. He can’t control magic with his mind. Not even with Bris. He doesn’t need much more than a few finger movements, but he has to use them. Myrddin took his magic. He might have cut him off from Bris. Goddess, he’s alone and completely at Myrddin’s mercy.”
“He saved me, King Daniel. Please allow me to give something back to you.” Ostara was in control of the body, and she was obviously going to stay calm. “I suspect the spell the wizard used to find Shy sucked up all the death magic in the area.”
Daniel put a hand on his heart. “I think you’re right. I’ve felt this way once before when Arawn fed off me. He did it in small doses, and then all at once when he was in danger.”