Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75539 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75539 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
He didn’t have time. His limbs went limp. Dawn shouted. She had her Shade subdued. She saw what was happening.
I let the arrow fly. It sliced through the air. I held my breath. My heart stopped beating for the brief second it took the arrow to find its mark.
It went directly through the back of the Shade’s skull. With the kill shot made, the arrow dispersed into individual grains of sand, raining down at the same time as the Shade fell to the floor. Blake collapsed on top of the creature, still in his wolf form, hardly moving.
I ran to his side. A cloud of white smoke enveloped him, dispersing to reveal a battered and bruised human Blake on the ground. He rolled off the Shade. His shirt was torn and blood spilled from a wound in his shoulder. I ripped off my shirt and pressed it down onto the puncture wound.
“You’re ok, Blake, you’re ok. I’ve got you.”
Dawn had finished her Shade with a hit of lightning directly to its heart. She turned her focus to Warr, who was getting back onto his feet and rubbing the back of his head.
“Did we get them?” Blake asked, voice shaking.
“We did. All three of them.”
“Creepy bastards,” he said. He was clearly trying to smile through the pain. “Is it bad?” he asked about his injury.
“Just a scratch,” I answered, even though my shirt was already soaked through. “Thankfully, he got your shoulder and not your neck. You should heal this up in no time.”
I lifted the shirt and found my words to be true. His shifter genes were already beginning to stitch his skin shut, although blood still trickled down his side. He laid his head on the ground and winced. Seeing him like this made my heart feel torn from my chest and laid out next to him. “You put up a really good fight.”
“Thanks,” Blake said, coughing. “I didn’t want to let you guys have all the fun.”
“Hey, Warr, can you help Blake heal a little faster?” I asked my younger brother. Being a green dragon, he not only could wield nature as a weapon, but he could also enhance the body’s natural abilities. He came over to my side, a slash across his chest having already healed.
“Of course.” He nudged me to the side. I didn’t want to move. My instinct was to stay as close to Blake’s side as possible.
Warrick placed his hand on Blake’s shoulder. Light green vines appeared like stitches, closing the gash. When the skin had been sewn shut and the bleeding staunched, the vines disappeared along with the blood, leaving behind a thin scarlet-red scar. Blake pushed up off the floor. I helped him back onto his feet.
The living room was a disaster zone. The three Shades were all dead, lying in a mess of broken furniture and black blood. I looked Blake over to make sure there weren’t any other injuries. When I didn’t see any, I reached out and rubbed his lower back. He smiled at me, which helped settle my racing heartbeat.
“I think it’s safe to say this asshole knew we were coming,” Dawn said. She prodded one of the Shades with her foot. “There was Dragonsbane and these three fuckers. What else could be in here?”
“Hopefully, the answer to our questions,” I said. “But you’re right. He was tipped off somehow.”
“Nice job with the bow and arrow, by the way,” Dawn said with a nudge at my side.
“You did it?” Blake asked. He’d been a little preoccupied, so I didn’t blame him for not knowing.
“I did.” The relief of seeing Blake safe mixed with the excitement of me pulling off a move I’d been wanting to do for a while now. I beamed at him. He surprised me by leaning in and giving me a kiss. My eyes went wide before I went in for another kiss.
Blake’s amber eyes practically glowed in the dim living room. “I knew you could do it.”
“Um, I think I missed a few chapters,” Warrick said.
Dawn fixed up her hair and gave us a wink. “I saw it coming from a mile away.”
“You did?” Blake and I both asked in unison.
“Duh. You two would always look at each other with those sweet puppy love eyes. It was really cute.”
“Huh,” Warrick said. “I must be really oblivious.”
“You are,” Dawn said. “And that’s why we all love you.”
“We’ll talk about our relationship later. Let’s focus on searching this house.” I realized I’d said “relationship” before anything between us was actually official. Blake didn’t seem bothered by it. If anything, his smile only widened. Was that what had happened between us? In the blink of an eye, we went from bodyguard/client to budding relationship.
“Where should we start?” Warrick asked, looking around.
“Blake and I will go down that hallway. You and Dawn take the other. Be careful of any more traps.”