Total pages in book: 210
Estimated words: 200096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1000(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 667(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 200096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1000(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 667(@300wpm)
“Is it safe to be standing in here while they’re doing this?” I ask.
“They are experts in bringing down both stone and people. But no, probably not.” Zander collects my hand and leads me backward toward the opening.
“You take that side, I’ll do this one,” the female Shadow proposes to her male counterpart. “Your Highness, you may wish to shield yourself.”
I do as suggested. We watch with fascination as stalactites crash down a few at a time, exploding as they hit the ground. The columns topple over each other, splitting into chunks that build up.
“That is all we can do while we stand in here, Your Highness,” the male Shadow says. “Once we are flying with the beasts again, we can—”
His words are cut off with a gurgled sound, snapping our heads in his direction.
A daaknar stands behind, its barbed talons impaling his neck.
A cold dread washes over me as I’m transported back to that terrifying first night in this world.
“Soriel!” the female Shadow screams, launching a boulder at the daaknar’s shoulder that barely nudges it.
It tosses the Shadow’s lifeless body away and then lunges.
I release a bolt of fire, sending it flying toward the wall. Only the beast doesn’t collide with the stone. It disappears into the darkness.
I frown. “Where did it go?”
“I think we just found the entrance into the Nulling that Malachi has been using for his army.” Zander steps forward. “This is how the Saur’goths came through too.”
“But it looks like … nothing.”
“It’s certainly not nothing.” Zander squints. “If we can bury this in rubble—”
The daaknar reappears then, charging at Zander with a snarl, its tattered wings spread wide, its talons angled for his chest.
Terror seizes my every nerve as I sweep Zander away with a gust of wind, and then I hit the daaknar again, this time with all my affinities combined. The answering shrill scream is like nothing I’ve ever heard. It bursts into flames—just as Annika described happening—and then vanishes.
Zander struggles to pull himself to his feet.
“Are you okay?” I cry out.
He waves me off, bracing his hands on his knees.
The female Shadow runs to her comrade, kneeling to check his pulse.
“Anything?” Zander asks.
She shakes her head.
Pain splays across Zander’s face. I know he’ll blame himself for this. It was his plan after all.
Easing upright, he waits another few beats before saying softly, “I do not wish to hurry you with your grief, but we should leave here before another one crawls out of that space.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Sorrow fills her voice. Hauling Soriel’s body over her shoulder with a grunt, the Shadow moves for the rift and whistles. Seconds later, Xiaric flies by, scoops them up, and continues.
“Ready?” Zander leads me to the edge, his arm tight around my waist.
“Caindra.”
She answers with a cry, swooping down.
“No matter what, she will catch us,” Zander promises, squeezing me tight against him.
But I’m too focused on what might materialize out of thin air behind us to worry about anything else.
We leap … and land within her clawed grasp.
She sweeps upward before pivoting, beating her wings just enough to allow us to hover.
“You’ll need to finish this,” Zander says. “Destroy it all. Leave no space for these creatures to fit through.”
I draw deeply on threads of Aminadav and Vin’nyla and launch it into the cavern. The sounds of the mountain inside collapsing is deafening and the sudden billow of cloud that explodes out of the opening has Caindra propelling us up and away.
“We can check back when the dust settles. For now, let’s return to camp, and then we can go find Annika.”
If I had not been here …
If I had reacted a split second later …
With a nod, I sink my head against Zander’s shoulder and say a small, selfish prayer of thanks that it was the Shadow and not him.
“What news of Lyndel?” Zander asks after a chorus of greetings inside the command tent.
“The casters are working to help secure and repair the damage. They have closed off the secret passages so no enemies can use those,” Gaellar confirms. “They believe they can have a new bridge to the rampart finished by tomorrow. There is also the matter of …”
While she gives an update on the goings-on at Lyndel and the rift, Elisaf edges in to nudge my arm. “Has Her Highness been playing in the dirt today?”
I wipe a thumb across my cheek and find dust on it. “Sort of.” I give him the quick rundown of what happened in the mine.
He scratches his chin in wonder. “To be a fly on the wall when Malachi and this key caster realize what you’ve done.”
He will be furious. “I’m not sure how many have gotten through already, but at least no more will flood through there, right?”
Abarrane throws back the tent flap and charges in. Jarek is behind her, barely treating me with so much as a glance. His mood was sour when we landed, and it turned icy the moment he heard about the daaknar. “Your Highness. This just arrived.” She holds up a letter.