Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 110080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
He growled with more force. Without the tantalizing melody filling his ears and clouding his judgment, reason bombarded his mind in a rush. With reason came recognition. Fury pitched and swelled, fast and hard.
Now he understood the smug satisfaction every member of the welcome party had exhibited. The treacherous group had decided to bring Roux and Blythe together. Why? To introduce him to the pleasure he’d been missing all his life? Because mission accomplished. Now he knew what the harphantom tasted like. He’d glimpsed the rapture awaiting him in her arms. He could never be satisfied without her.
“The siren dies today,” he hissed.
“She dies badly.” Eyes as black as night, Blythe jolted upright, refashioned her vest as best she could, then smoothed her skirt, blocking his gaze from the lushest, sexiest, most exquisite view he’d ever come across. Another reason to rage.
How was he supposed to keep his hands off her now?
“Allow me to do the honors.” She jumped from the bed and darted around him, lacking her usual grace. Her motions were clipped, her legs trembly.
A small mercy, he supposed. He hadn’t left her unaffected.
After swiping up his bow and fishing two arrows from the quiver, she stomped to the window, aimed, and released a double shot. Roux flashed behind her as the missiles sliced through the siren. One dead center in her mouth, the other dead center in her throat. Both silenced her for good.
“There. Problem solved.” To the others, Blythe shouted, “Anyone else want to join the choir?”
The rain lightened as the welcome party rushed over to circle the fallen immortal. Comprehending what had happened, they glared up at Blythe and Roux. It was only then, as the countdown clock in the back of his mind ran out, that he pieced together the crux of their plan.
They knew about his bargain with Penelope. They’d hoped to make him miss today’s feeding, giving the wraith a reason to drain the harpy. Craftier than I realized.
Other females stopped partying to frown at their mugs, as if they weren’t sure why they held a mug filled with a mix of brew and rain in the first place. Other victims of the siren’s song, meant to drink themselves into a stupor before tomorrow’s battle?
Roux turned on his heel. “I must go,” he told Blythe. He flashed to his discarded shirt, donned the material, and amended his pants.
“Go? Now?” Whirling around, she gaped at him, incredulous. The black faded from her eyes. “Where?”
“That isn’t your concern.” Admit the truth? Surely he wasn’t so foolish. She would only insist on tagging along, and he needed a break from her. The tension inside him...something was soon to shatter.
“Not my concern?” she grated. “Are you meeting someone? A certain Phoenix, perhaps, now that I’ve primed the pump?”
Speaking of Carrigan the Phoenix, he would go somewhere quiet to recharge after he dealt with the wraiths, and carefully consider what to do about her and her threat.
“Well?” Blythe prompted.
“Does it matter? You planned to find me a—what did you call it?—a bang buddy. Stay here. If you leave, I’ll consider it a breach of our agreement.”
“Breach? What breach? How? You can’t just change the rules and—”
“I can. I did. I’ll return shortly.” He flashed to Wraith Island before she could issue another half comment. Only able to transport himself to places he’d seen, he landed on the shore.
To the left and right were mountains made of stone. Between them, a valley filled with dead trees. He followed a single, open path, flashing forward as far as his eyes could see. Before long, he came to a gated drawbridge, which led to a sharp-edged palace built from glistening ebony. The top disappeared in a wealth of gray clouds.
Penelope waited at the front door, grinning. Ribbons of red hair blew in a breeze a spectral like her couldn’t feel. She’d changed clothes. Or rather, changed the image she projected. A long black gown now cinched at her waist and flared to feet several inches off the ground.
“I’m surprised you made it, Astra, considering the trap the council laid for you.”
A trap that would have succeeded if Blythe hadn’t stopped him when she had. Roux doubted he would have possessed the strength to end the encounter for any other reason. “Did you want me to fail, wraith?”
“Yes and no. I was undecided, honestly. On one hand, my followers could’ve drained you in retribution, taking you out of commission until you failed your blessing task, allowing me to keep the phantom forever. On the other, she couldn’t possibly taste as delicious as you. Or as delicious without you around to inspire her hatred.”
Yes, Blythe’s hatred. How could he forget, even for a moment?
He fisted his hands. “Let’s get this done.”
Penelope’s grin widened. “My, my, my. In such a hurry. You’d think the gaggle of females weren’t about to offer you a jolly good time.” She turned and glided inside, clearly expecting him to follow.