Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 105164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
TWENTY-FOUR
Adrian Westergren
Haru roared and the Ordas trembled.
Once they’d located Green Spring and the Empire stronghold of soldiers and weapons, there had been no holding him back. Especially when he’d confirmed Caelan was in there somewhere. It was the first time since Haru’s arrival in Stormbreak that Haru had given any indication that he was willing to leave Adrian’s side.
Not that Adrian was going to let him.
There was no fucking way he was letting Haru and the other dragons attack the Empire without him right there. His king was in that mess somewhere. His friends were in there.
But was this the right time? They’d had no communication with Caelan and the others after they’d parted ways in Ilon. What if Caelan or Rayne were in the middle of delicate negotiations when he attacked? He didn’t want to hurt them, but he was also afraid that if they waited another minute, they’d all be dead.
No. They had to strike now. Caelan and the others had been on their own long enough. The magical pull on his soul was a relentless, urgent thing now. He would go mad if he waited any longer. They needed to find Caelan. Needed to save them all.
An answering dragon roar rose from the center of the Empire’s camp and goose bumps broke out down Adrian’s arms. Drayce! He was still alive, and he was calling to them.
Adrian straightened on his perch on Haru’s neck and started signaling the other dragons and riders. Since the attack on the ridge just two days earlier, Adrian had grown more comfortable on his dragon. When Haru had explained some of the nonverbal signals the dragons used during flight, Adrian worked out some quick ones that he could use with Prince Shey and a few of the soldiers who’d volunteered to work with the dragons in battle.
For now, they were limited in what they could organize. Heading into Green Spring, the dragons had been cautioned to not firebomb the entire place until they could locate and rescue the royal retinue in the center of the camp. With proof that at least Drayce was in the middle of the New Rosanthe soldiers, the dragons would work to break the lines that were holding the rest of the Erya and Caspagir army at bay as well as keep as many of the soldiers busy while they located Drayce.
At least that was the easy part.
It was hard to miss the enormous black dragon bellowing in the center of the camp with the even bigger wings of fire. Under his left wing, tucked against his side was Eno, struggling to fend off a trio of guards while Drayce fought an entire squadron with a stream of fire.
Without a word of direction from Adrian, Haru drew his wings in closer to his body and entered into a steep dive. He shot one fireball at a group that were racing into aid their compatriots, stopping them dead in their tracks. As soon as they were a dozen feet above the ground, Adrian shoved into a squat on Haru’s back and grabbed a sword in his right hand and a gun in his left.
“Cover me!” he shouted as he jumped. He fired two bullets into the men fighting Eno and cut down a third. Adrenaline poured through his veins, making him light-headed as he killed one Empire soldier after another.
Eno rushed over and pulled a gun off a dead soldier and took up position next to Adrian. “About time you got here!” Eno greeted.
“Do you have any idea how big the Ordas is? Or how many things are trying to kill you?”
“Funny enough, I do.”
To Adrian’s left, a sunset-colored dragon crashed into a tent, crushing it with his large body. Muffled screams rose from the interior and were eventually silenced. The dragon whipped his head around to Adrian and barked out an angry growl. Yeah, he’d expected that. There had been no prior discussion of Adrian leaping into battle from Haru, and he was sure the dragon had some opinions about it.
“It looks like you picked up some help besides the Erya army,” Eno commented as he popped an empty clip from the butt of the handgun and awkwardly slapped a new one in place. The Royal Guard was doing everything with his left hand, but Adrian knew for a fact that the man was right-handed.
“Haru stopped by Stormbreak and called in about half a dozen of his closest friends for some fun. Prince Shey is also here somewhere.”
“Shey?” Eno gasped.
“He’s on a dragon. Probably Mika. He also brought about ten thousand soldiers. The main bulk of our forces are outside of Green Spring. They can’t attack until we get you out safe.”
“Rayne! We need to find Rayne first,” Eno shouted.
Drayce let out what sounded like a cry of agreement and then butted his massive head against Haru’s.