Total pages in book: 200
Estimated words: 189930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 950(@200wpm)___ 760(@250wpm)___ 633(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 189930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 950(@200wpm)___ 760(@250wpm)___ 633(@300wpm)
We rounded the corner, Phillips slipping but regaining his balance as we rushed toward the stables, not a single guard in sight, and that wasn’t right. There should be guards out at this time.
I saw Luddie and the other guard.
“Shut the doors!” Phillips shouted as we exploded into the stables, startling the saddled horses. “Shut the godsdamn doors!”
The two men turned as I skidded to a stop, whipping around. I knew the moment they saw the wolven.
“Holy shit,” Bryant whispered, the blood draining from his face.
Kieran was gaining on us.
I shot forward to one side of the doors just as Luddie and Bryant snapped out of their shock. Grasping one side along with Luddie, we swung it closed a second before Bryant and Phillips closed their side.
“Bar it!” yelled Luddie, and the other two turned, grabbing the heavy wooden support. They brought it down, and the wood groaned into place.
Panting, I backed up—I kept backing up until I walked into one of the poles. The hilt of the dagger pressed into my palm. I looked down at it, at the wolven bone—
I jumped as the large, double doors shuddered as the wolven crashed into them.
“Is that what I think it is?” someone asked. I think it was Bryant. “A wolven?”
“Unless you know of another large wolf-like creature, then yes.” Phillips turned as Kieran hit the door again, shaking the wooden slab. “That door isn’t going to last. Is there another way out?”
“There’s a back door.” Luddie came forward. “But the horses won’t fit through it.”
“Fuck the horses.” Bryant picked up his sword. “We get out of here, first and foremost.”
“Have you all seen Hawke? He was called away in the middle of the night,” I told them. Three sets of eyes settled on me, and I didn’t care what they thought. “Have any of you seen him?”
A wood board splintered as a clawed, fur-covered hand punched through. Kieran grabbed the chunk of wood, tearing it free.
“We need to go.” Phillips started for me.
I moved out of his way. “I’m not leaving until I find Hawke—”
“Did you just see what I saw?” Phillips demanded, his nostrils flaring. “You told me you understood what I was telling you. Hawke is one of them.”
“Hawke isn’t a wolven,” I argued. “He isn’t a part of that.” I pointed at the door as the wolven took out another section. “You were right about Kieran but not Hawke. Have either of you seen him?”
“I have.”
My head jerked toward the sound of the voice. A man stood in the shadows, and something…something inside me shrank back.
He stepped into the light. Shaggy brown hair. A trace of a beard. Pale, winter blue eyes. A flash of pure, unadulterated rage pulsed through me.
It was him.
The man who’d killed Rylan was here, and he smiled. “Told you I’d be seeing you again.”
My gaze flicked over him, and my brows rose as the three guards pointed their swords at him. “You seem to be missing a hand. I wish I had done that.”
He lifted his left arm that ended in a stump just above his wrist. “I manage.” Those eerie pale eyes flicked to me as the sounds of Kieran ceased behind us. I could only hope that was something that would put the odds of us walking out of this in our favor. “Remember my promise?”
“Bathe in my blood. Feast on my entrails,” I said. “I haven’t forgotten.”
“Good,” he rumbled, taking a step forward. “Because I’m about to make good on that promise.”
“Stay back!” Phillips demanded.
“He’s a wolven,” I warned, now knowing there were at least three at the keep.
“Smart girl,” the man said.
Phillips held his ground. “I don’t care what kind of ungodly creature you are, you take one more step, and it will be your last.”
“Ungodly?” He threw his head back and laughed, lifting his arms at his sides. “We are created in the gods’ very image. It is not us who are the ungodly ones.”
“Whatever you need to tell yourself to feel better,” I replied, tightening my grip on the dagger. “The head or the heart, right, Phillips?”
“Yes.” Phillips dipped his chin. “Either will—”
Behind us, the slab splintered as the doors blew off their hinges, slamming into the sides of the barn. The horses reared, but tethered, they had no place to go. I twisted sideways, keeping my dagger pointed at the wolven as I looked, fully expecting to see Kieran tearing across the straw.
What I saw almost brought me to my knees.
“Hawke!” I cried out, too relieved to be embarrassed about how I sounded as I started toward him. “Thank the gods, you’re okay.”
“Stay back from him.” Phillips caught my arm.
I went to pull free of Phillips as I saw that Hawke carried something in his hand. It looked like a curved bow, but it was mounted to a handle of some sort, and a bolt was already nocked, somehow held in place. Whatever. It would work. “Kill him!” I shouted, slipping free of Phillips. “He was the one—”