Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 129912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
“Let’s go this way.”
I follow his lead, and we drift from room to oversized room.
“Wait. Kill—the fire.” I stop midway through another corridor, watching the flames creep around the corner. “I think it’s following us.”
“Why would it be—” Killian jerks around to see the same thing I’m seeing. The flames are ripping across the floor and torching everything in their way. “Fuck.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. Let me think,” he mumbles as we walk faster. “Most castles have cellars. Blackwater Manor has one, and it’s fireproof because we keep a lot of our ammo and explosives there. The last thing we want is our home blowing up. This castle likely has the same thing—or at least a bunker of some kind. Council Castle had a fleet once, and if they protected this castle, it means they stored many of their weapons around here somewhere. Most likely in a cellar too.”
I nod. “Then let’s go there.”
When Killian runs, I do too, and we don’t stop until we reach a winding staircase. “It’s gotta be down there.” He hustles down first. I spot those flames over my shoulder as I rush down.
Why the hell are those flames coming after us? I have no doubt Selah is controlling them. She wants us to burn right along with this castle.
But why? Why kill the people who wanted her freed? Why burn The Council’s only home down? How can she be so deceitful after everything they’ve done for her? Not that I care much for The Council, but her lack of respect and loyalty stuns me. I see why Hassha and Korah never woke her.
When we reach the bottom of the staircase, I’m breathing raggedly and Killian is standing in front of a door that has a wheel with spokes. He grips two of the spokes and tries twisting the wheel several times, but it doesn’t budge.
The flames slip down the stairs, getting closer.
“Killian,” I warn.
“Yeah, I know. I know.” He gives the wheel a twist again, grunting as he does so with all his might. Still, the wheel doesn’t shift.
He looks to his left, searching for a way out.
To our right, there’s no way either.
“Fuck, Willow,” he rasps as the flames cause a spark in his eyes. “I think we’re trapped.”
THIRTY-EIGHT
CAZ
My eyes have to be deceiving me.
There’s no way Council Castle is on fire.
“Speed up the ship!” I shout over my shoulder. The ship lurches forward and doesn’t stop until we reach the snowy shore of Luxor.
I refused to sit around waiting for The Council to return Willow and Killian to me. I had Rowan and a small fleet board a ship to take me straight to Luxor as soon as we were in Blackwater.
As soon as we dock, I dash off, running up the steep staircase. My heart pumps twice as fast and my nose grows numb from the cold the faster I run.
“Willow!” I shout when I’m closer. “Fuck.” There are so many stairs. I hope she isn’t in there.
Willow? Willow? Please. Tell me you’re alive. Tell me you’re not in there.
When her voice doesn’t return to me, my anxiety spikes. I thought if I made it to Luxor, I’d be able to hear her. A burning heat swells in my chest, and without much thought, I whisper, “Take me to her.”
In seconds I’m floating above the slick stairs. My body drifts to the very top landing. I drop in a crouch near the entrance of Council Castle, smelling the smoke much more now. My palm is hot, and I lift it, noticing melted ice beneath.
I draw in a breath as I stand upright. “I can control it,” I whisper. I hear someone scream and whip my gaze up. “Take me to Willow.”
My vision blurs only briefly, and soon the flames that were a great distance away are swarming me. A beam from the roof creaks and tilts sideways, crashing to the ground next to me. The heat of the fire is sweltering, but I find an opening and take it. It leads me to a corridor where the flames haven’t spread, but the air is thick with dark smoke.
“Willow!” I call again.
I’m losing my mind. If she doesn’t answer me…if she’s hurt or worse, dead, I don’t know what I’ll do.
I can sense her though. It has to be her. She’s close. I feel her heart beating twice its rhythm. I hope I’m not mistaking it for my own chaotic heart.
I hurry through another corridor but am immediately met with an explosion of fire. I curse under my breath as I back away. I spot a door to my left and run over to kick it open, only to come face to face with a wide terrace overlooking the see.
From here, nothing can be seen. The mountains in the distance are a mere blur, fading into the dark sky. The snow is coming down harder, and I’m certain it’s brewing into a storm.