Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 117167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
“Or he might bring his most elite fighters,” Yichen filled in. “Which is like bringing hundreds.”
Rei fell silent, his eyes skimming over the dark rolling hills, dotted with little squares of golden light from the distant homes where humans were settling in for the night. If he failed to stop King Ash, they wouldn’t be slaughtered by elf warriors or even other members of the fae sent by his parents. No, nature herself would creep over them. They’d fall into a deep sleep from which they could not wake. And as they slept, vines and plants would wrap around them and pull their bodies into the dirt. They would be buried alive and slowly consumed by plants and animals, their lives sacrificed to nature.
There would be no bloodshed. Their screams would never be heard by another human.
But they would be alive and quite possibly conscious as they were slowly eaten over many, many years.
Most fae would argue that it was justice after what the humans had done to the earth.
Rei was more inclined to believe that his people had no right to place judgments on the heads of others after all the schemes and wicked plots the fae had twisted in the name of amusement.
“Do you want to retreat and take a different approach to eliminating King Ash?” Xiao Dan’s soft inquiry pulled Rei from his dark thoughts.
A wry smile lifted one corner of Rei’s lips as he looked over his shoulder at the head of the Zhang clan. “If I asked you all to leave, would you?”
“You mean leave you here alone?” The vampire didn’t hesitate. He simply shook his head. “Not a chance.”
It was the answer he’d expected. He didn’t want any member of the Zhang clan to put their lives at risk for him, but there was no way he was moving forward without Yichen attached to his side. And where Yichen went, the rest of his clan followed.
Of course, all the vampires, witches, and shifters had a vested interest in removing the fae horde from their realm. Technically, so did the humans, but now that Rei was looking at the battlefield, he found himself relieved that Aiden Varik had been unable to strike a deal with the humans. Rafe had wiped the memory of the human leader and their secret remained safe…for now. Probably not for much longer if his father continued on this path.
Turning his head toward Yichen, he winked at his lover. “Then I guess we head down there and stir up some trouble.”
“Thank fuck!” Moon grumbled as he shoved his phone into his back pocket. “Sky has been bitching for the last twenty minutes. Apparently the graveyard he raised is full of revolutionary war soldiers and such. They’re restless as hell and don’t want to listen to him anymore.”
Rei lifted an eyebrow in question at Yichen, who lifted a shoulder. “I get the impression the older the skeleton, the more stubborn and cranky they are. They don’t like to obey the necromancer once they’re out of the ground.”
“Huh.” That was something he’d never expected to learn. Good lesson. Don’t piss off necromancers and old skeletons. “Tell Sky he can set his army loose on the fae. We’ll just try to stay out of their way.”
“We’re sticking to the plan?” Xiao Dan inquired.
His answer remained trapped in Rei’s throat for a moment until he finally managed to grunt an affirmative along with giving a short nod. They’d worked out an attack plan with the Variks and Moon’s coven before leaving the clan house. “Just remind everyone to be on the lookout for Trin and Aire.” He hadn’t lost all hope of his half brother showing up to help get rid of King Ash.
But then, he also believed there was an equally good chance that Trin and his army would appear to stop him from killing the king.
“Just remember to keep your distance and aim for anyone protecting the king. We need the road cleared for us,” Yichen added.
Rei offered him a weak smile. Us. He’d expected that. Yiyi was not going to leave his side, for better or worse.
A scream tore through the forest and Rei’s head jerked up to see a horde of several hundred corpses and skeletons rushing toward the forest in a variety of different speeds. Elves and pixies popped out of the trees to meet the dead, who were armed with nothing more than their own bones and a magical will to destroy the fae. Yeah, Sky’s army of the dead was going to provide a nice distraction for them.
With a quiet laugh, Rei signaled for the others to begin their own assault. It was the only advantage they could cobble together in this fight. Even if King Ash wasn’t bringing an entire army, they would still be outnumbered.
As he rushed forward, he drew the two short swords strapped to his back. Yichen remained glued to his weaker left side, prepared to offer him protection and support as he needed it. With every step into the woods, the tingle of magic grew thicker in the air so that Rei could taste it coating his tongue and caressing his skin. A restlessness was building just under their feet, as if the forest were biding its time, waiting to lash out and steal the ground it had lost to the humans.