Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Reeve runs up to us, his hair in disarray. His eyes are flared, and he’s lost his cap. “You must run, Mr. Dellacourt. And my queen. You must run for your lives.”
“Which way? He sounds like he’s coming from all sides.” Dante is frowning, his face set in fierce lines. He holds his hand out to me. “Stay close to me, Kaja.”
I move to the First’s side. No. Dante. He is Dante. And I am practical. “We need only be faster than the little ones. This beast will dine on them first. We should keep Cara close when we find her. I can run very fast. I will carry her.”
“No, miss,” Reeve says. “I have a place to hide, but it is small. You must save yourselves—all of you. I cannot hide until I find my wife.”
Reeve disappears, his small body fleeing through the labyrinth of tents.
A roar so loud I cover my ears fills the world around us. That sound makes me ache.
“Where the hell did that ogre come from?” Dante stands behind one of the high tents and pokes his head around the side as though trying to look but not be seen. “Holy fuck, that thing is huge.”
I stand beside him and stare out as well. I swallow as I take in the sight before me.
I cannot see its whole body, but it is massive. It isn’t as big as a frost giant, but a frost giant has some intelligence. This beast looks like a creature that only lives to kill. “What is it called again?”
Dante stares up at it, his mouth slightly open. “It’s called an ogre.”
I feel Meg’s hands on my shoulders, steadying herself there as she, too, takes a look at the mountain of flesh currently destroying everything around it. The ogre is much taller than the tents, his torso barrel shaped and naked. Thick cords of muscles cross his body. His arms are bigger around than my waist and covered in flesh that has a greenish cast to it.
I do not see how we can battle the creature. Not without a pack. A strong pack can take out much larger creatures, but there are only three of us. Meg does not even possess claws and fangs.
“I think we could safely call it Godzilla,” Meg says. There is a strange silvery item in her hand. I do not know if this is the Godzilla she speaks of or if she knows the name of the beast. Meg clutches the item in her hand, holding it close to her body. “Cian didn’t say anything about ogres when he lectured me on all the things to stay away from.”
Dante turns back around. His hand is tight on mine. “That’s because it shouldn’t be here. It’s an Unseelie creature.”
“What is Unseelie?” My heart is pounding, but I cannot let the unknown words pass. It is too much, and I need to understand.
Dante begins walking close to the walls of the tent in the opposite direction from the screaming. “Meg, stay close. Kaj, Beck and Ci are Seelie Fae. It’s basically a tribe. The Unseelie are the other tribe of Fae.”
My bare feet sink lightly into the dirt. “This is a war between tribes?”
“No, it can’t be,” Meg says. “I don’t understand it. We have a meeting with the Unseelie king in a few weeks. Why would they attack us? And why send an ogre?”
Dante stops. Up ahead is a wide road. We will be without cover until we reach the forest. As we stand there, the ogre attempts to destroy everything it finds. Large items like tent poles and cages and wagons are being thrown toward anyone who tries to flee.
“There’s no reason to send an ogre,” Dante argues. “An ogre is chaos. No one can control it. It would just as easily turn on the Unseelies. It makes no sense.”
“And it only helps Torin,” Meg says. “King Fergus hates Torin. He would never aid him. Fergus’s daughter was trapped on the Seelie plane when the civil war broke out. He’s had men looking for her, but he can’t get an army on the plane. He’s sent assassins, but they haven’t returned.”
Ah, now I understand. It’s a bit like a pack war. Packs have territories. The Firsts often fight over those territories. These Seelie and Unseelies must be like packs, and Torin and Fergus are the Firsts.
This is not my fight, nor is it Dante’s. We are free to leave.
“We should go to the woods.” I point to a spot of green trees beyond the tents. “We can hide there.”
We will have to be fast. Even as I think the words, I watched a creature fall beneath a large wagon the ogre threw into the fleeing crowd, but there is no other choice. We must get to the forest. Once there, I can hunt for us. I know forests. I will be valuable to Dante and Meg there. I will not be a hindrance in the wild. I will not feel like a fool there.