Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 132138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 661(@200wpm)___ 529(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 661(@200wpm)___ 529(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
She really is an empty, dull vessel, her only contents being pure malice. And she’s stupid. “It isn’t the food. It’s the hags.”
Maris’s face twists a bit. “Why ever should the hags be preparing food? I thought they spent all their time with the Finn girl. One of my maids walked by the room they had her in. She thought she heard some ritual of pulling power.”
“Yes, they said they needed to pull the power in case my nephews have formed a true triad.” The power will be necessary to block whatever they ascended into.
“See, this is why you’re smarter. I heard that and wondered if we should allow it. After all, when they’re more powerful than all of our armies, what is to stop them from taking the crown?” Maris smiles brightly. “But, of course, it’s surely the very helpful thing you were talking about. You’re never wrong.”
Oh, I want to slap the bitch, but she’s right. I didn’t see. I was too arrogant, believing I have power over them. Long ago we made a deal, bonded and signed by a Planeswalker demon. They would help me ascend and I would hold them at my right hand. The deal can only be struck down by death, and neither party can kill the other, but if the hags simply allow me to die, they can take over my kingdom. If the hags use my niece and her power, they can rule with no retribution.
I have to kill my niece and take the power back from the hags.
A loud crack pulls me out of my thoughts. The sky outside turns black as night, the sun sinking behind an enormous cloud.
“What is that?” Maris asks.
I need only to look at the smirk on my dead brother’s face to know the truth. “It’s an eddy cloud. The rebels are here.”
They begin descending from the clouds, their numbers far more than I expected. Immediately there are the sounds of metal against metal and a sonic boom as the vampires prove themselves to be terrible allies.
Still, I glance down. My guard has more numbers, and they aren’t without their own weapons.
And none of it will matter if the hags take all the power.
I run for the dungeon with only one thought on my mind.
Bronwyn’s time has come.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Lachlan
I hit the ground, bodies falling all around me, and realize I’ve never known the true meaning of the word chaos. The sounds and smells of battle assault me.
Clanging from swords striking swords ring out across the field. In the distance I can see the White Palace, a gleaming pearl amidst the gloom of afternoon. The cloud we rode made it seem more like twilight, but we have hours to go before night. My new implants aren’t even necessary to shield my eyes from the sun.
Dellacourt brushes past me, Kaja in her wolf form at his side and the queen’s hand clutched in his. “Good luck to you, Your Highness. Kaja and I are on Meg duty. We’re getting clear of the field, but I can talk to you through the implants. I’ll look for a way past the guard and into the palace so you can get to Bron.”
I clutch my sword and, with instinct guiding me, bring it down on a guard trying to cut through the queen’s torso. First blood and the first corpse of the day. The soldier falls and then almost immediately gets back up and bows to his new master.
Queen Meg’s eyes go wide as the moon. “Holy crap. That is so freaking cool.”
Dellacourt shakes his head and hurries her along. “No time for cool shit, Meg. Time for hiding and keeping your head on your body.”
As she’s hustled away, I can still hear her. “But that was awesome.”
“You have a fan,” Shim says.
I look at my brother who holds Duffy’s axe in his hand. He was so weak for so long.
Shim proves his weakness is gone by hefting the axe and neatly decapitating a guard. He grins my way. “I thought the head was the best way to go since you can use arms and legs without the head.”
That’s my brother. Always a giver. I pull my new soldier up and send him into battle.
A long scream splits the air and I’m shocked to see the guards who were foolish enough to get near the tree line being pulled up into them. The trees themselves seem to bend, their branches working like arms and claiming the guards. One of guards screams and attempts to hack at the branches that hold him, but a vine winds around his neck and his scream is cut short. The guard disappears into the foliage, sucked up in clawing green arms.
A short distance away, Cian Finn holds his hands up, controlling the trees. The Green Man has his own army.