Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
At the last second, the intruder steps aside with a laugh. “Really? Is that the best you can do?”
Then he turns to face me. My gut plummets to my toes.
Mathias d’Arc.
Bloody hell.
Terror sets in when the magical sociopath whips his wand and an arc of green light streaks through the wall of windows behind him, bursting across the sky with an eerie glow before fading.
He’s calling in reinforcements—the kind who won’t hesitate to kill Tabby.
Fuck, we have a shrinking handful of moments to get out of here, but I can’t run into Lowery’s office to retrieve or protect her. Besides alerting Mathias to Tabby’s presence, I’d trap us inside with no escape route except out the window and a four-story free fall.
Suddenly, a jagged bolt of white light arcs across the space between us. I hit the ground, barely dodging it. I feel the lethal heat of the spell skate over my head, singe the hair on my arms. What the bloody hell was that?
Mathias curses. I take advantage of the moment and scurry across the floor, using the room’s deep shadows to conceal myself and game-plan an attack.
Groping my way to the far wall, I take cover behind a big potted plant and hurl a fire spell at Mathias, the orange ball crackling and screaming through the air.
It hits him, setting his sleeve ablaze. He shoots an evil glare in my direction and lifts his other hand above his forearm, fingers dangling.
I don’t waste time watching. I scramble to the door separating me from Tabby and shove my wand through the crack underneath, sending up a quick red spark. I hope like hell she takes the warning and flees instead of tumbling into Mathias’s path.
Message conveyed, I twist around and clock Mathias’s movements through the shadows. Water trickles from his fingers like a faucet, extinguishing the fire I flung his way. He isn’t even breaking a sweat. What I hoped would be a game-changer sputters out, reduced to nothing more than a momentary annoyance for a wizard of Mathias’s legendary power.
Bloody hell, no one has fought the villainous wizard one-on-one and lived to tell. The Doomsday Brethren have discussed strategies for this possibility. I’ve heard war stories. I’ve trained for this. But coming face-to-face alone with one of the most cunning wizards in magickind’s history? My worst nightmare. The fact that Tabitha and our youngling are trapped so near this deadly struggle only makes everything more horrifying.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Mathias singsongs with a laugh. “I’ll be merciful and make certain your death won’t hurt. Much, anyway.”
Fuck that.
I roll beneath a low bench near Lowery’s office door. On the other side, I sense Tabitha’s footsteps approach cautiously over the mad thudding of my heart. I’m the only defense Tabby has against Mathias. I’ll do everything I can to distract Mathias so she can escape.
Heart pounding, I somersault from under the bench, leap to my feet, and charge Mathias with a roar. He whirls, wand poised, as I jump on the round table in the middle of the reception space, making myself the biggest target possible.
In what are probably my last moments, one thought tears through me: has Tabby guessed how much of my heart is hers? I pray she and our youngling reach safety.
Then my senses narrow on Mathias. I’m above him now. Like me, he has no place to hide. I’ll have to take advantage of the high ground and keep the evil wizard occupied as long as I can.
With a grunt, I kick the vase of dead flowers at my feet toward Mathias’s head. The wizard ducks to avoid it, then flicks his wand. I don’t want to know what spell that evil blue streak holds as it heads my way. Instead, I jump over the bolt, then whip my wand at the bench I once hid under. I hurtle it toward Mathias, who dodges, taking cover behind the reception desk. The bench crashes against the wooden semicircle with a clatter.
In that moment, Tabby opens the door to her father’s office. With my free hand, I frantically gesture her to the stairwell. With my wand, I shoot a fireball at the reception desk, gratified when it bursts into flame and explodes.
Mathias dives away, glaring as he whips up another wall of water, dousing my spherical inferno. His seething anger sears the air.
“This game grows tiresome, neophyte.”
He’s not wrong. Mathias has known centuries of warfare. I transitioned into my magic a mere sixty years ago and spent too many of those nights as a lover, not a fighter. Now, I curse every night I’ve spent carousing instead of learning how to defend myself and the ones I cherish.
“Time to finish you off,” Mathias growls. “And find out what—or who—you’re protecting.”
My blood turns to ice.
On the far side of the floor, I sense Tabitha approach the other stairwell. They’re well lit, and the second she opens the door, the light will spill into the darkened reception area—unless I mask it.