Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
“Tell me when you feel it,” Domino shouted over the noise.
Feel what?
“Five. Four. Three,” Cyrus continued.
The heat faded completely, leaving me frozen.
“One,” the high prince shouted and launched into action.
Perfect timing. The feeders launched into action, too, swarming us. Winslet and the other trainee didn’t hesitate. They fired off shot after shot as Cyrus and I struck down anyone within striking distance. In a constant stream of motion, I slashed, stabbed, and swung, pressing the button on my dagger when applicable, causing an explosion inside my victims, ending their lives. Muscles stretched and burned.
When I ran out of CO2, I replaced the dagger with my other short sword. My blades chopped and sliced through necks, shoulders, torsos, and ankles. Wherever I struck, destruction followed. Blood spurted from their severed arteries. War sounds laced the air. But no matter what we did, or how many we felled, the feeders kept coming. More and more and more. An unceasing stream. They swiped at us, snapped their teeth, and crowded us. But, still, I felt no different. Well, other than the eruption of sharp stings and pangs caused by fresh injuries.
The librarian flickered in and out of view, all but pawing at the ground, ready to be tagged into the fight.
Multiple feeders crashed into Cyrus, taking him down.
“No,” I screamed, slicing through one combatant after another. Fear overtook me, and there was no stopping it.
Cyrus fought his way free with few injuries and sprang to his feet, leaving dead feeders on the ground. Thank goodness. But . . .
Seeing blood stream down his face did something to me. Cracked something wide open in my chest, releasing . . . not a tide of fury but something like it. Something hotter. Stronger. The fear evaporated. How dare they?
It was then. That moment. Sparks ignited, spreading from my heart to my head until an inferno raged. The flames ate up everything in their path, and I no longer had to wonder what Domino had meant. “Now,” I called.
In a blink, the librarian whooshed through the horde of opponents and slammed into me. I gasped. He stayed put . . . as if I hosted him?
The heat I’d experienced before was nothing compared to what I experienced now. I was enveloped. Engulfed and devoured. And yet, I remained perfectly safe. Because suddenly, Domino and I were connected, not two people, but one super being. His power flowed through my veins, my limbs, not overtaking me but fueling me. His instincts undergirded mine. We moved with perfect synchrony, gliding from cluster to cluster, eliminating multiple feeders at once.
Hot blood wet my clothes and skin as the bodies of my enemies fell, minus their heads or various parts. My speed astounded. My elegance thrilled. I dodged stray shots taken by the trainees, who had forgotten how to work as a team. I, however, predicted their actions and contorted accordingly while simultaneously dodging blows from the feeders.
Cyrus worked seamlessly with me. So smoothly, in fact, it was as if we’d trained together our entire lives. When one struck, the other defended. He tossed victims my way, and I finished them off. And yet, bit by bit, I began to lose sight of the world around me. Just for a fraction of a second at first, then another and another, until I stood inside a bedroom while Domino fought in Theirland.
Confused, I skimmed the room, noting the number of books stacked on the nightstand and desk. Tome upon tome crowded a bench at the foot of a large bed draped with a dark-blue comforter. No photos on the walls. The cutest black-and-white dog sat at my feet, peering up at me with a mix of adoration and confusion. A living, breathing dog rather than a meta.
My hands itched to stroke that soft fur, but a robed man I recognized approached. Not too long ago, I’d watched him protectively gather the unconscious Ember in his arms.
“Dom.” He snapped his fingers in front of my face, his brows drawing together. “I need your help.”
“I’m not Domino.” I frowned. I’d spoken with the librarian’s voice. Astonishment conquered new ground as I looked myself over. Gracious. I was Domino. At least, I inhabited his body the way he inhabited mine.
“Ah. It’s you. The girl. Arden,” the newcomer said, his features hardening. “You agreed to the bonding.”
I would never be able to articulate the weirdness of knowing I was in the process of killing a feeder while simultaneously conversing with Ember’s boyfriend. “How is Ember?” I asked, and it was still Domino’s voice I heard.
“Awake, too weak to get out of bed, and trying not to worry about those under her care. Your mother and Mykal Ellison, to name two.” The barest twitch of his jaw muscle alerted me to trouble. “Actions have consequences.”
I splayed my fingers over my—Domino’s—belly. Oh, wow. I shouldn’t notice something so trivial at a time like this, but sweet goodness, the muscle definition on this guy. “Please don’t hurt them to hurt me.”