Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78886 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78886 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
With a flick of my wrist, I flipped my hair over one shoulder. “I’ve seen scarier.”
His nostrils flared as if I’d kneed him in his happy zone. “That is a lie.”
“Viktor,” the prince repeated, all kinds of concern in his voice. “Something comes.”
Both Viktor and I whipped our focus to the right, where the soldiers stood statue still, fully alert, peering into the distance. When I spotted the object of their enthrallment, I blinked. A thick gray cloud rolled across the land, coming closer and closer. Pinpricks of crimson flashed within it.
A low buzzing sound reached my ears and foreboding crept over my spine. “What is it?”
“I am unsure,” Viktor replied, his tone as ominous as the cloud.
A herd of wild deer burst from a thicket just in front of the cloudy veil. The slowest of the bunch got swallowed by the haze, and its screams of agony pierced the air. My stomach bottomed out, the urge to sprint almost too strong to resist.
“Do I see…bees in the midst of the gloom?” Bodi asked.
Oh, no, no, no. The blood in my veins flash-froze. I’d bet my entire savings those “bees” were flesh-eaters. “Deco said he’d thought of everything,” I croaked. The shifter hadn’t just laid traps for us–he’d sent one. Had indeed planned for everything, as advertised.
“Go, go, go,” Viktor shouted, grabbing my hand and racing me through the camp. “You know what to do.”
We took the same path we’d used to get here, going in the opposite direction of the cloud. His men did the same and split off into groups of two, taking different routes.
“We need to get underground,” I said between huffing breaths. My heart pounded against my ribs with increasing fervor. “The trenches you dug. We can fit between the stakes and cover ourselves with dirt.”
“Nem,” Viktor growled as we sailed over the rugged terrain. “Grab any weapon you can.”
“Already did. I took yours,” I confessed. “There’s a dagger in my pocket.”
“Oh, yes. I remember.”
Ha! “No, you do not.”
Once we cleared the campsite, we picked up speed. Heading for the traveling stones, where turul-shifters probably awaited us? Nope. We veered right, entering a dense cluster of trees and thickets.
The sound of rushing water hit my ears, and his plan crystallized. I approved. We headed for the ice-filled river, our best chance for survival.
A tide of adrenaline surged through me, and I pumped my arms faster. My feet responded in kind. Viktor’s, too. We picked up speed again.
“Dive,” he commanded, following his own order.
I obeyed, crashing into the frigid liquid, losing my hold on the berserker as the shock of cold seized my muscles. A thousand stings pricked my skin. No need to swim. The current dragged me along a rocky river. I put up no resistance, holding my breath as long as possible. When I could tolerate the burn in my lungs no longer, I fought my way up, already bracing for the danger that awaited me. My head breached the surface. I sucked in oxygen.
No bug attacks. Had we passed the danger zone?
Took some doing, but I struggled against the dangerous current and twisted, glancing behind me. The line of fog had reached the shore but hadn’t braved the water. My relieved breath came out as near frost. We should exit the river now or die of hyperthermia. But where was Viktor?
“Oomph!” Pain reverberated through my entire body as the force of water slammed me into a boulder. Impact spun me around and around and around. I flailed my arms in a desperate attempt to grab on to something, anything. Icy water shot into my nose, clogging my airways.
I fought to inhale even the slightest tidbit of oxygen and failed. My limbs grew heavy and weak. My world darkened. With the last of my strength, I cut through the current and lugged myself onto a fogless part of the shore.
As darkness took over, I sagged over the dirt. Where are you, Viktor?
I awoke from a dreamless sleep with a start. Memories overtook my awareness. Approaching bugs. Long distance sprinting. A tangle with the river. Viktor! My gaze darted here, there. Still no sign of him.
Worry instantly gripped me. Where was he? What happened to him?
Using my elbows, I pulled myself up the riverbank edged with a layer of frost. A single animal track crisscrossed through the surrounding snow, but nothing human, err berserker, err birdlike. A light mist free of bugs hung in the air, and judging by the fading sunlight, hours had passed since we’d fled into the dangerous water. Where was he?
At least I could breathe. And the ring, my one connection to Juniper, hadn’t slid from my thumb. Wait! A crunch of brittle leaves and ice sounded. Footsteps. Someone approached. Viktor? A shifter? Another kind of predator?
Unwilling to risk it, I scrambled to stand, intending to hide…where? Too late. A grinning Deco strode from the shadows. Instant fight response. I palmed my pocket dagger and rooted my feet in place. No doubt his acolytes perched all around us.