Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 128087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
“Calm down, my winter lover.” Theodor ran his long fingers through Boraleashe’s blizzard-white hair. “Try to ignore the warmth and take in the beauty of the summer lands. It’s as gorgeous as my father describ—”
“The gods be damned, Theo! This is not warmth. The Autumn world is warm. This place is scorching my skin and stifling me. I can barely take a breath.” Boraleashe frowned at his hands. “I’m already getting a fuckin tan.”
Zepharali and Theodor concealed their grins behind their fists.
He decided to let Boraleashe continue to grumble and shed a few layers as he led them toward the farthest corner of the mountain, near the only Golden Yucca tree.
He assumed his intruders were still hidden there.
Zepharali smelled the unique smokiness, and instead of voicing it, he waited for Boraleashe’s and Theodor’s reactions.
“What’s that smell?” Theodor paused, tightening the grip on his sword, Gold Reaper. “It’s demonic.”
“Do you smell the other scent?”
“What other scent?” Boraleashe took a deep inhale. “I only smell a sooty stench that’s making me wanna gag.”
Zepharali pressed his thumbs to his temples. He was more confused than ever.
The sweet fragrance was even more prominent than two days ago. Why couldn’t anyone else pick up on it?
Instead of confessing that peculiar truth, he focused on keeping his cock under control while they closed in.
“I can smell and see it, Zeph.” Boraleashe pulled Weeping Glass from behind his back.
“I’m able to identify any entity from any realm.” Theodor shook his head at Zepharali. “But I cannot detect a species of the dark worlds because they don’t belong outside of it.”
The Titan of the South confirmed his worst suspicions. He had to rid his world of this evil and return it where it belonged.
“This is close enough.”
Theodor put his arm out, stopping Boraleashe from getting too close to the mysterious fog that rolled over itself, creating a spectral silhouette.
The smooth base of the yucca tree was concealed behind the ghostly mist, its mighty branches reaching toward it like eerie arms.
The air was different here. It was damp and heavy, tinging this part of the forest in an enigmatic gray hue that shouldn’t be able to survive under his suns.
“I am the titan and ruler of this land,” he said as forcefully as possible. “I am Zepharali Cavalerie, Lord of the East Wind and commander of the Three Suns.”
He waited a couple of minutes to see if anything happened, and when nothing did, he announced his allies.
“I stand here with the Titans of the North and South. Together, their combined winds can create a force of nature that can challenge a god.”
Zepharali didn’t like issuing this threat. The words rolling off his tongue tasted sour.
He swallowed, then lowered his voice, using the tone he did when he was in bed with a lover.
“I won’t hurt you if you just show yourself to me.”
Boraleashe glared at him as if he’d lost his mind.
“You dare disturb my pledging to my king and have us come all this way…to negotiate.”
Boraleashe scoffed and shed his white overcoat, leaving only his crisp linen tunic and cotton breeches. His husband stood close behind him with his broad chest pressed against his back.
“I stand with my king.” Boraleashe’s voice was as cold as his realm, making a dreadful cold creep inside Zepharali’s core. “Do not make me pull on his element lest there will be no surviving it.”
Theodor’s sword glistened with his Autumn heat as he placed his palm over Boraleashe’s shoulder.
Boraleashe unsheathed Weeping Glass—the white-gold blade gleaming in the sunlight—and gripped the pearl handle with both hands.
Zepharali’s loving heart dropped to his stomach as the mist thickened to a black fog, the enticing sweetness becoming even more pronounced.
There had to be a reason why only he could smell it.
“Boraleashe, just send a light dusting of your frost first. As a small warning,” Zepharali suggested.
His brother scoffed and stabbed half his blade into the soft earth. “You asked for my frost, and that’s what you will get.”
Zepharali whipped his head toward Theodor, pleading with his eyes to help him. Boraleashe would obey no one but his king.
He was relieved when Theodor reached around his husband and placed his palm over his chest, against his core.
“Do not cover his mountain under miles of ice, my love.”
Boraleashe’s stern features softened at Theodor’s voice in his ear, making Weeping Glass shimmer like a diamond as he pulled lightly on his element.
Tension continued to build in Zepharali’s heart. He wished this person would just surrender. He hated showing this kind of lethal force toward a stranger.
Boraleashe’s hands paled until they appeared frozen, and small shards of ice formed on his fingertips.
Gods.
The frost traveled down the blade to the point where it disappeared into the ground. Boraleashe released the handle, cupped his polar-white hands around his mouth, and blew a gust of air that came out like translucent snow.