Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 109477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
“Hello again, little dove,” he murmured. He stepped closer, his heat blanketing her body. “Keep yourself safe. You are important to my plans. I will need you before long. I want you…right now.”
“Something isn’t right,” said Dylan, one of their crew—her family—standing next to Daisy. He wasn’t aware of the intruder. “Do you feel that?”
She couldn’t help but feel it, so fresh after meeting the fae again. So savory. Her reaction so terrible.
The fae winked, and his wicked smile grew.
In a moment, he was gone, all hazy air and sparkling wind, rushing forward…toward the barely contained Soul Stealer.
“No,” she said breathlessly, transported back in time. Transported to that horrible moment.
It must be done, little dove. There is no better distraction on these grounds.
The haze that was him dodged around Thane, a level five Berserker who could destroy the whole place. When he changed, friend turned into foe. All he saw was red. The presence—her fae—slipped past Bria and stopped right before the body currently animated with that horrible, deadly Soul Stealer magic.
Zorn started and stepped forward, his hand landing on Bria’s shoulder protectively. He’d clearly recognized the shimmer of the fae.
The fae darted so quickly that Daisy couldn’t keep track of him. And then she could. He stopped next to Thane, and a strange though lovely, earthy smell tickled her senses.
“Shit—” Zorn lurched in that direction, but he was too late.
The fae zipped away again, much faster than Zorn could ever move in his gas form.
Thane sucked in a startled breath, flexing his biceps as he did so.
“Fight the urge, Thane,” Daisy called out as the body in the hall cocked its head. The spirit inside the rotting flesh ignored the bells tolling through the hallway, desperate necromancers trying to keep it contained. If it could better work its mouth, Daisy knew it would be smiling.
“Oh no,” she said in a release of breath.
“Get control of it!” one of the necromancers yelled. “Get control!”
“I’m trying! I’m trying!” the other hollered.
In a heartbeat, the two necromancers in charge of controlling the body slumped to the floor. The spirit had ripped the life right out of them. It was always the price for something like this.
The Soul Stealer’s head came around, and then it was looking at her family. The only people she cared about in the world.
Thane grunted and groaned. Started to grow. The berserker was about to emerge.
Her heart leapt into her throat. “Fuck!” she yelled, grabbing Dylan. “Run! Go! Get out of here!”
“Distract Thane!” Bria shouted, turning toward Daisy and starting to run. “Make him follow us or that Soul Stealer is going to take him first!”
That fae had helped set two monsters loose, one who destroyed with a touch of magic, and another who destroyed everything in his path. The fae had intentionally put her entire family in danger.
Images flickered as the memory dissolved. A delicious feeling crept through her body.
Keep yourself safe, little dove, the fae whispered. Keep my toy in one piece until I am ready to collect it.
Her eyes snapped open, and she immediately looked at the window, half expecting to find him standing there. Half expecting him to be advancing on her.
The afternoon sun glowed from around the shades, the space empty. The dream had disturbed her nap, nothing more.
Her heart beat too quickly as she sucked in a breath to relax.
It was good they weren’t relying on hope. The fae male was proving to be very cunning indeed. The Faegate and its Celestial guardians could not keep him contained. He’d snuck in at least a dozen times. He was after the crystal chalice and scooping up anything magical in the meantime.
It wasn’t clear if he killed every person he visited. Those he did get rid of were marked, though. Placed atop each grisly murder…was a snow-white dove’s feather. He clearly knew she and her team were paying attention and was making sure she knew where he’d been. Laughing about it, probably. He was playing a game of blood, and she was the audience. Eventually she would likely be a participant.
She pushed away the blanket and climbed out of bed. They hadn’t made great strides in finding the right kinds of weapons. After procuring and poring over old texts, it seemed there were several that might work. The easiest were blades of iron. Apparently that material not only sliced up a fae good and proper, but it also burned their skin while doing so. The resulting wound took longer to heal, making it easier to kill them.
Better still? Magically treated iron, keeping the metal constantly cool and always sharp. Etch the right runes on the blade and it increased the punch.
The bitch of it was, hardly anyone made those types of weapons. If they found some with runes, the blades were chipped and dull. The craftsmanship was lacking. The human world didn’t realize they had a fae problem, and so the market simply wasn’t there for specialized weaponry to combat them. Worse, no one seemed inclined to try. Daisy and Zorn had tried to contact several people, to no avail. The artisans didn’t care how much money was on the table; they didn’t want to deal with anything relating to fae. Make a weapon to kill them, and one might show up on their doorstep with a dove’s feather in hand. She couldn’t fault the logic.