Total pages in book: 401
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
“Oh, no,” Poppy muttered, her worry pressing down on me. “Not again.”
The funnels started to spin, generating streaks of essence that shimmered.
“It’s okay,” Rhahar assured us.
None of us was reassured.
Except for Delano.
The fluff of fur had stopped growling and was eyeing the Primal god with curiosity instead of hostility.
The funnels crackled, turning into pure eather as the ground shook. I had no idea what the fuck the kraken was up to, but by the sounds of it, another warehouse had bitten the dust.
Eather whirled through the form of Saion as the clouds above him thickened once more. With a sweeping motion, the essence surged across the bay, hissing and spitting through the air. I didn’t take my eyes off the Primal god before us, but the essence had done something. The kraken roared.
“That’s close enough,” I warned, feeling the essence pressing harder against my flesh.
“We’re here to help.” Rhahar’s steps slowed. “We would’ve been here earlier, but…we had our own issues to deal with.”
“What issues?” Poppy asked.
I could feel Kieran’s sigh. I could hear the exhaustion in her quiet voice as the wharf shook. From the edge of my vision, the kraken lurched backward, fighting against the pull as it was dragged back toward the bay.
“That thing over there was freed from the Abyss,” he explained, nodding toward the kraken. “We’ve had our hands—” He lifted a hand as a thrashing tentacle swung in our direction, flinging it back.
“Sorry,” Saion called from the bay. Whatever else he’d said got lost in the kraken’s screeching.
“We had our hands full,” Rhahar continued, his gaze lifting to the city. “As did you.” He leaned to the side, trying to see Poppy. He failed. I blocked him.
The eather dimmed to a bright glow behind his pupils. “I mean no harm.”
“I don’t give a fuck what you mean,” I stated. “We don’t know you.”
His stare locked onto mine. A long, tense moment passed. A muscle flexed in his jaw. “You look like him.”
“Attes?” Poppy said as Delano sniffed at the air.
“Kyn.”
I had no idea who the fuck that was, and I didn’t care. Maybe this Primal god was a friendly. They were helping—
The kraken reared, snapping a tentacle free and smashing it into the side of a ship.
Maybe.
But Poppy was weakened, and I could sense her energy waning even more.
“Do you all need help with that?” Kieran asked, his voice tight.
“He has it under control.”
The limb slammed into a nearby pier, causing Poppy to jump. My hands fisted.
“You sure about that?” I said as I felt Poppy nudging Delano to get off her.
Rhahar nodded. “The leviathan existed before the Primals ruled these realms. They are as powerful as any god, even in this form,” he said, and I figured that meant it had been created by the Ancients. Why, was anyone’s guess. “And we have to refrain from really using the essence while in the mortal realm to avoid…other issues.”
Delano grumbled, stepping to the side as I focused on Poppy’s mark, linking with her. Please stay behind me.
A moment later, I heard her. I still can’t believe we can communicate like this.
It’s coming in handy right now, I told her as Rhahar glanced toward the bay. I know you don’t want to listen, but you’re exhausted. I can tell.
Water splashed as the kraken was dragged into the bay. Finally.
“The kraken wasn’t the only…thing to attack,” Poppy said.
I didn’t hear her moving around, so there was that, but I did hear footsteps slowly approaching us. I tensed.
Malik, Kieran said.
Hearing his name reminded me of how I wanted to punch him for coming right toward the wave.
Rhahar turned back to us. “What else?”
“Ceeren,” I answered, and Rhahar’s gaze sharpened. “Dead ceeren,” I added.
“And seahorses,” Poppy said.
Rhahar blinked. “Seahorses? That’s…” He shook his head and looked at the darkening clouds. “They were gone before I even reached maturity.” His chest rose with a deep breath. “Kolis called them.”
“Figured,” I said, letting myself relax a fraction. “Is there anything else we should be worried about that might have gotten out of the Abyss?”
“Yes.” His attention shifted back to the sky. “He is the true Primal of Death. All those who serve within the Abyss serve him.” His eyes narrowed, and his fingers twitched at his sides. He swore, then glanced back at us. “Sorry about the cursing.”
“It’s fine.” Poppy sighed.
“I wish it were,” he muttered, and all the tension that had left me returned. “Ash was right.”
“Ash?” Kieran questioned.
“Nyktos,” he clarified.
The Asher. Made sense.
Delano looked at the bay and the still-fighting kraken, its limbs flailing.
“What…was he right about?” Poppy questioned.
“He said it was a diversion.” Rhahar stepped back, and I wondered if he was having a more detailed conversation in his mind. “The attack here and the one on the Shadowlands. One was a diversion.”
There was something vaguely familiar about that.