The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash #6) Read Online Jennifer L. Armentrout

Categories Genre: Alpha Male, Fantasy/Sci-fi, Paranormal Tags Authors: Series: Blood And Ash Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout
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Total pages in book: 401
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
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“No need to apologize,” I assured him. “It’s understandable.”

“It’s good to see you,” he replied, his stare darting back to me. “Both of you.”

Those three words were loaded.

Emil cleared his throat. “Would anyone like something to drink?”

Several hands lifted as Sven looked at him and said, “If there is wine, then the answer is yes—always yes.”

“There is wine,” Emil replied, turning to the serving table. Playing host, he quickly handed my still-standing father a glass and then served Sven.

“Water,” I called, glancing at Poppy. She nodded. “Three of them,” I said.

My father seemed to recover and began walking toward the seat beside Malik. “I hope I didn’t keep everyone waiting too long.”

“Not at all,” I said as he sat.

“What does everyone know so far about the…situation in Pensdurth?” my father asked as Emil placed water in front of Poppy, Kieran, and then me.

“We know you encountered a sizable force outside the city that Thad was sent to assist with. I would’ve thought he’d make quick work of the opposition, but we were told he was injured.”

“Nearly half the forces were dealt with when Thad showed,” Father answered. Poppy cringed, knowing dealt with meant they’d been burned alive. “The remaining army fled toward Pensdurth.”

Surprise flickered across La’Sere’s face as Emil placed what appeared to be wine in front of Netta without her asking. “You allowed that?”

“Trust me when I say that was not our plan, but we didn’t have a choice,” Father replied. “Should have expected what happened, but hindsight is twenty-twenty, or so they say.”

“Exactly what happened?” Murin asked.

“You need to know something first to understand why we didn’t expect it,” Father said, reaching for his glass. “My regiment was tasked with making sure Bram’s division crossed the Blood Forest without any losses. That turned out to be easier than expected.”

Surprised, I raised a brow. “Really?”

My father nodded. “We encountered less than a dozen Craven, and they were…well, they had clearly been turned quite some time ago. It was no issue to deal with them.”

“That is a surprise,” Poppy stated slowly. “I know parts of the Blood Forest are thinner, like the section we traveled through when we left Masadonia,” she said, glancing toward me. “But the section between Carsodonia and Pensdurth is thick.”

“Most of it is,” Father confirmed. “But the southernmost point closest to the coast is thinner. That is the route we took.”

“Really?” She sat back. “I was always told…” She trailed off and pressed her lips together. “I see that was another lie.”

“The lies regarding the Blood Forest served a purpose,” Malik stated. “If people believed that there was no easy avenue of escape, they’d be less likely to attempt such a thing.”

“It was a successful lie,” Poppy said, sipping her water. “How did you all discover the route?”

“We spent much time scouting the Blood Forest,” Kieran answered. “Fun times.”

Poppy snorted before directing her attention to my father. “Please, continue.”

“As the soldiers fled, and before our regiment could give chase, Craven swarmed us,” he said, his grip tightening on his glass. “Hundreds of them.”

“Hundreds?” Poppy whispered. Aylard paled, and Damron swore.

My father nodded as Malik reached forward and picked up a circular, onyx-hued paperweight.

“How many Craven do we suspect are in the Blood Forest?” Netta asked.

“No one knows exactly,” Malik said when Poppy looked at him. “The Blood Crown didn’t keep detailed records, but I once heard thousands were speculated.”

“That’s…” Netta took a long gulp of her wine. When she set her glass down, Emil refilled it. “Problematic.”

“Very much so,” my father agreed, “especially since these were…fresh. Very quick-footed.”

“Fresh?” Poppy set her glass down. “Do you think they were turned after the battle at the Bone Temple?”

“I’m nearly a hundred percent confident of such, which I will explain shortly,” he advised. “Thad assisted the best he could with the Craven but left it mostly up to us.”

“How many losses did we incur?” I asked, resting my elbow on the arm of the chair.

“About fifty,” he said, glancing toward me.

“Fifty trained soldiers lost to the Craven?” Aylard questioned.

My father looked across the table as Malik rolled the paperweight on his palm. “I’m surprised it wasn’t worse.”

“We crossed paths with some Craven on our journey here,” Aylard started. “We suffered no—”

“How many Craven did you encounter at once?” Poppy interrupted. “Ten? A dozen. Maybe two at most?”

“Never more than a dozen at a time, if that,” Damron said, her blue eyes narrowed on Aylard.

“And have you ever dealt with a swarm of them?” Poppy pressed. “Coming at you all at once with the same goal in mind. To feed?”

Aylard stiffened. “Well, no—”

“I have. The first time, I got the scars you always stare at,” Poppy stated, and I ran my fingers over my lips to hide my grin as La’Sere shifted uncomfortably in her seat—probably wishing she hadn’t sat beside the imbecile. “So have Casteel and Kieran. As have Naill, Emil, and Delano. And now Valyn has learned the kind of destruction a horde of them can wreak,” she continued. “If you had, then you would know that only losing fifty is a miracle.”


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