Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
I was surfacing again when a hand grabbed my hair, yanking so hard I screamed underwater, swallowing and choking on water as I was dragged out of the lake.
I was still coughing up water as I was dragged onto the soft, thick carpet of grass.
“Serin!” Nira called.
I couldn’t turn my head to see her as the hand tugged my hair harder, making pain shoot across my scalp. But it helped to know she was still there. Alive. Conscious.
I expected to find the troll standing over me, but when my head was yanked backward, it was the redheaded fae who had pulled me out of the water.
I felt something close to hope swelling. I wasn’t a fool; I knew I had no chance of winning a fight against the troll. But this fae? He was similar in size to me. Maybe he was stronger. On the other hand, I had the better motivation. I had everything to lose. Because I would rather be killed right here on the shore of my lake than be taken back to Grimwood.
I knew what he would have in store for me.
Imprisonment.
Then torture to force answers out of me about Jet, about Cass, about the Dark Court and their plans.
That couldn’t happen.
I had to fight.
Reaching up, I grabbed my hair closer to the root, making it harder for him to use it against me.
I had no weapon. My sword was somewhere over by Nira, and I hoped she would use it for herself if she needed it.
But our lessons hadn’t been all sword fighting.
She’d taught me some things about anatomy too. Especially about a certain weak spot in the male anatomy.
On my knees in this position, I had a really good shot at not missing my target.
I took my free hand, but instead of balling it into a fist like she’d shown me in certain hand-to-hand fights, I curled in my fingers and jutted out my palm.
“A palm strike allows you to use your full force more safely.”
Then I did what she told me to do.
“Don’t hold back. Don’t ever hold back. If you are in a fight, you have to assume you are in a fight to your death. Never pull your punches. Never hesitate. Fight with everything you have every moment you have.”
I slammed my palm into the redhead’s crotch over and over and over.
Five, six times before he could even react enough to release my hair.
His hands moved down, protecting himself.
But that was okay. Because I was free.
I shot up to my feet and struck every soft spot I could find: nose, mouth, cheeks, throat.
Just as I was sure I was getting the upper hand, a loud, sick crunch filled the air, making me whip around and find the troll standing over a limp Nira, a rock still in his hand. Bright red blood stained the edge.
And he was lifting his massive arm again.
A scream started to build, but I fought it back.
Screaming wouldn’t help.
But my lake? My lake could.
I’d only ever had it protect me before, but if I willed it, couldn’t it possibly protect Nira?
It was worth a try.
I squeezed my eyes tight, ignoring the pain as the redhead’s fist collided with my cheek, and focused on my lake.
Save her, I begged. Save her. Kill him if necessary, but save her.
There was one moment of horrifying stillness, save for the hand that wrapped around my throat.
Then, just as I felt my lungs tighten and my vision go hazy around the edges, I felt it, heard it, then saw it.
The water rising up, gathering strength, looming over the back of the troll.
He glanced up, face twisting in surprise, then dread, as he came face to face with his fate.
Then the water crashed down, swallowing him whole, but merely drifting under Nira’s still body, gently cradling her as the troll’s scream died on a choke.
That was it.
It was done.
She was safe.
The fog closed in tighter around my eyes.
“You bitch!” the fae snarled, releasing my throat.
I gasped for breath, but each swallow felt like glass scratching down my throat.
“Vrad!” he yelled, rushing over toward the water.
But there was no use.
The wall of death was gone.
The troll was swallowed up in the water’s depths.
Nira floated in the water, her hair dancing peacefully across the surface.
I could have commanded the water to help me. But before I could form a thought, the fae whipped back around, grabbed that limb he’d been carrying to hit Nira with before, cocked it, and swung.
Everything went dark.
—
I woke with a gasp, pain screaming through my shoulders and something biting into my wrists.
What was going on?
What hurt so bad?
It took a long moment for the unconsciousness to fade and the memories to return.
The lake.
Peace.
Enjoyment.
Then… Nira, the troll, the redhead.
The wall of water, a floating Nira, and blackness.
My head whipped up and I was looking at the back of the redheaded fae.