Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 88613 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88613 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
“Exactly.” Caleb stepped forward. “And you took out both of those cultists with my help.”
He said the word “cultists” as if he was fighting back the urge to vomit.
He was also right. He had helped me. That was nice of him, sure, but that didn’t mean I owed him shit. Humans loved doing that. Keeping tabs. It got annoying after a while.
“The least you can do is come back to my offices and answer a few questions,” he pushed.
I threw another glance at the painting. Seeing it torn up, knowing that this was all a trap—a waste of fucking time—made me angry, especially when there wasn’t much more time left. Not for Amelia. Every minute I wasted here was another minute she pushed closer to death and further away from seeing her life goal accomplished: uniting the three Moriarty paintings.
“I’m sorry,” I said, turning my back on Caleb. “I have to go.”
“But—”
I didn’t stick around to hear him speak. I ran forward and launched myself through the open window. Broken glass scratched at my shoulders and sides, the window frame itself cracked and splitting to fit my large size. Blue mist surrounded me as the wind whipped against my face, and the ground raced to meet me, skinny palm trees appearing to reach their fronds out to catch me. In only a few seconds, I was fully transformed, my human body changing to my most natural form: an icy-blue dragon the size of a tank, my leathery wings catching the wind and lifting me up as gracefully as if I were a falcon.
I craned my neck and looked back at the apartment. Caleb stood at the broken window, jaw dropped, eyes wide, mana gone. He looked angry, but more so, he looked impressed.
My lips cracked into a smile as I tasted the fresh wind on my forked tongue.
Hope that cutie finds whatever he’s looking for.
Chapter 2
Big Mistake
Caleb
Wow.
It was all I could think as I watched the ice dragon get smaller and smaller in the sky, his mosaic of blue shaded scales flashing against the pale sky. He was massive, with a wide frame and huge wings that somehow managed to keep him flying, and with the grace of something much, much smaller. Agile like a falcon and as powerful as a tank. He had turned to look back at me at one point, revealing a head of menacing horns aimed forward, like that of a bull’s. But there was a glint of something else in his eyes that defanged that threatening feeling.
And then I remembered that bastard had fled the scene of a crime, and my awe instantly dissipated. Annoyance and frustration returned in its place.
Still… I had to admit, the man—no, the dragon—was beautiful in a way I could hardly describe. Otherworldly and powerful, imposing yet gentle. And that was all in the dragon’s human form. There was no denying it. Not when my heart pounded in my chest from just looking into his eyes, a pounding that grew in strength the longer he was around. And I didn’t think it was entirely because of the near life-or-death scenario we’d been thrown into either.
A crunching sound came from behind me.
Shit.
A hand latched against my mouth and an arm twisted around my chest, pinning my hands down.
I focused past the panic and channeled the threads of mana around me. I opened my hands and let loose a stream of baby blue mana weaving it with a deep cerulean thread, all the while trying to envision what I wanted.
The threads spread across the dusty wooden floor and walls of the attic, like paint being spilled from a bucket.
Seconds later, flames erupted in the room, licking up the walls and crackling against our feet, consuming more of the covered paintings that sat propped up around the room. An unsettling heat rose from my feet, mixing with the thick smoke that began to fill the tight space.
The illusionary spells of a Marvel weren’t only visual either; they could feel as real as an actual fire.
Her grip on me only grew tighter. “I saw you cast that, idiot.”
Damn it.
“Maybe channel your threads so that the person you’re trying to trick can’t see them next time.”
The sharp prick of a dagger poked at my ribs with every breath. I had to
“Not that there’ll be a—“
I snapped my head back. It cracked against my assailant’s forehead. The sudden shock was all I needed to twist an arm free and jam my elbow back into their chest. The hold they had on me gave way, and I spun around.
The flames around our feet turned a bright green in color before the illusion flickered away almost as quickly as I summoned it, leaving a fireless room with two dead cultists and a pissed-off fae. Blood dripped from above her eyebrow, down into her emerald eyes.