Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 69923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
I crashed flat on my back, wind evacuating my lungs. The mental shout to keep running came too late.
Nymphs swarmed me. Pinning down my legs, wrenching my arms off the babe, holding my head and shoulders down. They crowed their victory as they finally claimed their charge.
“Kill the thieving bitch!” That was a word they stole off the wind. “She will never harm our child again.”
A waddling little tree stump stomped down my chest... hefting a stone.
“No,” I croaked. The baby’s cries faded as they carried him back into the woods. “Don’t...”
Stepping on my neck, she cracked the stone on my face. Blood spurted from my ruined nose. She thought nothing of the blood, or stepping on the broken appendage. Screams ripped from my throat.
She hefted the stone again, bringing it down on my skull.
“Enough!”
I waited for the blow to come. And waited. And waited.
Peeling my eyes open, I jerked at the hate-filled, murderous glare filling my vision. The dryad glared at me, but she didn’t move. She didn’t drop her stone.
“Are you okay?” Gentle hands grasped me, helping me to my feet. My captors just rolled off me, making no move to stop me as they hit the ground and stayed there. “Gods, what did you do to provoke a dryad attack? I’ve never seen them do that before.”
“I...” I glanced up, and the words died on my tongue.
Hazel orbs blinked at me, squinting in true concern as he brushed my forehead and came away tacky with blood. He hadn’t stunned me because he was handsome—though he was that. Thick brown, almost black eyebrows crowned his hooded eyes, drawing your attention there, though what you wanted to stare at was his high, sculpted cheekbones and pronounced cleft chin. That water droplets were dripping down said cheekbones and chin only heightened their seductive power.
But no, what shocked me into silence was that I already knew this face. He was one of the guys laughing and joking with Alexander in the stadium.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I replied, shaking myself. “What did you do to them? Why aren’t they moving?”
“I froze them in time. Son of Kronos.” He dropped this like one said they would mend a tear in their pant leg. It was no big production. “You’re lucky I was on my way back and heard you. Another second and I would’ve frozen the moment your skull cracked open.”
“I can’t believe it, but luck did smile on me.” I peeled away from him and poked my head in the brush. A horde of frozen nymphs held the child, his mouth open in a silent cry. “And you.”
I faced our rescuer.
“Fuck! Where did that come from?”
“Someone must’ve abandoned him in the woods. The dryads adopted him and didn’t take too well to me carrying him away.”
With a snap of his fingers, he unfroze the baby and only the baby. I’d never seen such power, let alone witnessed it wielded with such control.
The babe resumed his crying immediately.
“That explains what set them off.” He tossed his wet hair, flicking droplets on the murderous dryads. “I’m Galen, by the way.”
“I’m—”
“Aella Galanis.” An odd smile twisted his lips. “I’ve heard of you.”
“I—”
“Thieves! Murderers!” A rock struck the ground beside me.
“There are more coming,” I cried.
“We need to go!”
We raced toward the steps, staying ahead of that rustle, rustle, rustling.
“You first,” Galen ordered, propelling me up the stairs. I chanced a peek back, my awe a living thing as he froze wave after wave of dryads pouring through the forest. They just kept coming.
“Shit!” Galen gave up and bounded after me. They couldn’t get to us from behind those doors.
I was first to reach them. Falling on the entrance, I strained to move the marble inch by agonizing inch.
“Hurry! Get through!”
Dryads bit at his heels, pelting him as they did me. Galen hit on the last step and collapsed through the gap. He kicked the door, swinging it shut. Dozens of screeching deities wailed on the other side.
Chest heaving, Galen dropped his head on the marble. “Is it always like this with you, Aella Galanis?”
I bounced the baby, settling him. The helpless thing needed a bath and changing right away. He smelled terrible.
“I can promise this is the first time I rescued a child from a vengeful forest. If luck continues to shine on me, it’ll be my last.”
“Come on.” Galen peeled himself off the floor. “We’ll find the headmaster. He’ll take over from here.” Galen put an arm around me, then frowned. “What’s that smell?”
“It’s the baby. They asked me for fresh swaddling for a reason.”
“But... that smells like...” Galen peeled back my jacket, releasing the ripe scent. “Sulfur! Aella, put it down! That’s not a—”
The child sprang out of my arms, screeching an ear-piercing, keening wail.
“Get down!”
Galen sprang between us and threw me to the floor. I bounced on the tile—flat-backed and in perfect view to see the child that wasn’t a child split its face open and roar through a maw of sharp, rotted teeth.