Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 85552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Fast, Ty charged for the guard near Xander, seized the sword, unsheathed it in a blur, and cut off his head.
Gasping, I stepped back.
The head dropped to the ground, exploding into a burst of murky slime and pale flesh.
“Quick. Grab her!” a guard yelled.
Xander leaped six feet into the air and dropped on the guard. Xander sank his fangs into the guard’s neck, piercing the artery. Blood pooled around Xander’s mouth and sprayed my face.
“Ah!” The guard’s hands went to his neck. “Oh, Ambi!”
A chunk of the guard’s neck lay between Xander’s teeth as he ripped the rest of the neck apart. Red blood and green mucus dripped down Xander’s chin. Veins stuck out from the fleshy meat as it still moved. He spat it out.
“No!” The guard waved his arms. “Please!”
With a wooden dagger in his other hand, Xander jabbed it into his chest. The blade sliced into the guard’s torso like butter. Cold blood squirted on my arm.
Xander shoved him into the street. The dead body hit the ground with a boom. The stench of rotting flesh floated up from the corpse.
I formed my hands into fists.
I didn’t have Ty and Xander’s strength, but I refused to return to the castle. I would rather fight and die than be dragged back to slavery.
The last guard battled Ty. They punched and kicked with blinding speed.
I got behind the guard and yanked him down by the hair. It felt like pulling at a concrete wall, still the guard slipped on a puddle of slime and collapsed to the ground.
“Good job.” Ty swooped down on the fallen guard, tore open his chest, and sliced his heart with a small wooden knife.
Shaking, I scanned the area.
All the guards were dead.
Xander captured me from behind. “What were they looking for?”
“They. . .”
“I want answers!” Xander dragged me to the edge of a dark alley and pressed me into the wall.
“I-I can explain.” I climbed out of his hands.
Xander wiped the blood off his face with his coat. “Take off your shawl.”
“Ease up, Xan.” Ty showed up by my side within seconds. “I was going to tell you once we got into the sewers.”
I concentrated on not vomiting and breathed in and out, desperately trying not to look at the blood and mucus now dripping from Xander’s coat sleeve.
“Take it off,” Xander barked.
With shaking hands, I pulled the shawl off my shoulders and dropped it to the ground.
“Xan, back up. You’re scaring her.” Ty attempted to position himself between Xander and me, but couldn’t squeeze in. “She’s a domina. I knew in the bar when I saw the edge of her robe.”
“And these white symbols on the collar?” Xander touched some of my embroidery and then yanked his hand away as if they were repulsive.
I whispered, “It means—”
“Silence!” Xander roared. “You had your chance to tell me the truth.”
Flinching, I leaned my body into the wall. The jagged grooves of the wall dug into my skin, but I welcomed the tiny hurt behind me instead of confronting the huge vampire in front of me.
With my left hand, I fingered my locket at my neck. The cold metal calmed me a little as I stroked it.
“She’s untouched,” Ty explained. “No vampire has drunk her blood or had sex with her. That’s what the embroidery means, unless the castle has changed their codes from the time I guarded there.”
“You’re right.” I turned my head his way and hoped to find an alliance with Ty. “I’m untouched.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Xander gazed at Ty.
“Because we need the money, and I figured you wouldn’t do it if you knew.” Ty edged closer and shielded me a little more. “She wants her freedom. That’s what we do, help people find their path out of slavery.”
Xander narrowed his gold eyes on me. “But we don’t assist the king’s whores.”
My panic transformed to rage.
How dare he?
“I’m no one’s whore.” I released the locket and clenched my hand into a fist. “You don’t want to help me, then that’s fine. Move so I can do it myself.”
I stepped to the side.
Xander blocked me with his arm, so fast I almost wasn’t sure if it had been there the whole time.
“You know my face and my name. If you get caught, and you will, you’ll give me up as soon as they even think about your punishment.”
“No, I won’t.” I shoved his arm with all my strength, but it wouldn’t budge. I blew out an exasperated breath. “Will you help me?”
“No. I’ll probably just drain and kill you.”
Ty chuckled and moved away from us until he was on the wall behind Xander. “Don’t worry, domina. He’s no killer of women. He’s only trying to scare you.”
Xander’s lips lowered into a frown. I remained where I was, just in case. I’d witnessed Xander tearing a guard’s neck away with his teeth. I didn’t want to make him my enemy.