Hellhound Born (Kasadya #3) by Karen Swart Read Free Book Online Page A

floor, I grabbed Ben and steadied him. He was covered in black ash and swiftly scanning Abby, she appeared to be covered in the stuff herself.
    “Abby, what in heaven’s name have you done now!?” Chax bellowed.
    She cringed and rolled off him.
    “Um.... we tried something and it kind of didn’t work,” she explained, grabbing the hand Lotan held out to pull her up.
    “What did you try?” Chax asked, climbing to his feet.
    Abby tried to dust off her clothes and looked at everyone now standing around staring at her.
    “We tried to build a small bomb,” she admitted, dejected.
    I burst out laughing, while Chax’s expression revealed he was about to explode. He glared at me and then back at Abby.
    “What?” Chax demanded, clearly upset with her.
     
    “Before you cuss her out, I can explain,” Ben said, moving between Abby and Chax.
    I smiled at the determined stand he had taken. I also noticed that he was very protective. Intrigued, I kept my eyes on him.
    “We used some of the Fallen elements and infused them with napalm. As you can see, it works. We just didn't think to test it outside,” he admitted, looking to Max for support.
    I looked over at Max to find he was smiling back.
    “Why would you want to create a bomb?” Chax asked, walking over to the door and looking down; his face fell even more before he scowled.
    “To make sure we can take down as many as possible, when the time comes,” Ben answered. 
    Chax stood there looking down at what I expected was chaos and sighed.
     
    “The house is never going to survive them,” I heard him mutter, before he turned around and looked at everyone.
    “Go get cleaned up,” he ordered, dismissing the two of them.
    “That was awesome,” Raven said from behind me. 
    We all started laughing, except for Chax.
    “Vulcan,” Chax said, his gaze shifting to address him, “we must find her a custos.”
    “I will take her,” Caim said, placing a hand on Raven’s shoulder.
    Zurita beamed at him and moved to stand closer to them.
    “Done,” Vulcan said, smiling at Chax, who did not appear impressed with the pair.
    Yeah, with Kali becoming the enemy, Caim didn’t have an apprendo.
    The thought reminded me of her betrayal and my mood plummeted again.
     
    My emotions were a roller-coaster at this stage. One moment I was angry, the next I was riding the guilt wagon. But most of the time I felt tired. I just wanted to crawl under a rock and disappear.
    “Fine then, I think we all should get some rest. Tomorrow the hunt continues,” Chax said and I felt his hand on my arm.
    Looking up, I met his eyes and I could see some understanding.
    “Do you want to return to the cottage?” he asked me.
    I noticed that the others were walking away, going about their business.
    Good question.
    Did I want to stay here and risk running into Zurita constantly? Oh, and let’s not forget Raven. Or did I want to go to the place that was built just for me? I didn’t have a clue where I wanted to be at that moment.
    “Go upstairs and get some rest. It will get better with time,” he decided for me.
    I nodded my head in acceptance and headed upstairs. With some luck, I didn’t run into anyone in the hall so I made it to my room without any more crap directed at me. I walked inside and closed the door behind me. Walking over to the bed I sat down and looked around.
    This doesn’t feel like my room anymore.
    Just glancing around brought back memories of me and Kali.
    Why the hell did she do that to me?!
    I jumped up and started to pace. My memories were trapping me in the past, forcing me to re-live Ryan's death, and Kali’s betrayal. My door flew open and Chax stormed in. He kicked it closed behind him and walked straight to me, as I took a step back from him.
     
    Ignoring my retreat, he grabbed me and crushed me to his chest while murmuring, “Breathe Kasadya.”
    I automatically drew in a deep breath finally registering what had just happened yet again. Tears burned my