Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 136009 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136009 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
It was gone.
***
Roake crept through the Bryonican woods at night. He was still furious that Kerrigan and Fordham had tied him up and left him there to rot. Luckily, he’d used his magic to slip free of the restraints before anyone but Isa had seen his predicament. He’d thought for a time that Isa was going to tell Bastian what had happened. That he’d be just as dead as Gerrond in those dungeons.
But things had gone as they were.
Save for the furious preparations for the Society forum and Bastian’s insistence on pushing forward with their plans.
Bastian wasn’t worried about Kerrigan though. So Roake wouldn’t worry about Kerrigan either. The Society was superior. Had been for generations. No upstart could take them down.
The only thing he needed to guarantee in all this was Audria’s safety. She was what mattered. She’d come around. He was sure of it.
“Don’t take another step,” a voice rang out from his left as he stepped into a clearing.
And there his beautiful love stood, wreathed in moonlight, her golden hair tucked up tight. She was out of her typical fancy dresses and in flying leathers. Her dragon must have been near to leave her here alone.
“Hello, love,” Roake said, taking that final step.
Audria raised her hands as if prepared to fight. “Roake, I’m warning you.”
“You showed up.”
“I shouldn’t have,” she said, pursing her lips.
“Are we truly on opposite sides of this battle?”
“We don’t have to be. You could come back with me and—”
“Be imprisoned,” he said. “Kerrigan and Fordham tied me up. They don’t trust me.”
“They’d listen to me.”
“Would they?”
“If you fought with us.”
“That’s never going to happen, love,” Roake said. “Kerrigan would kill me before letting me into her army. She only hasn’t because…well, I don’t know why.”
“I asked her not to,” Audria said on a breath.
“And why is that?”
“You know why.”
Roake tilted his head. “Because you love me.”
“No,” Audria said with a shake of her head. “I can’t love you. You lied to us for all these years. You believe what he’s saying. You work for him, Roake. Can’t you see that my heart is broken?”
Roake closed the few steps and pulled Audria into his arms. They were on opposite sides of this war. She did love him whether or not she’d admit it. He opened his mouth to try to beg her to come with him anyway when he felt a click in his chest.
Audria gasped. Her hand went to her chest. “What did you do?” she accused.
“Me?” he asked. His own hand was at his center. “Nothing.”
“Something attached to my magic,” Audria said, pushing away from him. “Make it stop.”
“I can’t. It attached to mine too.”
“What is it?” Audria asked.
Neither of them had answers as the click happened a second time, ripping their bonds free from their dragons. They both collapsed into the grass. Audria screamed. Roake had never known such pain. Even the love of his life couldn’t make up for the loss of his dragon.
***
A hand fell on Cyrene’s shoulder. “Must you?”
She turned with a wicked smile as she swung Shadowbreaker up and rested the tendrille blade at her lover’s throat. “Practice makes perfect.”
Dean pivoted, hitting her wrist. The move broke her hold, dropping the sword into his hand. He swept it up to his shoulder.
“Show-off,” she grumbled.
“I grew up royalty,” he said, brushing a kiss to her lips. “Some things are just ingrained.”
“I never wanted the stupid sword anyway.”
“You’re getting better with it,” he acknowledged, weighing the magic-repellant blade in his hand. “And it was made for you.”
“Give me magic, and I’m fine,” Cyrene said. “Or a pretty dress. I really kill in a pretty dress.”
Dean snorted. “Red’s your color.”
She winked at him. “You know me so well.”
“Creator, I hope so. I went to the ends of the world and back for you.”
Cyrene leaned forward, greedy for another kiss. As his lips landed on hers, a click registered in her chest.
“Uh…”
“Did you feel that?” he asked, instantly changing from her dreamy husband to the battle-hardened man he’d become.
Cyrene didn’t think this was an enemy they could fight.
“It’s on my magic,” he growled. “What monster has come for us?”
Cyrene didn’t have an answer for that, but her intuition blew through her. It had not been that long ago that she had seen Kerrigan in that other world. Walked her through her Doma entrance and seen her recover her magic. She had known there would be repercussions. Had waited for them day in and day out.
All magic came with a price. Cyrene and Dean knew that well enough.
Was this the price?
She gasped as the second click brought her to her knees. “Sarielle!”
Her dragon.
Her dragon bond was…gone.
“Kerrigan, what have you done?”
***
Alura was in another damned council meeting about this forum. The thing had lasted for hours now. She wanted to stop listening to the other council members droning on about the importance of hearing the populace’s requests.