AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Happy to be of service, My Goddess.” He chuckled while rubbing warmth into my arms.
We stilled at a knock on the door.
“Your graces,” one of the servants called. “Forgive the interruption, but the dragons and wyverns have returned.”
I stiffened at that before giving Drae a look. “Do you think they found anything?”
He shrugged.
Shiri!
I froze when Tari’s urgent voice echoed in my head. What is it?
They’ve found Thorin. We need you.
Dread sluiced through my veins at the thought of facing the mind spinner. Okay, I answered as I reluctantly untangled myself from Drae and conveyed my sister’s message to him.
I quickly washed between my legs, and then we got out of the tub and dressed in haste, our bodies still damp.
I was almost upon the door when Drae called to me. “You didn’t drink your tea.” He held up the chipped porcelain cup that I had set beside the dresser.
I paused, my hand on the doorknob. “I hate how it makes me feel, and it slows my magic.” I needed to be able to activate my siren before Thorin used his magic on us.
Drae quickly crossed over to me while palming the cup. “Shiri, you have to drink it. We can’t take risks when it comes to the mind spinner.” He thrust the tea toward me.
“Fine.” I heaved a groan of defeat. “But what if only one of us drinks the tea?”
He gave me a questioning look.
“Hear me out,” I said. “Since you’re getting better at creating curse chambers, you can protect us while I summon my magic.”
He shook his head. “What if Thorin alters my memories?”
“It will only be temporary until Tari or I kill him,” I answered.
His mouth flattened into a grim line before he nodded his agreement.
I took the cup from him, reluctantly drinking it down in a few swallows and then handing it back to him. “Better?”
“Yes.” His shoulders sagged as he offered me a tight smile. “Thank you.”
I kissed his cheek, grateful to him for looking out for me, even though I still wasn’t sure we’d made the right decision.
“Let’s get this over with,” I grumbled as I jerked open the door. My gut churned and my knees wobbled at the thought of going up against a demon while waiting for my siren voice to activate. I prayed we survived the encounter.
Thorin
THORIN CURSED HIS BAD luck while trudging through the thick brush, dodging branches as thorns ripped open his arms and face. He’d been forced to wander off the path when he heard the wyverns overhead. They were looking for him, he knew it. While his mind-spinning magic had always been strong enough to work on smarter creatures like satyrs and dragons, his powers had never worked on animals with simple minds. He feared the wyverns wouldn’t succumb to his mind-spinning. Then what? He didn’t trust the creatures not to tear him limb from limb. Wyverns were known for their voracious appetites and sharp claws. He’d rather not find out what they planned to do to him.
He stumbled over a root, swearing when he landed hard on his knee. It took all his effort to get back up, as his old bones were tired and sore. He should’ve been more conservative with Anya’s elixir. His supply had run dry, and he had nobody to heal him. Leaning on his staff, he trudged toward a clearing and sat down on a fallen log, dusting debris off his robes. His escape was futile. He was too tired to trek through these woods any longer. He hadn’t gotten very far, and already he was winded. It was getting harder to see, as the waning moonlight and twinkling stars kept dipping behind the clouds. Perhaps he should return to Cyrene and try his luck there. Already he missed his warm bed and his whores. He’d been like a father to Anya for the past two years. Surely she would take pity on him. Perhaps she would even agree to heal his sore bones.
The moon had just revealed itself once more when a dark shadow passed above him, letting out an enraged squawk. Thorin let out a yelp and jumped from the log, stumbling toward the bushes once more. His heart plummeted when he realized these wyverns were hunting him, no doubt at Anya’s bidding.
He was almost upon a particularly thick and thorny bush when the leaves moved. His sore wing muscles pushed him back as dozens of little crimson eyes blinked back at him.
Demonlings!
Fear of wyverns forgotten, these demonic spiders were a bigger threat, for they only did their mistress’s bidding. He couldn’t go back to her. He wouldn’t. Despite swearing a painful blood oath, he’d managed to evade her clutches for the past two years. And then a few weeks ago she’d captured him and made it clear she was displeased. If he hadn’t escaped her clutches, she would’ve killed him.
