AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Consider it done. Take all the herb you need from the stores at Steel.” I scratched a note to the manager and handed it to her. “The note also asks for his help in setting up… intimate spaces around the site. That and free-flowing herbs should be enough distraction for you.”
She accepted the slip of paper in her dainty hands, then dipped into a curtsey. “Thank you, My King. I shall not disappoint.” Then she glided along to the door, passing Drazen on her way out.
The half-Dragon plopped down in her unoccupied seat. “You busy?”
“Not at all,” I said, leaning back in my chair and kicking my feet up on the desk. “What do you need, Drazen?”
“It was Kazimir that Izidora felt watching her yesterday. Confirmed the prints this morning after Kriath followed him out toward the mountains again.”
“Fuck!” I swore, dropping my feet and banging my fists onto the desk. “I’m going to fucking kill him. He cannot keep terrorizing her like this.” My chest heaved and I searched for something, anything, to slake this rage burning through me, because the need to protect my mate was driving me insane. Finding a liquor bottle, I threw it against the windows, the glass shattering with a satisfying crack, and the smoky scent of the liquid filled the air.
Drazen sat, arms crossed, his usual air of nonchalance on full display as I raged, waiting for me to calm down. “Your bond is fresh. Tell me again, why doesn’t Kazimir know?”
“She said she still feels this pull to him,” I grumbled, finally collapsing into the chair behind me. “Zuriel suggested she might need to speak the words aloud to break it off like she had to do to accept our bond.”
“But to do that, she’d have to get close to him.”
I nodded.
“And she does not want to do that.”
I nodded again, tilting my head to the side and popping my neck to relieve some tension. Blowing out a breath, I replied, “Nor do I want her that close to him. Who knows what he would do when he found out? He’s already stalking her.”
“Well, she can’t avoid confronting him forever,” Drazen pointed out.
“I know. I’m trying to let her figure it out on her own, but fuck! I want her to be safe.” I buried my head in my hands, trying to fight back the overwhelming urge to hunt her down and lock her in Roc Palace until Béke concluded.
“He won’t fuck with her if you’re around, Ruslan. Between the two of us and Zuriel, someone will be with her at all times from now on,” Drazen promised, his tone softening.
“Speaking of Zuriel, are he and Izidora training?” I asked. She had been exhausted last night after the excitement of choosing her dress for our wedding, the subsequent terror of feeling Kazimir’s attention on her, and then another session with Zuriel. I never asked what occurred in these sessions, but by the way she spoke of them, they were helping tremendously with her trauma. Despite her heightened emotional volatility and jumpiness, I thought they were working, too. Izidora told me that after each session, she felt like another layer had been stripped from her, and the transformation was incredible to behold from the outside looking in. The weight lifted from her left her shoulders looser, movements lighter, her breath flowing easier, and she bloomed more beautifully than I had ever imagined.
“As we speak. He told me he thinks there will be a war, and soon,” Drazen informed me.
I lifted my head from my hands, only to discover the worry in Drazen’s blue eyes and the stress lining his forehead. “And what do you think?” Because there was no doubt in my mind that Kazimir would wage war once Izidora broke off their bond.
“I agree with him.”
“Are you still sending patrols toward the borders?”
He nodded. “I’ve asked the scouts to report back immediately if they spot large movements in the distance.”
“Good.” I blew out another breath, then pushed to my feet. “There’s not much we can do but wait is there?”
“Nope,” he replied with a wry grin twisting his lips. “And I know that’s your least favorite thing to do.”
The makeshift arenahad once again been transformed. All the event materials from the strength and horseback competitions had been removed and dark tents spanned the area instead, beckoning in revelers with the smell of sugary treats and warm drinks. A blistering chill had settled over the afternoon, and as the sun dipped beyond the reach of the mountains, the wind picked up, blowing Izidora’s loose chestnut locks about.
In the center of the space, dried branches had been twisted and twined together to form an enormous tree, bags of herb hanging from the bare branches protruding at every level. The High Priestess stood before it, her acolytes twirling around it in a ritualistic dance that called to the deepest parts of us that were connected to nature all around us. The hairs on my arms stood on end as their chanting grew louder, drawing all in attendance closer to the dancing circle. The priestesses called flames to their hands, weaving them through the air as they illuminated the creeping night. Their magic bloomed, blending with their sisters’ around them, until a ring of fire danced around the offering, lofted by the fast-moving priestesses.
“Fire is cleansing,” the High Priestess shouted over the others’ chanting. “Fire is burning. Fire is destroying. Fire is life.” Her black robes billowed about her thin frame as if the wind that had been chilling us all had decided to blow all its attention on her. “Our Goddess, we offer you our souls this night. Purify our hearts for the coming year, and may you allow us to remain peaceful in your infinite wisdom.”
The dancing priestesses halted in their tracks, fingers splaying forward as they shot their flames into the dried brush, lighting the tree from bottom to top. The offering caughtimmediately, smoky crackling filling the air and blasting heat around the open field. The sweet scent of the herbs followed moments later, and I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with the drug. Down the bond, I sensed Izidora’s confusion.
“Breathe deeply, sprite. The herbs will make you feel tingly and lightheaded, and if it gets to be too much for you, just let me know and I’ll take you home.”
“Is it like wine?”
“Not exactly. You’ll know when it hits you. I promise I’ll be by your side the whole time.”
