Read Online Breath of Flame and Shadow by Ophelia Bell - Free Book Online
Authors: Ophelia Bell
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the cause when she left here. Your love be damned. She’s a good dragon. Are you as good as she is?”
“She told you this?” Rafe asked.
“Not so much. She needs to learn to shield her thoughts. She was determined to help us when she left, but there were some very unsavory thoughts that involved you. So be careful when you do find her.”
“You’ll tell me where she went?”
“Yes, but only if you promise to come back. Zak has some unfinished business with the two of you.”
“Brother, if everything works out, we will most certainly be back and I will accept whatever punishment you two feel the need to give me.”
Darius’s broad grin suggested that the dragon would relish every second of it. Rafe scowled at him.
Darius rested a comforting hand on Rafe’s arm and his expression slipped back into seriousness. “She’s resting in one of the resort villages on another island. I expect she’ll be well received there, brother. They’re known for harboring dragons, whether the clientele realize it or not. One of the resort owners is bonded to a dragon. His family has been for generations. They may not know what she is, but they will be willing to service her.”
“You have an advantage in some ways, you know,” Rafe said. “Your kind are not left in the dark for centuries to protect the bloodlines. You can’t breed, but you know so much more than we do.”
“I do know more,” Darius said. “The Council has always had a plan for you. The ones they can control. I don’t think they really know what they’re getting, though. They let too many slip through their fingers. Their plans are falling apart now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Walk with me and I’ll tell you about your lover.”
Rafe humored the man, sure he was crazy, but once they’d traveled up a worn, rocky path away from the Monastery, Darius said, “Once the Verdanith is assembled, things will change. The Council will take a step back, but they’ll always be watching.”
“What if we get Rowan to…”
“It has little to do with her. Her presence will help, but not for the reasons you think.”
“You’re being very cryptic, you realize this, right?”
Darius laughed, the sound shaking his broad chest and making Rafe wonder what kinds of things the man had done with Rowan, and especially how well she’d enjoyed them.
“There’s always more to the Council than they let on. Their tie to the Mother is strong, but not as strong as the Catalyst’s. Since the ritual, Kris has learned the answers, but his hands are tied. He can’t overtly tell you what he knows.”
Darius gripped Rafe’s shirt and pulled him hard into a shadowy spot along the path. He pressed his lips against Rafe’s ear. “You believe in fate, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. I don’t know a single dragon who doesn’t.”
“The Council’s been struggling for centuries to hang on to what little control they have. But they are at a loss as to how to change fate. They’ve been trying for generations to gain some control and have only just discovered that they are as caught in the web as all the rest of us. If they keep struggling at this point, they’ll only destroy themselves.”
“What did Kris tell you?” Rafe asked through clenched teeth. “What does it have to do with Rowan and the Verdanith?”
“I can’t even be sure it’s her, but several months ago Kris told me he dreamed of a red spider who would arrive in the dark. It would pluck the threads that bind us all, draw us together, and carry us into the sunrise.”
“And that’s supposed to mean something to me?”
“Zak and I shared a little of her essence when she was here. It was strong enough to leave us drunk, even the small amount we could take. She likely has the blood of a queen. If she’s that strong and was raised in this new world her entire life, her presence will be enough to convince the Council the path to her sun is the right one.”
“But you and I
“She told you this?” Rafe asked.
“Not so much. She needs to learn to shield her thoughts. She was determined to help us when she left, but there were some very unsavory thoughts that involved you. So be careful when you do find her.”
“You’ll tell me where she went?”
“Yes, but only if you promise to come back. Zak has some unfinished business with the two of you.”
“Brother, if everything works out, we will most certainly be back and I will accept whatever punishment you two feel the need to give me.”
Darius’s broad grin suggested that the dragon would relish every second of it. Rafe scowled at him.
Darius rested a comforting hand on Rafe’s arm and his expression slipped back into seriousness. “She’s resting in one of the resort villages on another island. I expect she’ll be well received there, brother. They’re known for harboring dragons, whether the clientele realize it or not. One of the resort owners is bonded to a dragon. His family has been for generations. They may not know what she is, but they will be willing to service her.”
“You have an advantage in some ways, you know,” Rafe said. “Your kind are not left in the dark for centuries to protect the bloodlines. You can’t breed, but you know so much more than we do.”
“I do know more,” Darius said. “The Council has always had a plan for you. The ones they can control. I don’t think they really know what they’re getting, though. They let too many slip through their fingers. Their plans are falling apart now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Walk with me and I’ll tell you about your lover.”
Rafe humored the man, sure he was crazy, but once they’d traveled up a worn, rocky path away from the Monastery, Darius said, “Once the Verdanith is assembled, things will change. The Council will take a step back, but they’ll always be watching.”
“What if we get Rowan to…”
“It has little to do with her. Her presence will help, but not for the reasons you think.”
“You’re being very cryptic, you realize this, right?”
Darius laughed, the sound shaking his broad chest and making Rafe wonder what kinds of things the man had done with Rowan, and especially how well she’d enjoyed them.
“There’s always more to the Council than they let on. Their tie to the Mother is strong, but not as strong as the Catalyst’s. Since the ritual, Kris has learned the answers, but his hands are tied. He can’t overtly tell you what he knows.”
Darius gripped Rafe’s shirt and pulled him hard into a shadowy spot along the path. He pressed his lips against Rafe’s ear. “You believe in fate, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. I don’t know a single dragon who doesn’t.”
“The Council’s been struggling for centuries to hang on to what little control they have. But they are at a loss as to how to change fate. They’ve been trying for generations to gain some control and have only just discovered that they are as caught in the web as all the rest of us. If they keep struggling at this point, they’ll only destroy themselves.”
“What did Kris tell you?” Rafe asked through clenched teeth. “What does it have to do with Rowan and the Verdanith?”
“I can’t even be sure it’s her, but several months ago Kris told me he dreamed of a red spider who would arrive in the dark. It would pluck the threads that bind us all, draw us together, and carry us into the sunrise.”
“And that’s supposed to mean something to me?”
“Zak and I shared a little of her essence when she was here. It was strong enough to leave us drunk, even the small amount we could take. She likely has the blood of a queen. If she’s that strong and was raised in this new world her entire life, her presence will be enough to convince the Council the path to her sun is the right one.”
“But you and I
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