Read Online Minstrel's Serenade by Aubrie Dionne - Free Book Online
Authors: Aubrie Dionne
Tags: Romance, Fantasy, Magic, Epic, music, Dragons, swords, sorcery, castle, Princess, necromancer, 978-1-61650-550-9, and
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ground, a feathered arrow lodged in his shoulder.
No, no, no. The gods would not allow it...
She ran to Valorian’s side, her heart thumping wildly.
Bron stood in front of them alone, a barrier of muscle, and held up his sword. The forest stirred around them as the beasts awoke from the spell.
Valorian clutched the shaft with his good hand. The arrow had torn his richly embroidered riding vest and stuck right into the muscle. Thank Helena the tip hadn’t struck his lung.
Danika placed both her hands on the wound and pressed against the flow of blood. “Hold still. Don’t move.”
He grasped her hand with his bloodied fingers. Branches creaked in the darkness. A wiry kobold, no bigger than Nip, stepped into the clearing. A sly grin spread through his pasty lips. Bark and pine needles stuck out of his ears. Clever bastard.
The kobold fired again, at Bron, and the warrior deflected the arrow like a chicken leg at dinnertime. Laughter erupted from the shadows as the kobold’s friends slowly woke up.
Danika gazed down at Valorian and his eyes watered with pain, yet held a determination she hadn’t seen before. “I have to sing.”
Just as Valorian began a ring of kobolds entered the clearing. Some stood three heads taller than Bron, and others only came up to his knees. They wore patches of leather around their groins and various-sized teeth around their necks. Some had one horn, whereas others had two or three sprouting from their heads like defiant fingers.
The horses whinnied, gazing skittishly around them. The lead pair pulled on their harnesses. Thunderhooves snorted with unease. Danika glanced at the carriage. Would Nip stay put?
“Red streaks adorn
The starling’s breast.
As he flies the twilight skies,
You think you’ve won
Oh, foul hunter
But the game has just begun.”
Valorian’s voice, although still sweet, shook from pain, and there were no chords to support it. Valorian’s voice fell to a whisper on the second verse. The kobolds hesitated long enough for Bron to get a good swipe then pounced on him in a horde. The warrior pulled them off, one after another, flinging their broken bodies into the forest. For every kobold he tore down, another three came at him. They bit his legs, jabbed at his eyes and climbed up his back, scratching his bald head.
Behind her, they climbed on the horses. Thunderhooves reared, kicking two with his front hooves, but another three took their place, this time holding sharp daggers.
Danika’s heart tore in two. If she left Valorian he’d bleed to death, but if she stayed, the sheer number of kobolds would overwhelm Bron.
Either way, their mission had failed. The kingdom would fall to the fires of the She-Beast, and man would no longer reign in this world.
The call of a low horn echoed over the battle in a long, primal swell, tearing the bottom from Danika’s heart. She’d know that sound anywhere. The call belonged to the dead army of Sill.
The kobolds stopped at once, their ears perked to the sky. Bron kicked the closest ones away and scanned the trees.
Danika had thought the night couldn’t get any worse. Fate had misled her.
The horn blew again as if answering everyone’s question in an ugly bleat. The kobolds cried and scampered into the forest, leaving them alone in the clearing. The wind picked up, sending boughs creaking and pine needles rustling as if the forest breathed in anticipation.
Bron turned to Danika with sorrow in his eyes. A thousand stolen glances could not deliver the pain and longing in that one gaze meant only for her.
Danika mouthed the words, unable to speak. “It cannot be.”
Chapter 8
Woman of the Forest
The woods parted and a single figure in a tattered ebony robe strode into the clearing with purposeful steps. Danika’s heart climbed to her throat and she swallowed her fear, reminding herself Ebonvale’s army had defeated the necromancer king in a campaign lasting all of her preteen years.
No, no, no. The gods would not allow it...
She ran to Valorian’s side, her heart thumping wildly.
Bron stood in front of them alone, a barrier of muscle, and held up his sword. The forest stirred around them as the beasts awoke from the spell.
Valorian clutched the shaft with his good hand. The arrow had torn his richly embroidered riding vest and stuck right into the muscle. Thank Helena the tip hadn’t struck his lung.
Danika placed both her hands on the wound and pressed against the flow of blood. “Hold still. Don’t move.”
He grasped her hand with his bloodied fingers. Branches creaked in the darkness. A wiry kobold, no bigger than Nip, stepped into the clearing. A sly grin spread through his pasty lips. Bark and pine needles stuck out of his ears. Clever bastard.
The kobold fired again, at Bron, and the warrior deflected the arrow like a chicken leg at dinnertime. Laughter erupted from the shadows as the kobold’s friends slowly woke up.
Danika gazed down at Valorian and his eyes watered with pain, yet held a determination she hadn’t seen before. “I have to sing.”
Just as Valorian began a ring of kobolds entered the clearing. Some stood three heads taller than Bron, and others only came up to his knees. They wore patches of leather around their groins and various-sized teeth around their necks. Some had one horn, whereas others had two or three sprouting from their heads like defiant fingers.
The horses whinnied, gazing skittishly around them. The lead pair pulled on their harnesses. Thunderhooves snorted with unease. Danika glanced at the carriage. Would Nip stay put?
“Red streaks adorn
The starling’s breast.
As he flies the twilight skies,
You think you’ve won
Oh, foul hunter
But the game has just begun.”
Valorian’s voice, although still sweet, shook from pain, and there were no chords to support it. Valorian’s voice fell to a whisper on the second verse. The kobolds hesitated long enough for Bron to get a good swipe then pounced on him in a horde. The warrior pulled them off, one after another, flinging their broken bodies into the forest. For every kobold he tore down, another three came at him. They bit his legs, jabbed at his eyes and climbed up his back, scratching his bald head.
Behind her, they climbed on the horses. Thunderhooves reared, kicking two with his front hooves, but another three took their place, this time holding sharp daggers.
Danika’s heart tore in two. If she left Valorian he’d bleed to death, but if she stayed, the sheer number of kobolds would overwhelm Bron.
Either way, their mission had failed. The kingdom would fall to the fires of the She-Beast, and man would no longer reign in this world.
The call of a low horn echoed over the battle in a long, primal swell, tearing the bottom from Danika’s heart. She’d know that sound anywhere. The call belonged to the dead army of Sill.
The kobolds stopped at once, their ears perked to the sky. Bron kicked the closest ones away and scanned the trees.
Danika had thought the night couldn’t get any worse. Fate had misled her.
The horn blew again as if answering everyone’s question in an ugly bleat. The kobolds cried and scampered into the forest, leaving them alone in the clearing. The wind picked up, sending boughs creaking and pine needles rustling as if the forest breathed in anticipation.
Bron turned to Danika with sorrow in his eyes. A thousand stolen glances could not deliver the pain and longing in that one gaze meant only for her.
Danika mouthed the words, unable to speak. “It cannot be.”
Chapter 8
Woman of the Forest
The woods parted and a single figure in a tattered ebony robe strode into the clearing with purposeful steps. Danika’s heart climbed to her throat and she swallowed her fear, reminding herself Ebonvale’s army had defeated the necromancer king in a campaign lasting all of her preteen years.
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