Read Online Shadow Queen by B.R. Nicholson - Free Book Online

uttered.
     
     
    ***
     
     
    Fatigue had driven Astrid into the ground,
too weak to stand. She couldn’t remember ever feeling such strain
to take a step, let alone walk. The wind roared overhead as she
buried her face in her arms. Rain pelted her from above. Flashes of
lightning lit up the flesh of her closed eyes. Thunder shook the
world around her with a fury she had never imagined possible.
    Astrid lay bowed down against the storm, the
rain beating her further into a muddy grave. No , she
thought, snaking a shaky arm out before her, I’ll not die like
this. I’ve cheated Death before, I’ll do it again.
    She spat the dusty rain water from her gaping
mouth and started to crawl her way to safety. One labored claw
after another, she pulled herself across the storm-ravaged earth.
Her breaths were ragged and came in great gasps. She feared
stopping, knowing that she would not have to strength to keep
moving.
    Lighting flashed about her with blast of
white light. A face from a distant past flooded her vision— an elf
with troubled blue eyes and wild blond hair. His stare jarred her,
chilling her heart with fear. The lightening gave a second flash,
revealing a much more familiar face. Luka blinked at her through
the rain, his phoenix face easing into a smile.
    Astrid could feel her body relax from its
state of panic. “It’s about damn time you showed up,” she said,
latching onto his outstretched hand. “I was beginning to think you
finally got tired of rescuing me.”
    He laughed, plucking her from the mud. “I
figured I may have to have the favor returned someday. It’s helpful
if the indebted individual is alive , though.”
    Luka sheltered Astrid beneath a large golden
shield. She watched as the heavy droplets fell helpless of its
jeweled surface. “That’s a nice shield. Did you rob a tomb on the
way here?”
    Luka smirked as he cast Astrid an irritated
gaze. “Perhaps I would have if I had the time. Unfortunately, I was
preoccupied looking for your sorry self. I’ve been out here at
least an hour, if not more. I’ll be lucky if my feathers ever dry
out.”
    Astrid’s pale face tugged at a smile. “You
sound like a sorry old hen.” She could feel her strength returning
with each step. She didn’t know if it was his presence alone or
some kind of effect of his powers. Astrid felt herself drawn to his
warmth. She laid her head against his chest, feeling safe for the
first time in a long time.
    Astrid looked up into his eyes. They were
deep blue and filled with a dark sadness. The words left her mouth
without a thought. “ What happened to you?”
    Gusts of wind swirled around them while
thunder continued its chorus of quaking rumbles. Luka stood still,
staring back into Astrid’s eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but
the words refused to budge. A bolt of lightning pounded into ground
near them, sending them crashing back into the mud.
    “We have to go! It isn’t safe here—” Luka was
cut off by another fist of blazing lightning crashing into the
nearby earth. He cast away the shield, grabbed Astrid and cradled
her in his massive arms. The motion knocked the breath from her
lungs and sent her head spinning. Luka broke into a run, pommeling
over slick rocks and through violent rivers of mud. Crashes of
lightning chased behind him, biting at his ankles.
    Luka slid into Fryx’s villa, spilling out
onto the polished sandstone floor. Astrid toppled out his arms only
to be swept up by Ethen.
    “Astrid! Are you okay? I went out to look for
you but—”
    “—I’m fine, really,” she said, pulling
herself free. She looked at him. A trickle of blood hung on his
brow and his sea green eyes were frantic. “You’ve looked better.
Have you had that looked at?”
    Ethen touched his brow and looked down at the
red on his fingertips. “Oh, that—it’s fine, it’s just a scratch…”
His face blanched at the sight of blood. “I may need to sit
down.”
    Astrid eased him onto a silky stool.