Read Online The Mating Intent-mobi by Bonnie Vanak - Free Book Online
Authors: Bonnie Vanak
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development I told you about, but they’re too scared to venture into the Skin world. They refuse to leave my land. So I rented trailers and tents for them.”
“What the hell is happening, Gabriel?” She touched a tree trunk, found it pulsing with strong shifter magick. His magick. “Why didn’t you inform Cael?”
“Because I don’t trust your king not to storm down here with his Elven forces and take over my turf.” He scowled, looking over the campsite. “You’re the only Fae I trust to tell about this, Sienna.”
“I want to investigate closer.”
“It’s dangerous five feet beyond the campground leading to the Everglades.”
“I’ll be careful. I need to check this out.”
“Not alone. I’ll go with you.”
But then one of the shifters called to him. Gabriel looked at her. “Five minutes and I’m coming after you. Don’t leave the pathway and don’t get close to the water. Whatever you do, do not touch the bald cypress tree on the path’s right side. Take the footpath through the trees to the water.”
Sienna jogged along the path. Five feet out from the campground, the sandy path turned to black soil. A heaviness settled on her spirit as she continued, seeing dead brush and hearing no sounds of animal life. Her Elven senses warned this place was toxic as a chemical plant.
The path ended on the banks of the swamp. Sienna’s eyes gushed as she stared out at the Everglades.
Barely two feet deep, the water held a cloying sweetness of burnt sugar, twined with raw sewage. No birds waded here. The swamp had turned black as charcoal, decayed as a rotting corpse.
What the hell had caused this?
Sienna crouched at the water’s edge and studied the cypress tree guarding the water.
The tree looked dead. Cypress trees dropped their leaves in Florida’s cooler winter months, but this was summer. Alarm filled her. She touched a cypress knee, the portion of the tree exposed to the water.
Darkness flooded her, the equally dark magick pulsing inside her rising eagerly to greet it, twining around it like a snake.
One of the cypress knees pulled free from the water. The slimy, thick root slid toward her like a serpent. Before she could move, it struck quick as a viper, wrapping around her neck. The root squeezed tight, choking her air supply. If she didn’t get it off her now, she’d die.
Sienna fought hard, scrambling to pry her fingers beneath the algae-coated root. But the cypress root compressed tighter. Her fingers slipped as she rolled and grabbed at the tree root, desperate for air. Balling her fists, she hammered at the root, frantic to free herself. Tears clouded her vision as she gasped, the root painfully constricting her throat until she saw stars.
Killed by a tree, the foliage she’d foresworn to protect. The irony was too amusing. Maybe she’d laugh about it, if she lived.
Her fists collided with the slippery root, and the blows grew feebler. The darkness inside her pulled at the tree root, urging it to choke her. Wanting her to suffer with pain…
Her vision dimmed, but she heard footsteps upon the path, a low curse. Saw Gabriel pull ineffectively at the tree limb, trying to free her. Ears buzzing with the rush of blood, she dimly heard him shout, “Sienna! Use your power, all of it.”
But her power was dark.
Grayness pushed at the edges of her vision. She was fading fast. But every instinct urged her to live. She had too much left on this earth to accomplish.
Sienna closed her eyes. With all her might, she reached for the power inside, pushing past the evil poisoning her spirit. She focused all her light and pulled hard, hurling the power at the tree wrapped around her neck.
With a shriek, the root unraveled and slid away. Gasping, she rolled backwards, wheezing as she drew in huge lungfuls of blessed air. The cypress root lay limp and wet upon the ground.
Gabriel shifted into his beast self. A piercing roar split the silence as the sleek, golden panther leapt out
“What the hell is happening, Gabriel?” She touched a tree trunk, found it pulsing with strong shifter magick. His magick. “Why didn’t you inform Cael?”
“Because I don’t trust your king not to storm down here with his Elven forces and take over my turf.” He scowled, looking over the campsite. “You’re the only Fae I trust to tell about this, Sienna.”
“I want to investigate closer.”
“It’s dangerous five feet beyond the campground leading to the Everglades.”
“I’ll be careful. I need to check this out.”
“Not alone. I’ll go with you.”
But then one of the shifters called to him. Gabriel looked at her. “Five minutes and I’m coming after you. Don’t leave the pathway and don’t get close to the water. Whatever you do, do not touch the bald cypress tree on the path’s right side. Take the footpath through the trees to the water.”
Sienna jogged along the path. Five feet out from the campground, the sandy path turned to black soil. A heaviness settled on her spirit as she continued, seeing dead brush and hearing no sounds of animal life. Her Elven senses warned this place was toxic as a chemical plant.
The path ended on the banks of the swamp. Sienna’s eyes gushed as she stared out at the Everglades.
Barely two feet deep, the water held a cloying sweetness of burnt sugar, twined with raw sewage. No birds waded here. The swamp had turned black as charcoal, decayed as a rotting corpse.
What the hell had caused this?
Sienna crouched at the water’s edge and studied the cypress tree guarding the water.
The tree looked dead. Cypress trees dropped their leaves in Florida’s cooler winter months, but this was summer. Alarm filled her. She touched a cypress knee, the portion of the tree exposed to the water.
Darkness flooded her, the equally dark magick pulsing inside her rising eagerly to greet it, twining around it like a snake.
One of the cypress knees pulled free from the water. The slimy, thick root slid toward her like a serpent. Before she could move, it struck quick as a viper, wrapping around her neck. The root squeezed tight, choking her air supply. If she didn’t get it off her now, she’d die.
Sienna fought hard, scrambling to pry her fingers beneath the algae-coated root. But the cypress root compressed tighter. Her fingers slipped as she rolled and grabbed at the tree root, desperate for air. Balling her fists, she hammered at the root, frantic to free herself. Tears clouded her vision as she gasped, the root painfully constricting her throat until she saw stars.
Killed by a tree, the foliage she’d foresworn to protect. The irony was too amusing. Maybe she’d laugh about it, if she lived.
Her fists collided with the slippery root, and the blows grew feebler. The darkness inside her pulled at the tree root, urging it to choke her. Wanting her to suffer with pain…
Her vision dimmed, but she heard footsteps upon the path, a low curse. Saw Gabriel pull ineffectively at the tree limb, trying to free her. Ears buzzing with the rush of blood, she dimly heard him shout, “Sienna! Use your power, all of it.”
But her power was dark.
Grayness pushed at the edges of her vision. She was fading fast. But every instinct urged her to live. She had too much left on this earth to accomplish.
Sienna closed her eyes. With all her might, she reached for the power inside, pushing past the evil poisoning her spirit. She focused all her light and pulled hard, hurling the power at the tree wrapped around her neck.
With a shriek, the root unraveled and slid away. Gasping, she rolled backwards, wheezing as she drew in huge lungfuls of blessed air. The cypress root lay limp and wet upon the ground.
Gabriel shifted into his beast self. A piercing roar split the silence as the sleek, golden panther leapt out
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