Read Online The Redwood Rebel (The Redwood War Book 1) by Lorna George - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Lorna George
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caused the link between them to be stronger than he had anticipated. They had wrapped around each other, tangled and fused, in such an intimate, beautiful way, it had given him true hope for their future together. It had made him want her, in every sense.
He reached out to their Bond now, seeking reassurance from the nagging doubt that seemed to be eating away at him, and while he found it still intact, it felt... wrong. The Bond was old magic, dragon magic, and it tied two spouses together with the joining of their bodies on their wedding night. It only worked if both participants had never lain with another before, hence the importance of a virgin bride, and only if both parties reached completion with the other.
It was as natural to him as breathing, and provided great insight between couples to their emotional state and well-being, among other benefits. Of course it was expected of him as King because it was traditional, but more than that, it would offer him a greater magical power than he had previously been able to summon.
He was well aware that while it was unheard of for any Korenian to be without magic, other countries were far less gifted. Only members of the royal house of Ffion were able to use magic, and in Tsumetai it was even rarer than that. Adrienne had no magic of her own; he had been informed of that in the early stages of their betrothal arrangements, but that hadn’t mattered. Even now he could feel the shifting heat of magic inside himself just from initiating the spell. What surprised him was that Adrienne, who he now shared the deep well of power with, seemed to have a gap. Searching their Bond, he found a large, hollow part inside her, as though magic had resided there at some time in the past. Now his own magic was pooling there, filling the space back up again, and she was drawing on it, using it for energy as though her own was so depleted she might have exhausted all her strength without it.
He watched the woman lying beside him. She looked well-rested and calm, nothing like the determined but damaged soul he could feel resting against his own. Her green eyes were satisfied, as opposed to the tangible nervous energy he could feel through their Bond, the ground-shaking determination. Surely no one could hide their emotions that well? And yet, she had been nothing but changeable since they had met. He had no idea what to make of it, yet somehow he felt disgusted by her very presence and the idea of touching her. The Bond spell was new to him, too, but this couldn’t be right.
Adrienne didn’t seem concerned by his silence, and suddenly her slender fingers were on his skin. He felt immediate revulsion, the Bond surging up sickly and causing him to instinctively reach out and snatch her wrist up, away from him. That was definitely not right. He glared down at her and a snarl tore from his mouth as he noticed the ring he had given her was on the wrong finger. He had not put it there, and looking at the way it sat snugly on her smallest digit, he knew it would not fit over the finger it should be placed upon. The enchantment on it caused it to change to the correct size of his Bond mate's finger as he cast the spell on them both. That it did not fit could mean only one thing.
She looked almost fearfully up at him, and they both knew her dishonesty had been discovered.
'How dare you?' Arun breathed, fury gripping him as he realized the implications. 'Do you have any idea what you have done? What you have cost me?'
'W-what do you mean?'
'Where is she?!' he bellowed, impatience boiling over at his unspeakable anger, throwing the deceitful woman away from himself and standing from the bed. As he reached into his magic to dress himself, ignoring the screech from Adrienne, the door to the wedding chamber flew open to reveal a distraught Lord Cygnus, Rayan close on his heels.
'They used a decoy,' Arun spat, throwing a contemptuous glare at Cygnus and Adrienne as he assisted her wrap a silk robe
He reached out to their Bond now, seeking reassurance from the nagging doubt that seemed to be eating away at him, and while he found it still intact, it felt... wrong. The Bond was old magic, dragon magic, and it tied two spouses together with the joining of their bodies on their wedding night. It only worked if both participants had never lain with another before, hence the importance of a virgin bride, and only if both parties reached completion with the other.
It was as natural to him as breathing, and provided great insight between couples to their emotional state and well-being, among other benefits. Of course it was expected of him as King because it was traditional, but more than that, it would offer him a greater magical power than he had previously been able to summon.
He was well aware that while it was unheard of for any Korenian to be without magic, other countries were far less gifted. Only members of the royal house of Ffion were able to use magic, and in Tsumetai it was even rarer than that. Adrienne had no magic of her own; he had been informed of that in the early stages of their betrothal arrangements, but that hadn’t mattered. Even now he could feel the shifting heat of magic inside himself just from initiating the spell. What surprised him was that Adrienne, who he now shared the deep well of power with, seemed to have a gap. Searching their Bond, he found a large, hollow part inside her, as though magic had resided there at some time in the past. Now his own magic was pooling there, filling the space back up again, and she was drawing on it, using it for energy as though her own was so depleted she might have exhausted all her strength without it.
He watched the woman lying beside him. She looked well-rested and calm, nothing like the determined but damaged soul he could feel resting against his own. Her green eyes were satisfied, as opposed to the tangible nervous energy he could feel through their Bond, the ground-shaking determination. Surely no one could hide their emotions that well? And yet, she had been nothing but changeable since they had met. He had no idea what to make of it, yet somehow he felt disgusted by her very presence and the idea of touching her. The Bond spell was new to him, too, but this couldn’t be right.
Adrienne didn’t seem concerned by his silence, and suddenly her slender fingers were on his skin. He felt immediate revulsion, the Bond surging up sickly and causing him to instinctively reach out and snatch her wrist up, away from him. That was definitely not right. He glared down at her and a snarl tore from his mouth as he noticed the ring he had given her was on the wrong finger. He had not put it there, and looking at the way it sat snugly on her smallest digit, he knew it would not fit over the finger it should be placed upon. The enchantment on it caused it to change to the correct size of his Bond mate's finger as he cast the spell on them both. That it did not fit could mean only one thing.
She looked almost fearfully up at him, and they both knew her dishonesty had been discovered.
'How dare you?' Arun breathed, fury gripping him as he realized the implications. 'Do you have any idea what you have done? What you have cost me?'
'W-what do you mean?'
'Where is she?!' he bellowed, impatience boiling over at his unspeakable anger, throwing the deceitful woman away from himself and standing from the bed. As he reached into his magic to dress himself, ignoring the screech from Adrienne, the door to the wedding chamber flew open to reveal a distraught Lord Cygnus, Rayan close on his heels.
'They used a decoy,' Arun spat, throwing a contemptuous glare at Cygnus and Adrienne as he assisted her wrap a silk robe
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