Page 5 of Tortured

I shake my head in disbelief. Seren was waiting until I was ready. You are the most infuriating dragon!

It has been amusing watching you evade your pursuers.

Amusing? I’m so glad that my lack of sleep and my near-death experiences have kept you entertained.

It’s boring in the dragon realm, Seren says. No danger. No sense of urgency.

Right. But now you’re talking to me?

I was waiting for your pride to melt.

Seren . . . I grumble.

You were working through a lot of stuff. Who was I to interfere?

You have to be kidding me.

So you’re ready to come to Gorlassar? Seren asks.

Will I be able to get in?

No one can just walk into the immortal realm. The portal to the other world is high in the Eirwen Mountains, where no man can possibly hike. I have to take a dragon to get there. But the big question is, will they let a mortal in?

Maybe they will since I carry Niawen’s light.

I feel a sense of certainty coming from Seren. So you think they’ll allow passage?

I’m going to tear right through the barrier, she says. No one will stop me.

What if my condition prevents me from entering? Meaning, my mortality. The magical barrier at the entrance to Gorlassar stops those who are unworthy from entering. Mainly corrupted humans—those with scant amounts of light and those who carry darkness.

But with Niawen’s light, am I really still corrupted? Am I even still mortal? I carry a ton of purifying light. Surely I can pass through the portal.

While you don’t possess darkness and you have a vast amount of light, you are still human, Seren says.

I snort. In a manner of speaking. After the long weeks of killing souls with my enhanced abilities, I seriously doubt my humanity.

We haven’t brought humans through the rift before. I suppose that means we’ll have to stop and test it out.

You mean so I don’t crash into the barrier when you try to fly through it?

I don’t want to injure you, Seren says. That might feel like hitting a wall.

How soon can you pick me up? Might as well get this over with. I’ve put off seeing the High Emrys for too long. I am majorly intimidated about seeing the head immortal.

I’m already on my way. Open your eyes to my sight. You’ll see where I am.

You’ve entered Bryn already?

Hours ago. I’m nearly to you.

She anticipated my needs well before I asked. I’m truly grateful, Seren.

I know.

About Niawen—

Sorrow washes through me, an emotion coming from Seren. Don’t. I’m not ready to talk about her yet—

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