Page 61 of Bound to the Orc Guardian

I grunt again. Frustrated with his questions, becauseI have no answers.

“People gifted magic by one of the special standing stones are supposed to have an unlimited supply,” Bellavesaria says. “I read all about it. They’re not using their own magic. They’re channeling magic from Alarria.”

“From therealm?” Dash sounds skeptical.

“Yes.”

“How does that work? None of the stories say that’s how the Faerie realms work.”

“That’s because our home realms didn’t work like this.” The dragon’s wings rustle in a shrug. “Alarria’s special, but no one understands its mechanisms.”

“Not the point,” I grit out. “It’s still a great deal of magic going through her. What information is there on the side effects of using large amounts of magic for a prolonged time?”

“Dragons can do it, but dragons—”

“—are superior beings,” Dash cuts in, his tone sarcastic.

My fists ball, tension pulling my shoulders tight as I grit out, “None of this is helping Selena.”

“I don’t know.” Bellavesaria’s crest droops. “There’s not a lot of information on humans, and what we do have is centuries old and much of it’s secondhand.”

Selena moves as quickly as ever, but there’s no spark to it. Her face is carefully expressionless, as if she hides pain. Where is her laughter, her enthusiasm, her joy?

Where’s my sunny Selena?

I hate it. I hate watching her do this to herself. Something’s wrong, but I don’t know what, and I don’t know how to fix it.

Dash pokes my side again, and when I glare at him, he says, “You were growling. It was annoying.”

“Soannoying,” the dragon says, and they share a look.

Goddess, that’s all I need—these two ganging up on me instead of sniping at each other.

The gnomes blast magic into the tunnel again and again.

My hand grips my sword hilt. There’s got to be something I can—

“The sluagh!” A gnome tumbles down the tunnel behind us, following the path we took only an hour before. Her high voice wails, “The sluagh is right behind me!”

I whirl, my sword springing free of its sheath with a ring of metal singing in the air. Nowthisis something I can do.

“If we can trap it, I can kill it,” I say, rage burning through me. This thing will not get its vile hands on my Selena!

“But deathsleep,” Dash says right as a small brown object soars from around the curve of the tunnel.

Fuck! Trapped in this tunnel, the gas will be impossible to escape.

Instinctively, I swing, whacking the gourd with the flat of my blade and sending it winging back whence it came.

A skeletal hand emerges from around the bend to snatch it from the air.

“Come out, soul stealer,” I roar. “Stop hiding behind your cowardly tricks!”

Instead of heeding my words, the sluagh sends the gourd sailing toward us again, because of course it does. Coward.

I snarl and brace, sword held ready.

Bellavesaria shoulders past me. Her jaw unhinges, and a blast of fire engulfs the projectile, leaving nothing but a darktrickle of falling ash. Then she casts me a superior look. “Oh, sorry. Did you want to play catch some more?”

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