Page 156 of House of Embers
“Me too,” Kerrigan whispered.
She hadn’t been sure if Roake would change. Some part of her had hoped that he would after she’d met up with him in the mountain. If given the opportunity, would he double-cross Bastian? If the love of his life dangled it before him…
It hurt to know he was truly a lost cause.
“Thank you for trying,” Kerrigan said.
Audria nodded, choking back her tears. “His bond snapped too.”
“Yeah. It broke all of them at once.”
“Which means we’re the only ones with bonded dragons,” Audria said.
Kerrigan nodded. “That’s right.”
Audria grinned. “Excellent.”
“You get your other dragon riders bonded. Have Noda help,” Kerrigan said. “I’ll meet you in Kinkadia.”
“See you there,” Audria said.
Kerrigan headed back toward her door but turned around before crossing over. “Audria, if I see Roake in the battle…”
“I know,” Audria said with a final nod. “You’ll kill him.”
Kerrigan met her gaze. “Are you okay with that?”
“If I see him in battle, I’ll do it myself.” Then Audria walked toward the palace over the sea.
Kerrigan sighed, watching her retreating back for a moment before crossing over and letting the portal drop.
Fordham was there to catch her as she sagged forward from the magic use. “Too much, love. That’s too much.”
“Need to recover my reserves,” she said.
“It’s the crown. It still has its hooks in you.”
She wrapped her arms around him. “Just give me a minute. I’ll be all right.”
“Do you need me to say it?”
She shook her head. “Please don’t.”
He rested his chin on her head. They both knew that she wasn’t physically prepared for what was to come tomorrow. Time had run out. She couldn’t restore her magic enough to fight Bastian, but she was going to have to do it anyway.
“I still need to meet with Eira, and I promised Darby that I’d see Amond before bed.”
“Good. At least you’ll listen to Darby.”
She chuckled. “I don’t think it’s even an option to disobey. I need some healing, or tomorrow will be impossible.”
“And Eira?”
She bit her lip. “Any information helps.”
“After this, you will let me take care of you.”
She glanced up into his handsome face. “And who is going to take care of you?”
