Page 24 of The Rowan
Yelling permeates my bubble, and I turn towards the noise. A crowd stands in the pit below, roaring, “Kill the witch! Kill the witch!” Several have slits in their eyes, telling me they’re close to turning and confirming I’m in the presence of dragons. As if any doubt still existed. I snort.
Sensing movement to my right, I turn to see Theron, Valerian, Fallon, and Daire arguing with two gigantic men. I step closer to them.
Astor steps in front of me. He’s trying to tell me something, but I can’t hear his words, I can only see his mouth move. Worry pinches his features, and he holds a dagger tightly in his hand. Raising it above his head, I stare at him in disbelief. Is he going to stab me? The protection rune on my throat flares, warning of danger.
Something moves in my peripheral. My eyes cut to the right to find a huge male advancing towards me. Pain explodes in my chest, and I stagger. Looking down, I see the dagger in my chest, then my eyes find Astor’s.
Why?I cry.
Relief and fear swirl in his eyes. My knees buckle as I slide to the ground. Grasping the handle, I try to pull the dagger out, but the blood is making it too slippery for me to grasp.
A roar fills the cavern, and the crowd quiets. Valerian drops to his knees beside me, the others standing behind him. Anguish fills his face as he cradles me in his arms, and I trace his features. The cold is seeping into me as fast as my blood is spilling out.
“My fierce dragon, it’s okay,” I assure him. The light fades from my eyes, and I’m left in darkness—pitch black, never-ending darkness. Confusion clouds my thoughts.
I call out, “Am I dead?” but nobody answers. I lie in the dark, unsettled.
Searing heat settles over me like a blanket, pushing out the cold. Light steals into the darkness like a thief, one step at a time, until arms reach down and pick me up, carrying me away from the dark.
* * *
I open my eyes,not to the dark like I fear, but to soft light. I’m resting in a bed, covers pulled over me. Fallon sits in a chair beside the bed, a faint glow emanating from where our hands are joined, and warmth pulses inside me.
Astor sits behind him, his head in his hands. Fear and confusion war within me.
Did Astor really stab me?I think, questioning my vision.
Valerian slumps in a recliner in the corner, asleep, a frown marring his face.
Why were we in the Kingdom of the Dragons?I ponder all the possibilities for a couple of minutes.
Daire, leaning against the wall, flashes over, startling me, his ice-blue eyes bright with relief. “Thank fuck, you’re awake. Why the hell would you do something so stupid?” His hands are clenched as he berates me.
Astor stands, shoving Daire to the side. “Arden, gorgeous. You gave me a hell of a scare,” he rasps, his voice hoarse as if he’s been yelling. “I couldn’t reach you in the dark. We had to send in Fallon. What happened?” He reaches out to pick up my hand.
I pull it away quickly. “You stabbed me,” I accuse. “Why the hell would you stab me?” Pulling my other hand from Fallon’s, I use both hands to sit up. Pain lances through me, and I groan. My head pounds, and my body feels like I’ve been tackled by a dragon.
With a sigh, Fallon runs his hands over my temples and the pain in my head eases. “Nobody stabbed you,” he reassures me. “Does this feel better?”
“Yes, thank you.” I sigh softly.
Theron steps to my side, along with Valerian. “Why don’t you tell us what happened?” he asks, cool and logical, as usual. “We saw what you wrote on the paper. Let’s start from that point.”
“I woke up in the Kingdom of Dragons, in a big ceremonial cave or chamber,” I begin slowly, staring at Valerian to gauge his reaction, but he simply gives a fierce frown that doesn’t tell me anything. I replay the scene, crystal clear images swirling in my brain, until I get to the end. “I don’t understand what happened.”
“Fuck! It’s my fault. I should have been more specific. Blood magic is sentient. If the question is too broad, it will show you what you want, but not exactly what you were searching for, and it can result in a situation where you lose more blood. When someone stabbed you, it gained power from the blood you spilled. But it doesn’t lie,” Astor explains reluctantly. “If I was the one who stabbed you in the vision, it will happen. I’m not the source of your assassination attempts, though.” His voice is dark, full of loathing. “I can swear a blood oath, if you want. I don’t want you to fear me.”
“No more blood magic,” snaps Theron, his patience gone.
“I agree,” Fallon says tiredly. “I don’t have enough strength to save anyone else today.”
Staring at him, I realize he saved me from the darkness. “Thank you,” I murmur.
Fallon strokes his fingers over my face. “My pleasure.”
Astor looks dejected. I lace my fingers with his. “We’ll figure it out together, okay? On the bright side, I’m immortal. Stabbing me might hurt like hell, but it won’t kill me.”
He brightens. “You’re right.” Astor lifts my hand and places a kiss on it. “I’ll work on trying to see your vision. We can figure this out before it happens.”
