A Reign of Thieves by Kate Avery Ellison

Author:Kate Avery Ellison [Ellison, Kate Avery]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2018-10-28T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

BRIAND STOOD MOTIONLESS at the brink of the ice sea, her feet rooted to the frozen ground, her back straight and her chin up. Kael was to her right, almost near enough to touch, and Auberon was behind her, his hands on her shoulders, sending power radiating through her and into the dragon, holding it back from snapping her mind like a twig. Crispin stood to her left, legs planted in the snow, expression fierce and full of concentration, and beyond him was Grinna, her sword drawn and pointed at the approaching creature, her eyes round with amazement at the sight and size of it.

“Lords,” Grinna croaked. “It’s like… it’s like…”

She didn’t seem to be able to think of anything to compare with the dark shape of the rapidly dragon, for she fell silent.

They were all silent.

The sea splintered like an egg shell, a fissure splitting down the silvery surface with a thunderous crack, and then an explosion of water and shards of ice. The dragon rose from the depths, water streaming down its scales, its breath misting in spurts in the air like ghosts.

“It’s been a long time,” Briand said. She might have spoken to the dragon in her head, but she wanted the others to hear. She needed them to hear.

She wanted them with her in this conversation.

She was shaking, but she kept her spine straight and her hands at her sides. She had her fingers curled around the hilt of the knife Kael had given her on their wedding night. Her skin prickled in anticipating of the blinding pain that was coming any moment—

A blast of power surged over her and gripped her head like a vise. She gasped and dropped to her knees at the force of the mental blow, and beside her, Crispin yelped as he felt it too. Auberon’s power lashed through her, and she lassoed it with her own and sent it back at the dragon, forcing its hold from her mind as she dug her fingers into the crust of frost at the sea’s edge for balance.

Behind them, she could feel the weight of Kael’s gaze like the warmth of the sun. Knowing he was nearby gave her strength.

Grinna was swearing loudly, over and over, her voice reedy-thin with shock.

“Stop!” Briand shouted.

The ice dragon hissed and lashed its tail in the water. It looked at Briand with eyes full of fire and fury at the thwarting of her immediate death. She could feel it gathering power to strike again.

She shoved herself back to her feet, keeping her gaze locked on the dragon’s. Auberon’s power swirled across her skin, an invisible armor. It burned her, but she could barely feel it.

She focused on the leviathan before her. The glistening pale scales, the mouth big enough to swallow her whole, the depths of the eyes that seared thoughts of revenge into her skull despite everything she was throwing at the dragon to keep it from crushing her.

“We should talk,” she said, breathless now, “before you try to kill me again.

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