Dragon in the Blood (Vale of Stars Book 2) by Juliette Cross

Author:Juliette Cross [Cross, Juliette]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780997718409
Published: 2016-07-26T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Decimus stood on the terrace as I stepped from the bedchamber. “She awaits, mistress.”

Shrouded in a black mantle, I joined him. “Is she willing?”

“Yes. But she has a request in exchange.”

“Take me to her.”

He flew down from the terrace to the stone path cleared of snow. I followed Decimus beyond the isolated grounds that were for myself alone. We skirted behind a row of cottages that were the officers’ quarters. Icy wind cut across the open snow-dusted prairie beyond, a punishing gale pushing another blizzard down to us from northern Aria. Finally, he ducked between two cottages. I followed.

A door stood slightly ajar on the right, emitting a sliver of golden light. Within the narrow passageway a few steps from the door stood a delicate, bronze-skinned human woman. Draped in a gray cloak, the color for slaves, she met my gaze with steady green eyes. Remarkable. The silver cuff wrapping her throat denoted her the property of a high-ranking officer in the Larkosian army as opposed to the golden throat-chains of most breeders. She would have privileges beyond any slave here. That she was the one Decimus had found for my needs was curious.

“What do they call you?” I asked.

Decimus stood at her back, his wings open to block our presence should anyone pass on the torch-lit street beyond.

The woman sneered. “They call me breeder, slave, and Primean scum. My master calls me trinket, pretty toy, and his favorite whore.” She lifted her chin, fire burning in her voice. “But my name is Serena Barrowdell, and I am the daughter of a Primean princess.”

Beyond remarkable that she, one of the royal human line, should volunteer for my ceremony.

“Has Decimus explained what I am asking of you?”

“He has.” Her chin lifted higher, defiance filling up the air around me. This one held strength and power in her spirit.

“If you are thinking to devise some plot to escape, you are wrong. Decimus will kill you in a blink if I should ask.”

“I will not try to escape.”

“What do you want in return?”

“I want you to save my sister, Lena. I want her to be taken out of here, back to Primus, and delivered safely to our mother.”

The wind gusted harder down the narrow passage, sifting up the snow around our ankles. I tightened the opening of the mantle.

“This is not a simple task,” I stated.

“You are not asking for a simple gift. From what your man here has told me, my life must be freely given. Correct?”

“That is correct.”

“Why can you not simply sacrifice an unwilling slave…as you usually do with the bleeders?”

Smart one, this girl. I would not give her the answer she truly wanted—the reason behind my unconventional rite. But she deserved some sort of reply.

“The blood blessings are to strengthen the king’s army. Rites for power and strength, the blood must be taken. For this rite, the one I need, the blood and a life must be freely given.”

Never flinching, she removed the gray hood of her robe, revealing silken black hair and a noble feminine face.

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