Magic's Mantle (Ard's Oath Book 1) by Bruce Sentar

Author:Bruce Sentar [Sentar, Bruce]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-09-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

“Ard!” Emlyn hissed as I moved away, Emlyn trailing after me. The screaming grew louder behind us.

“I can’t watch that,” I told her.

“Ard, they are bandits, likely deserters and drug peddlers.” Emlyn caught up and ran her hand down my shoulder.

I turned to her, rolling my eyes. “Great. Glad we clarified that and it does nothing to make it more… better. I don’t want to see her torture them.”

Emlyn paused, her face softening. “They were moving silverleaf. There may be some connection to the two that tried to kidnap you.”

“I’m aware of that. If that wasn’t the case, I’d have told her to stop. But I didn’t. That doesn’t mean I want to be involved in watching that happen. Maybe it makes me a hypocrite that I’m letting it happen, but I don’t care.” Words came out of my mouth and wouldn’t stop.

Part of me was hoping that my talking would drown out the screaming.

That part wasn’t lucky.

The man’s screams were clear throughout the castle. The hard stone carried the cries clearly. Enough holes had been poked throughout the castle that it didn’t matter how far I moved away.

Emlyn’s hands came down around my ears, muffling the screams enough that I could ignore them. “Does this help?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s get comfortable.” She pulled me down until she was seated and then pressed my head down to her thigh so that I was laying with my head on her lap. She took one hand off my ear, instead pressing it into her thigh, while another kept the other ear covered and her free hand started to run through my hair.

“This is…” I trailed off. “Nice.”

“Not many people get this kind of privilege, so enjoy it,” Emlyn teased. “But you are my mage, and I am your anchor. We’ll work together. In this instance, you need to be separated from what’s happening back there. I’m okay with that.” Between her voice and her blocking my ears, the screaming was quiet enough that I could remove it from my focus.

“I get why we have to do it. But I hope I’m never comfortable with it,” I told her honestly.

Emlyn just smiled at me, keeping my ears covered. “That’s perfectly fine. We’ll need to fill your anchors with someone who can do what is necessary then.”

Her words were something to focus on rather than the muffled cries in the distance.

I swallowed. “Are my other spots filling up?”

“We won’t know until we meet them. But people will be very eager to meet you. Maybe too eager and not reliable enough.” She bit at her lip.

I shrugged. “Make them swear Ard’s oath. See how they react. That’ll tell you a lot about people. Can they handle me breaking from protocol? We both know that’s going to be necessary. I’m not exactly a fit-the-mold type. And then what do they think about fighting and fucking together? Finally, are they willing to be more than servant anchors? I hate that wording of the anchor’s oath.”

“So you’ve said.” Emlyn continued to run her hands through my hair.

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