Sting of the Scorpion by Evelyn Puerto

Author:Evelyn Puerto [Puerto, Evelyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Water Books

29

Damira stared at Syzyan’s drooping shoulders as he left the room, feeling the weight of his disapproval go with him. She rubbed the back of her neck. She didn’t want to displease her older brother, but he was wrong. She stiffened, wondering if Shagonar agreed with him. She had to find a way to talk to him alone. “Do we have any more of the fried fruit?”

Shagonar shook his head.

She turned to Januzak. “Would you be so kind?” She waited for the man to leave, then let out a sigh. “So what do you think?”

“About something sweet? I’m ready for it.” He stood and stretched his arms over his head, his muscles bulging. “The weather? Haven’t seen much of it lately, trapped under all this rock.” He glanced at the windows, now just dark spots in the wall.

“Stop, Shag. Don’t remind me how much I miss the wind.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m talking about the amulets, anyway,” she said. “About Nishio. What do you think?”

He ran a hand through his tousled dark hair. “I don’t like the sound of the side effects, not for any of us.”

“But should we let that stop us? Wei Fang can’t be allowed to conquer everything.”

“Will you be able to use the amulets well enough to defeat her?” Shagonar dropped to sit on the cushion next to her.

“Nishio will be there. He’s the First Wielder.”

“True.” He tapped his chin with a finger. “And a man. Which means no matter what he calls you, you’ll have more power.”

A smile tickled the corners of Damira’s mouth. She hadn’t considered all the possibilities of that. Once Wei Fang was defeated, who else could control the realm but a Wielder of the Amulets? And who else would wield Wei Fang’s amulet but the person who took it from her? Damira’s smile spread. She could take control of Wei Fang’s amulet and have two. Nishio would have to do her bidding.

Then, she could make sure the Endless War stopped, once and for all. There would be peace in the land. No more raiding. The warlords would have to be content with the land they had. She’d make sure of it.

“But that power is dangerous.”

“What?” She’d barely noticed that Shagonar was still speaking. “Oh, right. But the power can be controlled. It’s not like it’s an evil force with a mind of its own, you know.”

“So we’ve been told. But we need to be careful. It seems like it can easily go wild.”

“Now you sound like Syz.”

Shagonar put a hand to his heart. “I’m hurt.”

Damira pushed against his shoulder, as if trying to topple him from his cushion, and smiled. “I didn’t mean to offend you. But Syzyan doesn’t understand. We could end the Endless War. And have control over our lives.” She huffed. “My brother is like a timid scrub mouse when it comes to the amulets. I didn’t think you were like that.”

“I hope I’m unlike your brother in many ways.” He shifted to sit closer to her.

She bent her head over the brazier and held her hands out to the flames.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.