Please, Forrest. I’m so sorry I have to put you through this.
I lost all awareness of everything but him, in that moment. I hardly even felt Abel’s touch.
Please.
Forrest gave me the faintest of nods. Because more than anything, he loved me. Thank you…
“My lady,” he said. “Everything’s packed and ready to head for the ships, but the Black Army heard us and they’re trying to bust in and sabotage the mission. I’m sure you can hear it. The du Barien guards are trying their best, and Rin’s with them now, but I don’t know if they believe in us enough to die for us. I think I’d better go out there.”
“I’ll go too,” Gilbert said.
Abel tried to pass me off to Forrest now. I struggled, trying to see if I could test my feet, and he set me down. I had to sort of fall into Forrest, but I managed to stay upright. The poison was wearing off.
“I’ll handle this,” Abel said. “I know I have loyalty to prove.” He started stripping off his armor, and then stepped into an empty stall for some privacy. I heard him jerking buttons and buckles free.
“I won’t argue that,” Gilbert said in an undertone.
There was a silent moment where Abel seemed to be still, and I heard shouting and clashing outside.
Behind the stable walls, a dragon’s head, pale and sleek, thrust toward the ceiling, and Abel’s body followed, sliding over the wall. He breathed a faint pattern of crystalline shapes onto the floor.
“Open the door,” he said. “Get in the carriages, ready to move.”
The men inside the stable were staring.
“Open the door!” Gilbert repeated to the men guarding the slab of wood barring it.
They swung the doors open and Abel stepped forward. I saw his long neck whip across the crowd of soldiers, blowing a cold wind. They fell back in a wave, their armor icing over. Some of them fell stiffly.
“Come on.” Forrest swept me into his arms and opened the door of the wagon where Niko was curled up, cramped in the back. “Stay with him, Phoebe. Gilbert and I will be on the offensive.” He practically shoved me into Niko and slammed the wagon doors shut.
“Ouch! Sorry, Niko. It’s dark in here and I’m clumsy right now. Are you all right?”
“Stop asking me that.”
I sighed, and instead I put my face to one of the small windows at the back. This was my only view out, so I got to see all of the action in the wake of the battle instead of the forefront. At first, I just heard sounds of chaos. Something jolted the wagon and it steered a little to the right. I fell on my unsteady knees. Niko’s tail curled up to catch me, the scales wrapping around my waist and keeping me upright.
“Thanks.”
“I would rather you not fall on my injured body,” he said.
“You’re even more prickly as a dragon.” I felt something push hard against my leg. “Hey!” I said, and then I realized Wretch was in here. “C’mere, girl. I knew you wouldn’t leave her behind, but I was wondering where she went.”
“She keeps wanting to be with Abel. I wonder if he’ll insist on a third name for her.” He sounded withering and I dimly saw his eyes gleam, shifting toward me. Suddenly I felt hot breath on my nether bits.
“Hmph,” he said.
“Don’t ‘hmph’ me. You know it’s what I had to do.”
“And you certainly enjoyed it.”
“I have to enjoy it,” I said primly.
“It’s for the best,” Niko said. “I maintain that. But he really was a stubborn ass. We don’t have to make it easy on him.”
The carriage jolted over a rut and then I realized I was able to see more of what was going on. I saw Abel sheeting the road with ice behind us. Forrest was fending off soldiers, giving Abel cover. I heard Gilbert playing music up ahead and I expected Rin was up there with him.
They were all fighting together. I knew it was only because they were fighting for something bigger, but it was beautiful to behold. All of us together, at last.
“I wish I was out there with them,” I said.
“Me too,” Niko said.
“At least you can fight once you heal up. I’m still useless. I know the powers I give you are important, but…”
“You don’t really want to fight.”
“I do too want to fight,” I said. “I know it doesn’t make sense for me to be on the front lines of anything, but at least I want to know I can. I mean, Rin still threw up, but that doesn’t mean he can’t take care of business.”
Niko chuckled low. “Be careful what you wish for, pet. When we find your ornaments, what will you become?”
“Something strong, I hope,” I said. “I’m ready.”
*
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this book, I would be so happy if you took the time to write a quick review. Reviews help me decide what to write next! Book 3, Priestess Unleashed, will be out this spring. Join my mailing list to get first look at bonus material and opportunities to read my books in advance! Although I have more day-to-day fun over at the Facebook group. I’m taking a quick break from Phoebe’s (complicated? overly complicated?) world to write a fun contemporary paranormal reverse harem…Social media addict Edie just wanted a technology detox when she signed up to spend two weeks in a Victorian manor on a windswept island in Maine, but it turns out she’s the only guest of three sexy demons. This is a standalone that takes place within a larger paranormal world I’ve been dabbling in for a while, so I’m looking forward to my first book set there! That’s up for preorder now and like Priestess Bound, will almost certainly be bumped up.
More Romantic Fantasy from Lidiya!
Fairy Tale Heat
Every book is standalone and can be read in any order, although some characters might pop up in later books!
Book One: Beauty and the Goblin King
Book Two: These Wicked Revels (A retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses)
Book Three: Rapunzel and the Dark Prince
Book Four: The Beggar Princess (A retelling of King Thrushbeard)
Book Five: The Goblin Cinderella
Book Six: The Mermaid Bride
Book Seven: Tasting Gretel
Book Eight: Taming Red Riding Hood
Guardians of Sky and Shadow
Book One: Priestess Awakened
Book Two: Priestess Bound
Book Three: Priestess Unleashed
Paranormal Romance:
Tempted by Demons
About the Author
Lidiya Foxglove spends most of her time writing, drinking hot cocoa, messing around on the internet, and drinking tea, before reading about 15 pages of any manga with lots of pretty boys in it, and then falling asleep. Sometimes she also does yoga and gardens, but not as often as she claims.
[email protected]
Priestess Bound Page 24