Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 129584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
“Ha! I just beat Gisa,” North crowed before the next would-be mage stepped forward.
“How?”
“She didn’t find any mages during her shift this morning and was grumbling about it. Now I’ve got one! Including the one I found on the first day of tests, that’s two!” North held up two fingers and did a little celebratory wiggle.
Ravi laughed and shook his head. Five new mages in less than a week. It was astounding after so long without finding any.
North finished giving directions to the old woman, explaining where to enter the castle and that she’d be met by another dragon who would show her around and introduce her to the other mages. He turned back to the line and was greeted by a nervous-looking woman. Her eyes darted from North to Ravi to the other dragons around the courtyard, not that Ravi blamed her. Between the ravenous media, the sudden reappearance of dragons, and this new chance that anyone could be a mage, most people arrived with nervous, overwhelmed, or even dazed expressions.
“Don’t worry. This isn’t going to hurt a bit,” Ravi reassured her.
She offered him a grateful smile as North placed the amulet in her hand. Bright green light glowed from the amulet in an instant, and North gasped.
“Holy crap! That’s two in a row!”
“I’m a mage? Really? Are you sure?” she asked in heavily accented English, though Ravi couldn’t quite place what her native tongue might be. Definitely European, maybe Eastern European.
“Definitely! Congrats!” North laughed.
He stepped to the side and quickly delivered the same instructions he’d just given the old woman. She must have overheard him the first time because she was already walking toward the castle at a brisk pace before North could even finish talking.
As she got several yards away from them, the wind shifted enough that a distinct smell hit Ravi’s nose and nearly knocked his knees out from beneath him. He couldn’t be right. He jerked around and inhaled deeply, praying he’d been mistaken. His heart sped up and his throat went dry when his nostrils filled with the scent a second time.
Jaeggi.
“She’s a Jaeggi,” he exhaled in horror.
“What?” North cried out, his head snapping up and his mouth falling open as he looked at Ravi. The person before him was completely forgotten for the moment.
“Jaeggi. She smells of Jaeggi,” Ravi repeated, his voice growing deeper as his dragon pushed for him to attack. His mind raced forward, planning carefully, while his dragon fought for freedom. They needed to protect the mages. Protect the castle.
“Should I—”
“You stay here, get everyone out, clear the area immediately. Call Baldewin,” Ravi ordered.
He turned away from North, eyes searching the immediate area until he spotted the person he was looking for. With a sharp whistle, he waved over two other dragons. After a few quick orders to guard North, Ravi was sprinting as fast as he could across the courtyard toward the castle.
He could have called for more dragons to assist him, but he was the fastest of all the Burkhard dragons. He was the one with the best shot of reaching her before she could cause any mischief within the castle.
Was it possible she was just a spy? The Jaeggi could have seen the circus that had popped up outside the castle and hoped to sneak someone inside to assess their defenses, get a count of how many dragons and mages were actually inside the clan.
Didn’t matter. Regardless of what her plans might be, he needed to capture her and lock her away where she couldn’t harm anyone.
And if they were lucky—if they could keep her alive—maybe they would finally be able to get some useful information on the Jaeggi.
Ravi burst through the side entrance to the castle where they had been directing the few mages they’d discovered that day and looked around. It was a small antechamber with pleasant pale yellow walls and a mural of a green field at springtime. At one side of the room, Gisa was shouting after the Jaeggi woman, who had darted down a different hallway that led to the main foyer of the castle as well as all of Alric’s offices and private chambers.
Ravi didn’t stop to explain anything. He chased after the Jaeggi mage while shouting over his shoulder for Gisa to call for the rest of the guards. This woman needed to be captured immediately.
Whether it was the sound of his shouting or his pounding footsteps, the woman clearly knew she had been found out. She put on a burst of new speed, but Ravi was quickly closing in on her. No one was faster than a wind dragon. She was not going to escape him.
The hallway cut left, and someone shouted, jumping out of the woman’s way while Ravi followed on her heels.
“Jaeggi! Protect the mages! Protect the royal family!” Ravi shouted, gaining on her by a couple more feet. He was getting close, but not enough to grab her yet.