Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
If they are, we do not remember such things. At least, I do not. All I remember of the years before my madness are flashes and glimpses, Dakh admits. And not much of that.
My memories are shattered and come mostly in dreams, Kael tells us.
Mine, as well. I think of the dreams I have had, of the mountains and sands of home, and the jungles of the enemy. I think of the female who betrayed me. The queen. Do you dream of her?
I dream of no queen, Kael says.
I have dreamed of her, Dakh adds after a moment. They were not pleasant dreams.
Nor mine. I think she is one reason why the Salorians can trap us with their minds. She works for them. Even now, just thinking about it fills me with anger, dismay, and loss. As if I have been betrayed by my oldest of friends.
My dreams are slightly different, Dakh says. I think she has been taken by the Salorians and they use her as much as they use our people. I remember that.
Interesting. For some reason, I find that reassuring. Do you think it was she who sent us through the Rift? I think of the green, pulsing wound in the sky, and shudder mentally.
Emma sends me comforting thoughts automatically, sensing my distress even locked in conversation with the other females. I reply with a caress of thoughts. I do not want her to worry. They are just memories. They cannot harm me now.
The queen is our past, Dakh says. Our mates are our future.
I agree completely. I would not return home for the queen or for my people, not if it meant leaving my Emma behind. She is my world now…and it is all the more reason I must strive to eliminate the Salorian. If he captures my mind, I cannot keep Emma safe. If she is not safe… I growl at the very thought.
Sasha keeps a log of everything I tell her about our past, Dakh admits after a long moment of silence. Sometimes I have her read them back to me and I do not remember anything that is in there. I wonder sometimes if there is something that is preventing us from remembering. That it is not our minds that are broken but something else that stops us from being able to think about the world we left.
More Salorian mind tricks? I ask.
Perhaps. Who can say? I do not recall any more of Salorians than I do of my mother’s face.
I try to think of my parents. There is nothing but fog. Perhaps Dakh is right. Perhaps there is something that is stopping us from recalling who and what we are except for the basest of memories. If so, it is a very evil thing. I snarl at the thought of it. What reason is there to strip us of everything?
If I had that answer, I would also know how to fix it, Dakh replies, and Kael growls an affirmative.
Perhaps the solution is to destroy the Salorian. Or if nothing else, to find out what he remembers, since he seems to have his mind without a mate. He does not suffer from the mating frenzy that our people do. He is not falling prey to the madness.
Perhaps he is the answer to everything.
EMMA
As I talk with the women, I can’t help but get bits of emotion from my dragon. Zohr’s thoughts are little pings of distress, no matter how much he tries to cover it up. I know he’s thinking about something that bugs him. You okay up there? I ask as Claudia refills our cups with more coffee. What are you guys talking about?
Nothing, he sends back. Just dreams. Memories.
Bad ones?
They are all bad to some extent. Even the good ones are of things I can never have again.
He’s got a point. I’m sorry, babe.
Why do you apologize? You did not bring me through the Rift. You are the only good thing here. His thoughts turn sweet and sultry all at once. You are the best thing…
Down, boy. Not right now, I tease, even as I force myself to concentrate on what Sasha and Claudia are saying. I feel a little bad for Amy because she’s not here, and it was clear she was sad at having to leave the conversation.
“We have to do something about Azar,” Sasha’s saying, her coffee untouched. There’s a distressed expression on her pretty face. “I hate that he’s capturing other dragons and holding their minds hostage. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for you, Emma.” She shudders. “You’re lucky you caught him in time. I don’t know what we do to stop him.”
“I do,” I tell them. “We kill him.”
Claudia’s eyes go wide. “You’d murder someone?”
Sasha looks surprised, as well. Why are they surprised? “He’s a threat,” I tell them. “He’s evil. He has no conscience. Why wouldn’t you take him out?”