Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 127026 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127026 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
“Indeed. We’ll work together to train you in the Society and government as a whole. There’s so much left for you to learn. I was pleased to see you excel in your studies of these subjects. History illuminates so much of what is to come.”
“I’ve noticed that. History repeating itself.” She took a deep breath. She hadn’t planned to go in this direction with Bastian. But he was from the south, where most magical artifacts had been created. Perhaps he could help her without ever knowing what he was helping her with. “Like magical artifacts.”
He paused over his assessment of a pepper. “How so?”
“They were used in the Great War, and they are being used again even though the illegal ones were supposed to have been secured or destroyed.”
“That is correct.”
“The House of Shadows had them, and I’ve seen them on the streets of Kinkadia despite the Society attempting to eliminate them from the populace.”
He arched an eyebrow. “What are you getting at? If you have a suggestion, then I am willing to hear it.”
“I want to learn more about them. I’m sure there must be a list of all the kinds that have been developed. The ones we have in possession in the Society and the ones still out there to be secured,” she said, hedging around the fact that she was really asking to locate the Collector. “I keep coming up against them. I thought it would be valuable to train against them too.”
Bastian’s eyebrows rose. “That is a large ask.”
“I’m aware. But how are we to get better if we don’t practice against the very things we might come up against?”
His eyes went thoughtful, and then a small smile graced his features, as if a thought had just been perfectly realized. “I would need a specific dispensation from the council to allow the artifacts to be taken out of the vault. I’d likely need a second one for training.”
She swallowed. “Oh.”
“It would be easier to start with the research. Let me work on getting the artifacts out of the Society vault.”
“That would be perfect. Thank you so much.”
Research was good enough for now. If she had a full list of magical artifacts, then maybe she could discover exactly what this Collector did and how to extract its secrets. Stealing it wouldn’t be enough if they couldn’t use it too. With Bastian’s support, she might even figure out how to go up against the remaining artifacts out in the world beyond.
11
THE SPIRIT
A half hour to midnight, Kerrigan snuck out of her rooms. Benton and Bayton weren’t heavy sleepers, but they’d given up on trying to get her to behave like a lady. That clearly was not in Kerrigan’s repertoire.
She arrived in the dragon aerie and touched a hand to Tieran’s side. “Ready?”
He released a soft puff of air in ascent.
She climbed onto his back and let him carry her, soaring out of the mountain. Her stomach fluttered in anticipation, even as the flying settled her. The air whipping through her hair. The cool temperatures as she escaped the summer heat for higher altitudes. The peace that suffused her bones. This was where she belonged. It was hard to remember that with everything else always weighing her down, but she had a dragon. One she loved despite their differences. The only thing she’d ever wanted was access to the skies. It was good to be reminded of that on occasion.
The flight was over too soon as Tieran landed on a nearby peak.
“I could do that every day,” she told him.
Same. We need more training time in the skies and less time dealing with politics.
She laughed. She couldn’t agree more. If only her every waking moment wasn’t already occupied by said politics.
“You sure you want to be here?” she asked.
Tieran blew hot air into her face.
She suppressed a smile. That was answer enough.
Tieran had insisted that he be there as she entered the spirit plane. As they were now tethered, he felt more comfortable, knowing he would be near to pull her back into the physical if anything went wrong. Plus, he protected her physical form while she was out of her body.
The last thing either of them wanted was for her to die. When a dragon and rider were officially bound, if one died, the other died too. Even though they weren’t bound in that way and they knew that wouldn’t happen to them, it didn’t make it any easier. Not when years of conditioning and a year of dragon training had drilled the importance into their head. She’d grown attached to her dragon to say the least.
Kerrigan slid off of Tieran’s back and landed in the mossy grass.
You should let me come with you, he argued again.
“I want you to, but I want to speak to Cleora first.”
I don’t like it.