Scorched Treachery (Imdalind, #3)(61)

“Because she will have Ryland,” I said, keeping my voice strong and distant. “Ryland is the key to waking Joclyn. Once Joclyn wakes we will be able to face the Trpaslíks that surround us.”

I smiled at my words, the visions from the first sight flying into me. Saying it aloud somehow sealed her fate, making her the one that would defeat my father and assuring that she would become the beautiful warrior I had seen in my sight.

“Why can’t we just attack them now?” Thom asked. I couldn’t help but laugh, the hearty sound of my voice sounding odd against the tension that still rippled off both of us. I stopped again to face him, the door to my suite only a few steps away. I could already feel my heart pull me toward the door, my magic stretching to ensure her safety.

“You would attack twenty or more Trpaslíks with only you, me, and a Drak?” I raised my eyebrow at him, the dare for him to answer evident.

While I may be able to defeat more than half that amount on a wet day, I knew Thom had always struggled with his ability. Being the son of an un-bonded mortal had always made him weaker than the rest of us. Dramin would prove little help at all. Draks had no defensive magic. There was no other way to put it. It was the reason my father had been able to exterminate them so easily.

Thom shook his head and looked away from me, his answer evident in his eyes. I ignored the bristle I felt at his lack of respect, but kept it at bay, reminding myself that my role as a ruler had died with my people. Not like I had taken it seriously in the first place.

“We will watch them. We need to set a more consistent guard – which between the three of us may prove impossible, but we must do what we can.” I set orders as I always had, Thom’s back straightening in preparation to obey. “If we can make an adequate map of where their camps are, it will help us to attack without incident when the time comes.”

Thom nodded once in understanding, the nervous energy that was flowing off him receding with my words.

“Thom, get some sleep. I will watch from here, dnes ve?er, strengthen our shield, and develop a clearer plan.”

Thom said nothing. He only nodded in respect as he turned from me, the thick strands of his hair swinging as he walked down the hall toward his room. I watched him put the tiny buds back into his ears before he turned the corner, leaving me alone in the dark corridor.

I couldn’t ignore the thrum of my heart any longer. The pull moved against my skin like the crawling of a hundred emotions washing over the surface. My shield released from around Joclyn as I entered the room, bringing her back into view.

A few more days and she would wake.

If Edmund had already sent Trpaslíks after us, then Ovailia couldn’t be more than a day behind. Soon, I would wake her.

If Edmund had sent Ovailia at all.

I wiped the thought from my mind. The stress that such a small idea gave me was overwhelming. I straightened my back and walked away from her, towards the window.

I could still feel the need to be near her, but for now, I needed to prove that I was stronger than my desire. I had to remind myself that she would not be mine for many years to come. The breeze that came in through the high arches of the windows swirled around me, the mingled magic of the men who stood around us in preparation for attack evident to me now. The power was weak, but it was there. I could feel their anticipation, the nerves, and excitement.

The danger had followed us to our door once again, but I knew what the Trpaslíks who guarded us did not. The time was coming, closer and closer. I could feel the tick in my blood, beating like a clock, signaling its arrival.

The hairs on my arms prickled as my energy rippled over my skin, my alert power prickling, desperate to be used. I always kept so much of my magic restrained, for safety reasons. It was only in battle that I could freely feel my magic flow through me, that I could be free. My energy rippled now; the maniacal energy setting me on fire in eager anticipation.

The final battle was knocking on our door. The sight had shown me that.

We just needed sleeping beauty to wake.

“He will tear us apart. Pokud si p?ejete, aby viděl konec, dej mi své srdce.” I spoke the words of Joclyn’s sight silently, the words sounding like a deep prayer of mass when whispered in Czech.

Give me your heart.

Hadn’t I done that already? Hadn’t I promised her every beat that it possessed when I first held her in my arms eight hundred years ago?

Yes, but I had also taken it away.

I had taken away her claim on me when I made the decision not to break the bond between her and her mate. My brother. Could I break that bond now, after all I had sacrificed, after all I had promised her? No, it was not in me to be so cruel.

My back was still toward her as my heart beat for her. I felt love and confusion swell inside of me. I didn’t need to look at her to feel my conviction continue to cement itself within me. I could see her beauty, her strength, her power. I could see her weakness and the hold it had on her vanishing slowly every day. I could hear her laugh and see the way she wrinkled her nose. I could see the flash of her silver eyes when she was upset.

She was amazing.

I would do anything to protect her, to help her, to let her become what she wanted and needed to be. I would give her my heart, if that were required. She had it until it beat its last.

The tops of the trees reached toward the moon, the shadows dark and deep. I loved this view, the natural beauty of the world that modern man had destroyed. There were so few places on earth where you could find that peace anymore. Places that I had walked through, loved, worshiped, and explored through my hundreds of years had all been overrun with what others were calling progress. I could feel the energy of the earth radiate from the ground, the natural force strong here, whereas in the cities of the world, the natural power was covered and poisoned until it no longer existed.