House of Shadows (Royal Houses 2)

“I didn’t mean to do it, but… yes. I don’t have another explanation.”

There was no judgment in Tieran’s voice, just curiosity. That is very powerful indeed. And do you think you can put it back up?

“No,” she said immediately. “Mei sacrificed herself to do it. I’m not strong enough, nor do I have sufficient motivation, as she did. The wall is down, and it must remain so.”

You went into the House of Shadows. You are one of their people. What do you believe we will see when we reach Lethbridge?

Kerrigan cringed at that assessment. She doubted it looked good that she and Fordham were part of the tribe they were warring with. Even if technically, she wasn’t part of the House of Shadows, she’d made sure no one knew that.

“I don’t know. They’re prepared for this—Fordham is a good commander for a reason—and they hate the people of Lethbridge. They traded with them during all these years of isolation. I doubt they’ve forgiven that they needed help from humans.”

I see. You left something out of your story.

Kerrigan smiled. “You noticed that?”

I have been with you nearly a year. I know your pauses have weight. And you told me that you found a way to fix the bond. How did you discover this, and what must we do?

Kerrigan liked that he knew her well enough to see it. She had been reluctant with Tieran from the start, but now, they were past that earlier antagonism. They were one and the same. “When I was trapped in my head after I had the vision of Mei, I met a woman, Cleora. She was also a spiritcaster but from a different world.”

A different world?

“Yes, I found it difficult to believe as well. She agreed to train me in spiritcasting. We’re to meet at midnight at the next full moon to begin training.”

That is in four days, and we fly into battle.

“Well, I didn’t know that when I met her.”

Tieran’s body rumbled. Of course not.

“I did ask her about dragon bonding though. There are dragons in her world.”

He lit up at that. Another world with more of my kind?

“Yes.” Not that she wanted to tell him that it sounded like they weren’t the same kind of dragons at all. He likely wouldn’t take kindly to knowing that they were just beasts. “And she told me how to use a bond through my spirit magic. She called it a crux bond. Should I try?”

Might as well see if it works.

Kerrigan gulped and sat back up, letting the chill from the clouds rush around her. She focused on reaching for her magic. It was still depleted, thanks to her blackout, but it rose to her. She sifted through it until she found that spot where her spirit resided. It wasn’t readily available, but at least she could locate it. It was what allowed her to slip onto the spirit plane, which she would have thought would be enough energy to keep the magic sickness at bay but apparently not.

Then, she focused all of her energy on creating the small golden ball of light that Cleora had shown her. To her relief, it materialized as easily in the real world as on the plane. She took a deep breath and then stretched the ball into a long, thin line of light. It pulsed a little in her hand, and she shivered.

Cleora had made it seem like crux bonds were entirely one-sided. She would be in total control of the dragon she tethered this to, but she didn’t want that. She wanted a two-way connection with Tieran. A makeshift bonding like the ones that the Society used. Even if Cleora had thought it was barbaric.

She focused her intention, shaping the bond. She had no idea if it was working, but she filled it with all the good feelings she had about being bonded. The sarcastic voice he used with her when she was being reckless. The wind in her hair as they flew as a perfect unit. The hours spent at Waisley fighting together. The relief at seeing him after their expulsion. She wrapped it all up in one perfect intention on the crux.

Now, she was supposed to tether it to her dragon. She had no practical idea of what that meant. She tried throwing one end of it down at him, but that did next to nothing. She tried wrapping it around the saddle, but that was futile. She frowned and considered why it wouldn’t do whatever Cleora had said. Maybe because the intent was for them to both be connected, she needed to tether it to herself as well. She looped the end of the crux bond to her wrist three times and then stretched the end and wrapped it the same number of times around Tieran’s neck.