House of Shadows (Royal Houses 2)

But if what Cleora had said was true? Then, Kerrigan could crux-bond with any dragon she wanted at any time. There would be no need for an individual bond. Which was both exhilarating and incredibly invasive. She could never imagine taking Netta away from Fordham or Tavry from Helly. They were bonded for a reason.

“Go on, try. I know it’s different where you’re from, but here, even littlings can create a construct.”

Kerrigan nodded and reached for the spirt magic—crux—within her. Found the space where she’d saved herself from the deadly fall and pulled a speck of gold light out.

“Good. That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Kerrigan shook her head. “No. It was almost easy.”

“Easier off the plane too. Now, stretch it.”

Kerrigan pulled her hands apart, and the light flickered and stretched slowly at first and then with gusto.

“Good. Good. Now, this is the important part. You must focus your intention on the bond. It is malleable and can bend to your will. So, you want to focus on it becoming a crux bond. You want to be in control of your dragon with all the proper properties. My brother’s bonds are exceptional because his intention has been developed over the years. I could probably write an entire series of books on the importance of intention, but we only have right now. So, try that.” Then, abruptly, Cleora turned away from her. “Lords, I must get back. Time is a slippery thing on the plane.”

“Wait… what do I do now?”

“Tether it to your dragon. Once it’s in place, they will follow your command until you remove it. If you’re not in a place to attach the bond, I’d suggest running for cover. Dragons will always kill before allowing a bond. Good luck. I will see you in seven turns.”

Then, Cleora popped out of existence as if she never were.

Kerrigan still held the crux bond in her grip. Could this actually work with Tieran? The bond was supposed to go both ways. Not leave her in complete control. Wherever Cleora was from, they must have different kinds of dragons because she could never use sheer force of will to hold any dragon, least of all Tieran.

She dropped her hands, the crux disappearing as easily as Cleora had. She’d found a spiritcaster teacher. Not the one she had been expecting. But nothing since the tournament had first started had been expected. At least if she had a teacher, she’d be able to use her spiritcasting and not have that magic poisoning her.

If she could just get out of here.

She took a deep breath and released it gently. Yes, she was ready. The world was waiting. No more lingering here.

She dropped. This time, the plane released her, and she fell into her body.

54

The Awakening

Kerrigan woke to darkness. Her head pounded, and her throat was dry. Her stomach seized, as if she hadn’t eaten anything in days. And though her magic felt tapped, the first press of it began to rise when called, reassuring her that she hadn’t lost it entirely.

She had no idea where she was. She’d passed out at Dozan’s and ended up in a fine bedroom that would never be found in the Wastes. She snapped her fingers—old habits die hard—and a weak flame appeared in her palm. Clover lay, curled up in a chair across the opulent room. She’d here before. They must have brought her to Helly after she blacked out.

“Clover,” she rasped, not quite trusting her feet under her yet.

Clover jumped straight out of the chair. “I wasn’t sleeping.”

“You were, but it’s fine.”

Her eyes widened, and she gasped, “Kerrigan! You’re awake.” Clover flung herself onto the bed and wrapped her arms around her. “Thank the gods, you survived.”

Kerrigan patted her on the shoulder. “Uh, yeah, I’m alive. Fully intact. Though a little worse for wear on my magic.”

“Red,” Clover said carefully, “you were out for three days.”

“Oh,” Kerrigan said. It had only felt like a matter of hours at most. Had she been in the spirit plane all that time? “Wow. I guess that’s why I’m so hungry.”

“Helly has been tending to you day and night. She stabilized you but has had to funnel you magic hourly since you collapsed. Speaking of, I should wake her. I don’t want to since she’s barely slept since you got here, but it’s almost morning. I don’t want her anger if I let her sleep longer.” She looked back at Kerrigan. “You’ll be okay?”

“I feel fine,” she told her. Which was strange and miraculous all on its own.

Clover darted out of the room, and a minute later, a bedraggled Helly stepped into the room. She still walked with the air of someone confident in their place in the world, but she was running on empty.

“Kerrigan,” she breathed. “It’s good to see you awake.”

“I hear that I have you to thank for that.”