Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 117336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
NO.
Like slamming a door, I force the thing back out of my head. At my side, Melina gasps and sways, and I can feel her thoughts reeling as my mental shove affects her, too.
"What the fuck was that?" Melina asks, and when I open my eyes, she has a hand pressed to her breastbone, sucking down great mouthfuls of air as if she can somehow purge the unclean sensation that wafted through my thoughts.
My head pounds. I rub my temples, afraid to let my mental shields down for even a second in case the thing is still trying to claw its way into my head. "That was the Rift."
"Oh my god," Melina breathes, a look of sheer horror on her face. "That's what it feels like?"
I nod, the pressure in my head straining. "I'm sorry. I have to block you out for a bit, just in case he tries to come back." I close my eyes, determined to make my mental shields as strong as possible. If I break, he gets Melina and the children both. I have to be both enticing lure and impenetrable stronghold, so I take a moment and concentrate. I can't stop thinking that it somehow recognized the children and me as their conduit. It knows they exist, knows my mate exists.
I have to act soon, or I risk all of them.
She leans in and presses her hands to my face, cupping it gently. Her expression is stricken. "You're dealing with that daily?" At my nod, she shakes her head. "We can't let that go on, Azar. We have to stop it."
"I know," I say, sick. "But the children, I'm not sure they're strong enough—"
Melina shakes her head. "I'm worried you won't last long enough, Azar. How many children will it take? Two more? Ten more? A hundred? Every day the bugs get worse. Every day, the Rift looks more dangerous. Tell me what I can do to help, but we need to take action before it's too late." She searches my face. "Please."
I nod. She's right. Of course she's right. I'm hesitating because I've just gotten her back. I don't want to lose her—and everything—the moment I've gained it all. But if it knows the children are strong, it's going to seek to use them for itself. I think of how often Sallavatri offers the use of her mind to me and I shudder. "We'll go back. Right away. And we'll take care of things tonight."
Melina licks her lips and gets to her feet. "You know the fastest way to travel, right?"
I groan. "Am I your packhorse now, then?"
"No, you jackass. You're my dragon. And you know I'm right."
She is. And I hate it as much as I love the kiss of apology she plants on my face.
The moment I shift to battle-form, my thoughts go haywire once more. Melina's right there with me, though, her mind soothing mine, reminding me that she's at my side. She's with me. That I should talk to her. So I do, and it becomes easier. Not easy, but easier. The madness that comes with battle-form presses at my mind, like a tidal wave being held back by sheer force of will. Is this what the drakoni experience every day here in this world? No wonder they lose themselves to madness. How can they not?
I have a new respect for their mental strength. All this time I thought they were weaker than me because they did not have the Salorian ability to capture and trap minds. Instead, I think they might be stronger than I am, if they can withstand this torrent of mental chaos to regularly transform into dragon form.
But I have Melina to focus on, and she keeps me centered. I hold her in my claws and fly back toward Fort Dallas, toward the stink of unwashed bodies and piles of trash, of humans and mud and excrement and metal. Ironically, it smells like home, and I don't know what that says about me, other than I am truly Salorian no longer.
As I approach the fort, other minds touch mine, light presses of acknowledgment that tap at my thoughts and then politely retreat again. Vaan. Jurik. Even Mhal. It's as if they're ensuring that I bring Melina home safely.
I land in the courtyard, settling Melina carefully to the ground. She wears my robes over one of her dresses, her hair tangled and whipping in the breeze. Her smell is mine, though, my fires mingling pleasantly with her delicate scent. It pleases me to know that all will know she is completely, wholly mine with a mere whiff of her scent.
That's barbaric of you, Melina teases as she takes a step back, regarding me with a smile. And here you thought you were so civilized.
She is right. I am not nearly as civilized as I'd thought. I shift forms, pushing my way back towards my normal, two-legged body with a surge of mental strength. Again, I'm surprised at how easy it is to switch back and forth. Something like that feels as if it should be more difficult. The moment I'm in human form again, though, the silence of it all makes my ears ring. I stagger—and then drop to my knees, depleted.