by Avril Sabine
“Don’t start. What was I to expect? It was Jay’s phone. Of course I thought it was real. I’ve spent the last four hours worried about him and thinking you were being an even bigger bitch than usual.”
“I want you to come straight home.”
Amber sighed heavily, making sure her mother could hear her. “We’ll have something to eat first. And a break. You can’t expect Maira to drive nearly eight hours with no rests.”
“Very well. Give me a call when you’re leaving.”
“Okay. Bye, Mum.”
“Next time, ring me first before you go racing off. Or ring the hospital and make sure it’s a real call. I’ll see you tonight.”
Amber tucked her phone away when her mother disconnected. She faced Ronan. “You cause me all kinds of problems.”
Ronan grinned. “It looks like you have it under control.”
“Only because Jay comes up with brilliant solutions.”
“That boy has the mind of a dragon. Are you sure there aren’t any dragons amongst your ancestors?”
“I really hope not.” Amber couldn’t help thinking about the armoury she’d found at her grandmother’s. She firmly put that thought aside. There were far too many other problems to sort without worrying about what that meant. Her stomach grumbled. “Didn’t you say something about food earlier?”
Ronan draped an arm around her. “I offered you something to eat and you turned it down.”
Amber shuddered as they walked towards the door. “I want real food.”
“Your wish is my command.”
“Huh! Not very likely.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Amber shut her bedroom door, leaning against it. She closed her eyes, trying to relax after the lecture she’d just endured from her mother. She was exhausted. It was over ten hours since Ronan had interrupted her lunch with his demands, but it felt like a year had passed instead.
“Can I get you anything?”
Amber opened her eyes to stare at Alsandair. “I’m fine.”
Rian entered the French doors. “She is not fine, but she will become annoyed if you do not believe her.”
“Why are you here?” Amber pointed at Rian.
“Because he needs to be trained how to be your warrior.” Rian gestured towards Alsandair.
Amber shook her head, not wanting to know any more. It all seemed like too much drama. She glanced around her room. “Where’s Kade?”
“As soon as he finishes giving Maira her orders he will come here.”
Amber nodded then headed for the bathroom. She saw clothes had been put on the vanity for her to wear to bed. While she was in there, she used the last bit of her power to fill some of her depleted jewellery. She shouldn’t need it at least until the morning. She hoped. A night of peace would be good. Peace! Who was she kidding? It didn’t look like that was ever likely to be a part of her life.
If the dragon world wouldn’t quit hassling her then she was going to make sure they couldn’t walk all over her. Amber grabbed her toothbrush, staring at herself in the mirror. She had killed a person. Well, Paili had been a dragon at the time. A close examination showed no changes. Other than the fact she looked completely exhausted.
Amber did her teeth, turning out the light as she entered her bedroom. She paused in the doorway when she saw Kade sprawled on her queen-sized bed. He moved over slightly and she smiled. Not that it’d help much when he fell asleep and transformed into a dragon. She wondered if her grandmother would complain if she replaced the bed with a king-sized one. She couldn’t help smiling. Her grandmother would probably buy the bed herself if she thought Amber could use it to get Kade to the altar.
“Should I ask what thoughts are making you smile like that?” Kade asked.
Amber shook her head as she crossed the room, dropping onto the bed. “Absolutely not.”
“How are you? Are you sure you shouldn’t have asked Ronan to be here tonight?”
“We can’t leave the castle completely undefended. He’s needed there for now.”
“Yes, but-”
Amber pressed her fingers against his lips. “I was wondering, how do they test us on today? I mean, for the wyvern nest they were all over the place.”
“They’re not stupid enough to get that close, but they will interview the defeated. There should be no problem with passing the test. There were only a handful of us at the end. We can almost claim the rest as diversions.”
“Did you know Flinn asked for them to test us on today?”
Kade shook his head. “No, but I should have realised. He’ll grab any chance to pass another test.”
“Capture a Pliethin, clean out a wyvern nest and avenge an insult.” She couldn’t stop the anger that filled her as she mentioned the last test. “That’s three done. Seven more to go. What’s the quickest anyone has ever done all the tests?”
“Nineteen months.” Kade grinned. “Try and keep that competitive streak of yours under control. It’s pretty tough getting them all done that quick.”
“But then Flinn wouldn’t be considered clanless. I worry about Crystal.”
“Crystal will be fine. You won’t allow anything else.”
Amber grinned. “Nope.” Her grin turned into a yawn that she tried to suppress.
“Time to sleep.” Kade tugged her close.
“I guess.” She was reluctant to sleep.
“Shh. I’ll be right here if you need me.”
Amber smiled, pulling him closer so she could kiss him. Anger and thoughts of battle receded. Reluctantly she pulled away. “Goodnight.”
Kade smiled slightly. “Sweet dreams.”
Rian turned the light out and Amber rested her head against Kade’s shoulder. She worried what her dreams would bring after the battle she’d seen that day. Sweet was probably going to be the last word to describe them. She tried to think of something else to distract herself with and the locked doors down the hallway came to mind.
It was tempting to find out more about them. But did she really want to? Could she handle any more secrets in her life? Probably not. It was safer to leave them locked. Safer to try and control her curiosity a little better. Maybe that just might keep her out of trouble more often. Yeah, right. Who was she kidding? She finally drifted off to sleep, unable to stay awake any longer. Her dreams were filled with waves crashing against a rocky shoreline and a parade of people who called out, “Long live the Queen.” She would have almost preferred oceans of blood.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to my usual crew for putting in excessive hours to help me improve this series.
About The Author
Avril is an Australian fiction writer who lives with her family on acreage in South East Queensland. She writes mostly young adult speculative fiction, but has been known to dabble in other genres. You can find more information about her at her website www.avrilsabine.com where you can also sign up for her newsletter to be kept informed about new releases, current projects, blog posts and exclusive news.
Free Ebook
Sign up to Avril’s newsletter to receive a free ebook. This ebook is exclusive to those on her mailing list. To find out more about this offer visit: http://www.avrilsabine.com/free-ebook/
*
We value your privacy and will not sell, rent, exchange or loan your email address to third parties. Your information is confidential and you are under no obligation to remain on the mailing list and can unsubscribe at any time.
Also By Avril Sabine
Series
Dragon Blood- Young Adult Urban Fantasy (with elements of romance)
Book 1: Pliethin
Book 2: Wyvern
Book 3: Surety
Book 4: Knight
Book 5: Mage
Stand Alone Series
Demon Hunters- Young Adult Urban Fantasy/Horror (with elements of romance)
Book 1: Blood Sacrifice
Book 2: Retribution
Book 3: Tainted
P
lea Of The Damned- Young Adult Urban Fantasy/Paranormal
Book 1: Forgive Me Lucy
Fairytales Retold (Short Stories)
Snow-White And Rose-Red
The Twelve Brothers
The Light Princess
Beauty And The Beast
Sleeping Beauty
Aschenputtel
Young Adult Novels
Young Adult Fantasy (with elements of romance)
Elf Sight
Earth Bound
Young Adult Urban Fantasy
Stone Warrior (with elements of romance)
The Jungle Inside
Young Adult Contemporary (with elements of romance)
Through Your Eyes
The Ugly Stepsister
Young Adult Contemporary/Paranormal
Whispers In The Dark (with elements of romance and same sex relationships)
Children’s Books
Dragon Lord (Preteen/early teens) (Fantasy)
The Irish Wizard (Upper middle grade) (Urban Fantasy)
Short Stories
Urban Fantasy
Eternally Late
Dealings With Joe
Disclaimer
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
