Hidden Dragon (The Treasure of Paragon Book 7) by Genevieve Jack (best book club books .txt) 📕

total and complete shock. What had she said? Something had triggered the empress. She’d even stopped breathing.

“Is it the golden grimoire?”

Aborella swallowed. She hated herself for this. “I did see a book bound in gold. My vision did not tell me it had a name.”

“I have searched many centuries for this book, Aborella.” Eleanor paced to the other side of the room, suddenly jittery and anxious. She rubbed her hands together. “This grimoire could change everything. It is imperative we find it before the rebels do.”

“No one can find it without the keys,” Aborella explained. “And the rebels already have at least one. The orb that was hidden in Rogos.”

The hiss that tore through Eleanor’s teeth was nothing short of deadly. “Why did you not tell me this before?”

“I did.” Aborella looked her in the eye so that she could see the truth in her expression. “Back in my ritual room, I told you I saw rebels near the sacred pools of Niven. You didn’t believe me. My vision of Everfield was also a misinterpretation but was truthful. The rebels were there, searching for the orb.”

The empress started to tremble, her skin bubbling as if she might shift at any moment. “Where are the rebels now, Aborella? If they have not returned to Aeaea, that means there’s a chance we can intercept them and take the orbs for Paragon.”

Aborella pressed her fingers into her eyes and prayed to the goddess of the mountain that Dianthe, Sylas, Tobias, and Sabrina—the four from her vision—had not lingered in Nochtbend. She’d held off on sharing this vision for as long as she could. She hoped it was long enough that the four had found what they needed and gotten out of there. If not, her next words would be signing their death warrant. Forgive me, Dianthe.

“They’re in Nochtbend,” Aborella said. “The orb is on the scepter of Master Demidicus. The four rebels are attempting to convince him to part with it.”

Eleanor growled, likely with the realization that she’d seen that scepter with Master Demidicus for centuries. She could likely picture the orb in her mind. So close and she’d never recognized it for what it was.

“You’d better not be lying about this. I will not be pleased if this is another wild-goose chase.”

“I have told you everything, exactly what I’ve seen,” Aborella cried softly. “But I am too weak. If you would free me, I could—”

Without a word of comfort or a goodbye, Eleanor strode from her cell and locked the door behind her, leaving Aborella to bleed in the dark room with nothing to look at but her own wing.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Although Dianthe was tired to her bones, she had to speak to Sylas. The nightmare he’d had, the fear and pain—yes, she was sure it was pain she’d seen in his eyes—rattled her spirit. There was something he hadn’t shared with her, something that had changed him. Along with that cryptic comment about fates worse than death, all the clues seemed to point to something bigger under the surface. He’d treated her differently since his escape from Eleanor. The question was, why?

She had to find out what had happened to him. Her marriage was at stake. Their bond was eternal, but their relationship, their intimacy, could be neglected and destroyed. No one ever promised her forever would be easy. If they didn’t find a way back to each other soon, she wondered if they’d find themselves loving each other from a distance. It certainly seemed like things were headed that way.

“Let’s try to get a few hours of sleep,” Sylas said once the white sisters had returned them to their suite. “We’ll head toward Aeaea late morning.”

Tobias and Sabrina hastily agreed to that plan and disappeared into their room.

Dianthe met Sylas’s gaze and held it. “We need to talk.”

“If you don’t want to sleep next to me, I can make a bed out here.” He nodded his head toward the couch.

“Who said I didn’t want to sleep next to you?” Dianthe took a tentative step toward him.

“I want to give you your space. I don’t want to smother you.” The word smother came out with an edge, like it tasted bitter on his tongue.

She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “I shouldn’t have used that word. I’m here. I’m making my own choices. You aren’t smothering me or keeping me from anything physically. I’m sorry I grabbed for that word when I was angry. I didn’t mean it.”

All the light drained from his gray eyes, replaced with frustrated sadness. “Then what did you mean? Because I’ve been trying my damnedest to figure it out for days.”

She thought hard about what she wanted to say. “Before you left… before you were captured, you were my partner. I always felt you valued what I had to offer, both to our marriage and to the resistance. You always said that you and Colin couldn’t do what you did without me.”

“I value you. I never said I didn’t value you—”

She held up a finger. “Something has changed. You had our bags packed and a boat for Aeaea ready, as if you expected the attack from the Obsidian Guard. Did you know Empyrean Wood would burn?”

“No, I didn’t know.” He made a face like the thought disgusted him. “Do you think I would have kept that to myself when I could have spared so many?”

“It’s unlike you, but then why was the bag packed?”

He took a deep breath. “Aborella left. I didn’t trust her. I never trusted her.”

“You didn’t trust me.”

He groaned and rubbed his face with his hands. “I’m too tired for this tonight.”

“I’m too tired not to do this tonight. I’m exhausted from this tension between us. I want my mate back.”

“Then just forgive me for trying to keep you safe. I’m a dragon. It’s expected.”

“This is more than that. If it weren’t for Colin, you never would have let me come on this mission. You allowed yourself