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

With one hand on Dianthe’s waist, he kept her invisible, but it meant holding the reins at an odd, uncomfortable angle.

An experienced guardsman might have noticed. Dragons lived in a world of magic and illusion, and Paragon’s soldiers had once been trained to question anything out of the ordinary. But that was when Scoria was doing the training. The now deceased captain of the Guard had been a force to be reckoned with. It appeared Ransom was far less regimented with his men. Perhaps he didn’t need to be, considering Eleanor’s significant gains in power.

“We need to go on foot, through the gardens,” Dianthe whispered. “I saw her imprisoned in the back tower.”

Sylas dismounted outside the stables and helped Dianthe to the shelter of a nearby hedge. “I can’t leave the horse. It would be a dead giveaway that something was amiss. Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

“Be careful, Sylas.”

He almost laughed at that. If anyone was in danger, it was her, who would be without invisibility until he returned to her. He kissed her lightly and then walked the horse into the stable and found an empty stall. With a bit of effort, he pried the seal of the palace off the horse’s bridle and tucked it into his pocket. He couldn’t pass up a chance to steal a free pass into the palace for the resistance.

He removed the bridle and saddle as a guardsman would, but just as he was leaving the stall, a young girl dressed in red and black appeared in front of him. Stable girl.

“You’re back early. Has Nochtbend fallen so quickly?” The girl stared at him with far more suspicion than the boy at the gate.

“No. I came back to perform a task for the captain.”

“What task is that?” she asked brazenly.

He narrowed his eyes. Clearly the girl was smart. What would a guardsman say to such an inquiry? “Mind your own business,” he said gruffly, “and do your job.” He thrust the saddle into her hands and tossed the bridle on top.

He heard her grumble as he exited the building, but she bothered him no more. He found Dianthe where he’d left her. Relief filled him as he took her hand in his and they both blinked out of sight.

“Everything go okay?”

“For now,” he whispered. He gestured toward the stable. “The stable girl is going to ask questions the minute she has someone to ask them of. Let’s get this over with before we have more company.”

She led him through the gardens and around the back of the palace, a substantial hike considering the place was built into the side of a mountain. But he followed her without comment. He trusted her. Was proud of her and her abilities. As much as the silent wraith of fear threatened to take control from the dark recesses of his mind, he held it at bay. They’d made a choice together to come here, and he planned to see it through.

“Here.” Dianthe pointed up to a small window in the side of a tower near the back of the palace.

He scanned their surroundings, then did some quick logistics in his head. “That’s the back of my mother’s ritual room.”

Dianthe closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I know this is hard for you, but I saw her there. I saw her chained.”

The temptation to ask her if she was sure was almost unbearable, but he knew she wouldn’t say it if she wasn’t. Now he was afraid. This was the one place he’d hoped to avoid.

“That’s where she did it.” His voice caught, and he held up his ring by way of explanation. “Her ritual room.”

Dianthe cupped his face in her hands. “You can wait for me here. My vision showed her alone. I can try to get her myself.”

He shook his head. “No. We said whatever we did, we’d do together. I won’t let her do that to me. I won’t let her win. I’m facing this.”

“There are no winners or losers here, Sylas. It’s natural you wouldn’t want to go back there.”

He met her gaze and held it. “I’m going.” Even as he said it, it felt like he was standing on a cliff and leaning over the edge. His stomach waited for the drop.

She nodded. “Our packs aren’t going to fit through that window.”

He shrugged out of his, then helped with hers. He stacked them between the shrubbery along the side of the palace.

“Ready?”

He gave her a nod. Hand in hand, they flew straight up to the narrow window. As they closed in, he wondered if he’d fit through the opening, but it was wider than it looked from the ground. With one firm kick, he knocked in the glass, then slipped inside, into the dim interior.

Dianthe landed behind him, still clutching his hand. He looked around to see if it was safe to drop their invisibility. The room was empty except for a heap of gray leather in the corner. No, that wasn’t leather. His eyes adjusted to the dim light, and what he saw chilled him to the bone. He wished he could save Dianthe from this, but she’d already seen it in her vision.

Still, her face, once she’d taken in the room as he had, showed a range of emotions. He supposed the smell hadn’t come through in her mind’s eye. This prison smelled of death, and its contents reeked of things worse than that fate. It stank of blood and dark magic. He very badly wished to leave immediately. But that was Aborella, chained and skeletal in a heap near the wall, and those were her wings, rotting across from her. Was she even alive?

He dropped their invisibility, and his mate released his hand. Dianthe strode around him and crouched next to the fairy’s body.

Hesitantly, she laid a hand on her shoulder. “Aborella?”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Aborella squeezed her eyes shut and tried to ignore the scent of fresh air, lavender, and honey that had reached her nostrils. At first