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

It will take her longer, of course. Darnuith has stronger protections than the other realms.”

“How?” Dianthe yelled. “How does she know?”

Aborella frowned. “The same way she knew someone in Everfield helped me.” Aborella’s hand pressed into her abdomen. “She fed me her tooth; bound me against my will. It was meant as a punishment. Meant to keep me alive while I festered in that shallow grave you found me in. I’ve felt her calling me down the bond since yesterday. Anywhere I go, she knows. She can compel me, make it very uncomfortable for me not to obey. My blood burns with the desire to go to her even now. Please forgive me for not revealing this sooner. I needed time to tell you what you needed to know.”

Dianthe’s breath caught, and Avery appeared equally appalled. It was a grave sin to force a bond. Once in place, it could not be undone, not even with the strongest magic. The tooth was a part of Aborella now. There was no way to remove it without killing her. Her bond to Eleanor was complete and irreversible.

Aborella reached out and wiped a tear from Dianthe’s cheek. “My friend, I don’t want your tears. We both know what needs to be done. This isn’t a sad day. I am free because of you. And what Avery will do for me will free me from this bond. It is my only means of escape, you understand. It must be done.”

Dianthe only cried harder. She knew that Aborella had done atrocious things in her life, even to Sylas, but there had been times, times when she was healing the fairy, when she saw the child within. Aborella’s life had never been easy. In many ways it had never even been her own.

“Avery,” Aborella said. “Please. It’s time. If you wait any longer, you’ll place everyone in danger.” She extended her neck and looked toward the suns.

Avery drew her sword. Fairy Killer, Dianthe had heard it called. The broadsword scared her, but then it was crafted of iron and poisonous to fairies. She took a step back. Aborella was right. It had to be done.

But she didn’t have to rejoin the universe alone. There was one simple thing Dianthe could do. She opened her mouth and sang. She sang the song fairies everywhere sing to the dying. It was said that the song opened the way to the next world.

Aborella’s silver eyes met hers. “Thank you.”

Avery’s sword whistled through the air, slicing cleanly through Aborella’s neck in one swoop. There was no blood. Her head never even hit the ground. Her body broke apart into confetti, the sparks peppering the snow, melting holes into its icy surface. And then she was gone.

“Holy shit!” Avery yelled. “Where the hell did she go?”

Dianthe wiped the tears streaming from her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat. “It happens to some fairies. It’s normal, although rare. She t-turned into light. It usually… it happens to fairies when it’s their time, when they’ve accepted their fate.”

Avery sheathed her sword, wiping her own cheeks. “I didn’t want to do it, Dianthe. You know I didn’t want to, right?”

Dianthe pulled her into her arms. “I know. You had to. You did the right thing.”

Behind them, the door opened and Sylas squinted into the sun. “What happened? I heard singing. Where’s Aborella?”

Dianthe threw her arms around him and cried into his shoulder. “She’s gone. She’s g-gone.”

It was a few minutes more until she was able to explain to the others what had happened and why they had to leave immediately. She also told them about Aborella’s vision concerning the orb of Darnuith.

“I didn’t see this turn of events. We told Colin we’d retrieve you two and be back on Aeaea by early morning,” Nathaniel said. “It’s dangerous keeping the three sisters apart. If we do this, it could be a disaster.”

Clarissa shook him by the arm. “If we don’t do this, we may lose our chance to retrieve the fifth and final orb. Think about what this means for the resistance.”

“I’ve ne’er been one to back down from a fight,” Xavier said. “If ma Avery goes, I go too.”

Avery looked like she’d eaten nails for breakfast. “I don’t think I can walk away from this one. Aborella sacrificed herself to give us a chance at this. I’m the first to say that I thought the fairy was pure evil, but it appears that even she believed Eleanor needed to be stopped and was willing to pay for it with her life. I believe she was trying to help us. I can’t walk away. If we have a chance at the orb, we have to take it.”

Sylas stared at Dianthe, looking as exhausted as she’d ever seen him. “One more for the road?”

She bumped his fist with her own. “If we’re going to do it, we do it together.”

“We’ll need gear,” Sylas said.

“We have it.” Nathaniel gestured to a pile of cold-weather clothing beside him. “Clarissa and I conjured enough for everyone.”

Dianthe sifted through and found a set in her size. “Then, in honor of Aborella’s sacrifice, let’s go find the orb of Darnuith.”

Chapter Thirty

With impressive speed and efficiency, the rebels dressed, packed, and exited the hunting cabin, leaving everything exactly as they’d found it. Sylas thought it would do no one any good to give the rightful owner a reason to be upset. One could never be too careful when dealing with witches.

It took little coaxing to convince his brothers that the best course of action was to fly their mates to the Ice Forest. Traversing the mountainous terrain of the kingdom of Darnuith on foot was a task none of them wished to take on.

“Ice Forest isn’t a misnomer,” Dianthe said.

Sylas landed on a slippery patch of ground between white-coated trees. He was profoundly thankful for the rows of metal teeth on the bottom of the boots Nathaniel had given him to wear. Without them, he was