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She rubbed a hand over her marked shoulder, for the hundredth time since Sten had claimed her.
What the fuck are you going to do now?
She stifled the urge to sigh. Everything in the stone bowels of the mountain echoed too well.
Instead, she rubbed her palms over her face and through her hair.
You told him you wanted him, Marli. You also told him you couldn’t stay.
Her heart slid up into her throat at the thought of parting from him.
She nearly laughed.
Your number one enemy. Stenlen Flintail. King’s man. Well, I didn’t rip his throat out, did I?
Does that count as failure? To fall in love with the enemy?
Love?
Yes.
She swallowed.
Can’t think of that now.
Aeleftheria had a fragile truce with the Mountain tribe, with Jori at its head.
And what of these seals?
She wasn’t sure she really understood it all.
What is hidden in Aeleftherian territory that is so valuable?
Were any of these myths real? Or was is all just a bunch of individuals believing in the stories and acting on them?
Doesn’t matter, Marli. Real or not, your duty is to protect your queen and people from threats.
The threats are real.
The sound of rocks tumbling echoed down the tunnel, shaking Marli from her thoughts.
She crept forward, light on her feet to avoid making noise. Easing toward the edge of the tunnel exit, she blinked against the dim light filtering in through the hole that Sam climbed up to.
Marli watched as the librarian struggled to fit through the hole. Several rocks loosened but wouldn’t dislodge.
The librarian muttered, “Damnation.”
Marli could barely believe her eyes as she watched the librarian’s body shift, shrinking and narrowing to almost a third of her size. She scrambled out and paused to regain her natural size.
“Well… fuck.” She jogged out to the opening, dropped her pack and stripped down. Marli shifted into her dragon form, crouching for the cramped space, twisting around to use her claws to widen the hole, scraping some of the purple paint from her claws.
Dragonsdammit.
Returning to human form, she threw her clothes back on, grabbed her pack and went in pursuit of the librarian, keeping close to the dense pines nearby.
Seconds later, Marli heard the distinct sound of dragon wings flapping overhead.
In the far distance, three receding dark forms were visible.
