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“Show yourselves.” The beauty of the emperor’s voice roiled the earth, even shaking the grand general with its purity.
Shenzhen blinked as two Darkans appeared from the shadows like the night itself.
“The Darkan that houses the Dracan must be in this castle dungeon by the next moon night in two days. Take a cadre of warriors from the elites. Bring her to me.”
Happiness surged inside General Shenzhen at the light that entered his emperor’s eyes—the light of cunning and secrecy.
“It unfolds, my emperor. It unfolds and all will be within your grasp.”
Chapter Nineteen
Nuria—Kingdom of eternal fire
Castle Shelah
Ajali lay in a deep unconsciousness, bound by the psychic link he had somehow formed with the thing. No, with Tehdra. He tried to untangle his thoughts. The dark cruelty of her mind held his, refusing to let go. Amongst the cruelty and blood thirstiness, pain bled from her at his betrayal. She raged, wallowing in a place he doubted anyone could reach.
Another level of psychic barrier shattered, releasing more malignity. Deep in the recess of his mind he shuddered at the feelings raking him. They did more than that, they devoured him. Pain and agony seemed alive. These emotions poured from the betrayal she perceived he’d inflicted upon her, not her wounds. He also sensed possessiveness…and love?
His throat tightened.
Why have you betrayed me?
He tried to unravel the pathway that she spoke to him on. His mind seemed trapped in an absolute void. How have I betrayed you? You threatened my kingdom with death and despair. You had to be contained, Tehdra. He rasped along the link, shocked when he felt the stirring in his mind.
How was this possible?
A frightful surge of darkness penetrated his consciousness. The abyss stretched. His mind tunneled in, and he saw Tehdra as if she stood in front of him. She stood naked in a sea of murkiness with the blackest of charka swirling around her, binding her in shadow-like chains. The chakra seemed to burn her skin, creating stripes of red which disappeared to reappear.
Tehdra?
A harsh pulse of joy before an answering rasp in his mind.
Mate.
The hiss only held the smoky softness of Tehdra’s voice, yet what rasped “mate” was her voice, but it was overlaid with menace. The depiction of her was so clear he tried to reach out a phantom hand to touch her. There was no hand to raise, just his mind connected to her on a level that seemed unbreakable.
Her eyes flickered red, and chakra swiped at his mind pummeling him with viciousness.
Ajali!
His name was a roar of betrayal, but the love that rushed from Tehdra had his heart stuttering.
Tehdra. His call was met with silence. She lived inside the darkness. He felt her. Obsidian eyes opened, flashing red. Fangs elongated and a smile of cruelty curved her lips. But instead of repulsing him, her macabre appearance made something powerful inside of him surge to life.
Mate…free me.
The voice spoke to him as if it were separate from Tehdra, yet being connected to her mind, feeling the malevolent chakra, all he sensed was Tehdra. And something more. But he could not separate Tehdra’s essence.
A surge of determination burst from Tehdra, more powerful than the twisted rage. Pure and clean like a breath of fresh air. She fought. Bound by the charka, she somehow fought. He did not understand, but Ajali distantly felt Tehdra struggling through the rage. The emotions battled, trying to ensnare him in the war. Resolve and cold logic mingled with rage and blood thirstiness.
A flash of red, and Ajali’s mind froze as an image draped itself over Tehdra, caressing her. Its malevolence was a sight to behold. Massive and serrated edge wings covered her entire body as its chakra shape seemed perched on her.
What was it?
Power roiled through his mind, seeking a connection.
Ajali…
