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The Mage drops to his knees and barely manages to wave a hand, dousing the flames, but it’s too late. His skin is charred black from the fire and his clothes are melted to his ruined flesh. Panting heavily, he grits his teeth. “She is a sanishon. And she must be killed.”
“She is mine, and you will die for daring to try to harm her,” Aurdyn’s voice booms behind me. I twist my head back and my jaw drops at his massive Dragon form.
His large wings are extended out to his sides, making him appear even larger than he already is. His lips are pulled back in an angry snarl, revealing two rows of fangs—each of them as long as my forearm. He moves over me protectively. His lethal black talons digging into the snow on either side of my body as he glares at the Mage.
“She’s a witch!” one of the humans cries out, gesturing wildly at me. “She must die!”
“She ismywitch,” Aurdyn growls. “And youwill nottouch her.” He opens his mouth and sends another stream of fire toward them, burning the Mage and all but one of the men to ash.
Aurdyn snarls at the remaining man. “Return to your masters and tell the Order of Mages that if they dare send another assassin, I will rain down fire and destruction upon their kind and burn their sacred temple to ash.”
He rakes his massive claws across the ground as he stalks toward the trembling man. “Tell them: I am the death that will come for them if they dare try to harm she who is mine.”
The man stumbles back, barely catching himself before he falls. He scrambles back to his feet and races away, disappearing into the forest.
Unable to fight it any longer, exhaustion hits me like a giant wave, and I drop to my knees.
“Freyja!” Aurdyn shifts in a whirl of snow and wind back into his two-legged form and wraps his arms around me, hoisting me to his chest. He brushes the hair back from my face, staring down at me with a panicked expression. “What is wrong?”
“I don’t know. I’m so tired,” I barely manage. “I—” My eyes close and my head falls back as I tumble away into oblivion.
CHAPTER24
AURDYN
Panic twists deep inside me as Freyja goes limp in my arms. I snap my head toward Olmar. “She needs a healer! Now!”
“Follow me!” Olmar runs back to the tavern, barking out orders to the other Dwarves around him. “Find Healer Trian! Bring her to the inn!”
When we reach the tavern, Olmar guides me to a room in the back of the main seating area. A large table sits in the center of the space, surrounded by storage racks of wine. Gently, I lay Freyja down and then lift my head back to him, panic flaring my temper. “Where is the healer?” I growl. “Get them here! Now!”
The door opens, slamming against the wall as an elderly Dwarf woman rushes in, her chest heaving with exertion as she moves to Freyja’s side. Her dark hair is streaked through with white and tied up in a series of twisted braids atop her head. Her amber eyes meet mine and narrow. “I’m Healer Trian. What happened here?”
“This human used magic and then she collapsed,” Olmar answers before I can.
Trian leans over Freyja, her hands hovering over her still form as she closes her eyes in concentration.
The Healer’s brow furrows deeply and panic forms a tight knot in my gut, stripping away the last of my control. “What is wrong with her?”
“She is a human possessed of powerful magic,” she murmurs, her eyelids squeezed shut as her hands move over Freyja’s body. “But it comes at great price.”
“What are you talking about?” I snarl. “Speak plainly, Dwarf!”
Her eyes snap open to meet mine evenly. “I have never seen a human with magic before. It is a different kind than that possessed by the other races.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, not bothering to hide my impatience. “How is it any different from that of the Elves or the Fae?”
“They draw their power from the earth all around them. But her magic”—Trian gestures at Freyja—“draws from her own life force, weakening her with its use.” She rests a hand over Freyja’s forehead and smooths the hair back from her face.
My heart clenches at how vulnerable my T’kara appears in this moment, and I can barely breathe.
“She will live.This time,” Trian says with a sobering look. “But if she is not careful—if she uses too much—it will kill her.”
A maelstrom of emotions churns deep within as I stare down at my T’kara. “But how is this possible? I do not understand. Her kind are not supposed to have magic.”
Her amber eyes snap to mine, full of suspicion. “Since when does a Dragon care so much for a human? Tell me: what is she to you, Dragon King?”
The other Dwarves gasp, and I still. “You know who I am.”
