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Chapter 32
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Flight of the cardinal Chapter 33
There was an uncomfortable silence after the words were said. “She can’t!” Shouted Gideon, outraged. “She’s mated to Lord Alexander.” “Impossible. The princess is a wielder, and it is known that wielders do not have shifter mates! It goes against all laws of balance.” Interjected Count Robin. He almost seemed insulted. Gideon growled at the small man. “She is. I can smell it on her.” They looked at me curiously and took that as my cue to unbutton my shirt and show them Xander’s moon crescent mark on my shoulder. The leaders were silent, looking at each other, then taking steps back to discuss. Silas looked at my mark with an angry red face and said nothing. The rebel leaders must have thought they would pick the pieces up right where the uprising had left them—me being mated changed everything. “Alexander Kestrel is the bastard son of the most powerful lord under the Usurper’s command. We need a strong leader to help rule over Airedah when the princess becomes queen, not some l
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 34
Diana recounted her conversation with Xander while staying at the baron’s guest house. She explained she thought of a hypothesis explaining how magic wielders came to this world. She thought they originated from the Faiths themselves, mixed with human blood—something that was not meant to be created. I pondered over her words. It still didn’t explain what the old man had said. He had clearly gone mad throughout the years. “I don’t understand why he called me Aeternum or mentioned I had to find a binder. What in Faith’s name is a binder?” I shrugged exasperatedly, slouching inelegantly on the library chair. “I can’t speak for the Aeternum part. The poor man looks half delusional, but I think he is right about you being bound. I noticed your vibrations were muffled when you used your magic; not all of it can come through. We need to find the person who did this to unbind you. But why would someone bind you? Most importantly, binding magic has been lost for hundreds of years. Who woul
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 35
***Warning: Sensitive subject/trigger ahead*** I trained with Diana and Gideon’s help for days. I had progressed considerably with defensive stances and attacking spells. I was happy with the new techniques Diana had found and translated from one book. It brought me back to when I was studying with Otis. The thought of my old magic teacher cramped my heart. We had set up a training area in the library. We placed all the tables and chairs on the sides and sparred in the middle. No one came in here, so it made for a perfect hiding spot from the rebellion leaders. I had been avoiding them. Lord Heron and Count Robin still agreed I should marry Silas, whereas Lord Junco and another Lord named Swallow seemed to have mixed feelings about it. As for Silas Starling, I had not seen or heard from him since our initial meeting with the leaders. I was beginning to think he was angry at me—or angry about this unforeseen situation between Xander and me. Their pressure to marry fueled my irritat
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 36
Xander POVThe ale served at our table was questionable. It was warm and left a bitter taste in my mouth.“It shouldn’t be too long now,” I said while skimming over the crowd gathered in the tavern.Corbin Hawk was sitting impatiently on the other side of the table, his left leg bobbing up and down. He was making me nervous. The fact that the hunter had been silent during our investigation also was very unnerving. He only grunted and gritted his teeth—this was the extent of his muted vocabulary.I had been running in circles throughout the city, dodging the rebels and misleading Mr. Hawk for over a week. Gideon had sent word of a warehouse that housed some goods I could find and destroy without damaging the rebellion. The plan had been perfect, but the hunter was as relentless as my father, making it hard to stick to what I had planned. I had to tip my hat to him. Hawk was highly dedicated. Once he had a scent, he didn’t back down. This also made me wary of him. He had a keen sense
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 37
Diana POV I had been sitting beside Ida for days. I had lost count of them since I couldn’t see the changes in the sky from our underground room. She just laid there, sleeping off whatever had happened. I kept replaying that day in my head. Trying to figure out what was missing to piece everything together and make sense of things. After Gideon had finished training with Ida and she left for the hot spring, he found me with news about Alexander. We were both worried about the time he took to finish his job in Maple and come here. Each day since we arrived at the rebellion headquarters, Gideon would try to get some intel on Alexander’s status with the warehouse and let me know. I used it to calm Ida when I sensed she became nervous. “It’s happening tonight,” Gideon had said to me. I was glad. If Alexander’s job were to end that day, he would return to Ida. Ida’s concentration had become worse with each passing day. To my understanding, once you had found your mate, it was challe
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 38
I opened my eyes to a sleeping Diana. Her upper half was slumped beside me while her legs seemed to lie on the floor. Had she been praying?I moved around to remove the covers and let my limbs breathe. It had been so warm under there. On the night I collapsed, I felt tremendous heat wafting out from the mate bond, so to shield and help Xander, I took some of the heat from him. However, I wasn’t expecting it to burn this much—I had fainted from it. I did it without even knowing if I would survive. The only thing I kept repeating was that Xander needed to live, whatever it cost. I couldn’t imagine my life without him being in it.Diana stirred from my movements and lifted her head off the mattress. When she saw me staring back at her, she almost threw herself over me, but she quickly recomposed herself and helped me out of bed, mumbling some sort of apology. I chuckled at her, then winced at the stiffness of my body.“Ach, I feel like a runaway boulder hit me. How long was I out?”“Lo
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 39
Xander was finally back in my arms, and we were alone under the beautiful glow of the moon and stars. I kissed him fiercely, letting my hands wander the length of his bare shoulders and chest. I broke away, which made him groan against my mouth. I had wanted to remove the shirt that separated my skin from his. Once it was off and on the ground, he circled his arms and lifted me up, positioning me on top of him.I straddled Xander, grinding my hips on his growing bulge. I needed him, needed to touch him. I wanted to forget and think only of Xander. He brought my breast to his mouth and nipped it, grazing the hardened bud of my nipple. I moaned as he swirled his tongue and kneaded my other breast with his hand. I raked my fingers through his black hair and tugged at it slightly, urging him on. I could feel my muscles contract and pressure building up between my legs.I slid my hand along his stomach and gripped his cock, taking my time stroking him. It swelled even more. A thin shee
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 40
I tried to reason with Xander for the better part of the night. If he attacked Silas, who knew what would happen to us. Clearly, Silas had acted alone. The rebellion leaders would have never sanctioned such an assignment. I thought I was too valuable for them to do something that would put me at odds with their cause. Yes, some still wanted me to renounce my engagement to my fated mate—even going as far as suggesting finding a way of removing my mark. But I knew they would condemn Silas’s action. Still, I thought leaving Starling Castle for a while would be best. We made for the underground tunnel, and I guided Xander through its labyrinth. Although Xander worked for the rebellion, he had never come to Perch, so this was his first time walking on rebellion territory. Once we arrived in my room, I quickly closed the door and gestured to some of the men's clothes I had brought. Xander took a pair of pants and pulled his legs into them. They fit… but barely. Diana arrived moments la
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