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Chapter 38
Kaugnay na kabanata
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 39
Xander had left in the early morning light with approximately two hundred Lycans in beast form. They were heading to the rebellion headquarters first while I was in charge of those who could not follow. Nimu and I had healed many Lycans after the battle, but some were still too frail to make the journey. Healing magic required extreme concentration, depleting our magical energy in the blink of an eye. Even I had to take a break as my energy became dangerously low. I found that those who had ingested silver during the battle were in the worst shape. The silver burned their organs and made them suffer immensely, counteracting their healing ability. Some we had pinpointed the location of the silver and remove it, while others were harder to find. I just hoped that their bodies would expel it naturally. We carried those still in agony in makeshift wagons, along with our food and water supplies. Once we would find a place to settle down during the night, Nimu and I would resume the heali
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 40
“What do you mean, he died? He was fine last night! When did this happen?” “Sometime during the night. Leo came to get him, and the next thing I knew, the boy was at my side, white as a sheet, telling me that Nimu was unmoving. Once I got there, I confirmed his death. He must have used too much magic for his old age and slipped quietly in his sleep.” My heart sank. I had let this happen; I thought miserably. I should have been more alert when I noticed Nimu getting paler. I felt utterly devastated that I had pushed him to his limits. Otis saw the look on my face and grumbled, placing his hands on my cheeks and forcing my head to meet his gaze. “It is not your fault, Cressida. He knew what he was doing. There’s nothing more you could have done to prevent this from happening. Let it go.” Tears spilled down my face, and Otis flicked his thumbs over the rolling beads. I grabbed his wrists and stepped forward, burying my head in his robes. “He did so much for me, for all of us. He hel
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 41
Otis didn’t hesitate and immediately pulled a shield over us. I needed to hurry before losing control over every body function. “I was hit by a paralyzing agent. I won’t be able to move for a couple of hours. They used it on me when I was held captive by Osprey. That means a hunter is here. You must not get hit, or else you won’t be able to do magic! We have to hurry and get everyone to safety!” Otis grabbed my arms and lifted me up. As he dragged me away, a Lycan came forward and pulled me in his arms. “Lycans, to me!” Shouted Otis, who ran to where our party had stopped. I could hear him giving out orders, then returning to my side with one of Xela’s healers and two other people. “Tell them what ails you, and they’ll do what they can. We’ll try to keep everyone safe.” I wanted to nod, but my body did nothing. I groaned and let my head fall back on the Lycan’s chest. “I thought you would have left with your pack,” I told the shifter. “I offered to stay in case healing was need
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 42
Silas quickly shortened the distance separating us and took my face between his hands, assessing my state. His eyes were sharp and anxious, and their piercing blue was as mesmerizing as I remembered. I slightly flinched at his contact. “Ida! Thank the Faiths, you’re alright! When I heard this man say your name and that you were incapacitated, I thought I had arrived too late. You’re lucky my men and I were passing through. I ordered my troops to assist with the invasion of those soldiers, and then we set off to find you. Who ambushed your party?” I shivered at his touch and swiftly detached myself from his hold. It felt wrong for him touching me like that, especially after what he did back at Starling Castle. My cheeks heated with anger at the recollection. “They’re part of the same group of people you tipped off about me coming to Osprey city. Were you that selfish and insulted when I refused you that you decided I was better off tortured and maybe killed?” “What? I don’t underst
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 43
I chased after them both, flapping my wings as fast as possible while avoiding collisions with trees to get to Xander before he took hold of Silas with his maw. Seconds before it would happen, I tackled Xander on his side and grabbed hold of him, riding his back like I was on an enraged bull. He kicked and rolled, snarling at me. I imagined he had lost control over his temper, only seeing Silas in his red-narrowed vision. The second time he rolled on the ground, I fell, and the Lycan beast swiped his claws at me and opened three long gashes on the side of my right arm. I cried out in pain, then bit my lips to prevent anything else from coming out. Xander’s Lycan stiffened and walked over to my crumbled form on the soil, whimpering and licking the wound he had just made on my arm. I realized just how much my body hurt from the day's events, and that last blow made me stay on the ground, holding my aching self still until the burning pulse subsided. It was enough time for Xander to tu
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 44
Xander POV When Ida went inside the tent to sleep, I stayed up thinking. I couldn’t go to bed knowing that this asshole was a mere distance from her, and my Lycan and I wanted nothing more than to go over to his camp and rip him to shreds. The only thing preventing me from accomplishing the act was that he had saved Ida when I couldn’t. I hated that I owed him Ida’s life. Should she have been taken away, I doubted her kidnappers would have been gentle with her, and she had already gone through enough with them as it was. I didn’t think she would have made it very long. I rubbed my face angrily. It’s not that I thought Ida was weak. She was the least vulnerable person I knew. But she was unpredictable, which scared me the most. Should something go wrong while I wasn’t there with her, I didn’t know if she would be able to return. Each time her powers swallowed her up, it took more and more time before my voice brought her back to me. I crouched near the fire, contemplating the danci
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 45
Xander stalled our departure to Perch for a few days and kept the Lycan pack away from me as best he could until my heat was over. To humans, going into heat made no difference in how they reacted toward me. Their sense of smell could not detect anything. But to other shifters, it was a recipe for disaster. It was hard for Xander to be in my presence without ravishing me—which he frequently did, unable to control himself. I couldn’t imagine what it would have been like for the others should they have smelled me. From what Xander explained, shifter folks went in heat once a year, and they would leave the pack with their mates, should they have had one, and return after four or five days once it had passed. Having the anatomy of a human, I had no such luck as it came monthly, like any typical human. This made me wonder what shifters did when they lived in a human village to find work outside their packs. Xander tried to stay away as much as he could, but I hated being alone in this f
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 46
I pushed the doors to the main underground hall, and they banged loudly on the walls on each side. The echo it created silenced all the rebellion leaders gathered, and they whipped their heads in my direction. “Where is Lord Junco?” Silas followed Xander and me into the hall and sat at the end of the long table. Count Robin, Lord Heron and Lord Swallow looked between themselves nervously. When none of them replied, Silas flattened his hands on the wood surface and repeated my question more severely. “W-we do not know, Princess. Lord Junco took a handful of men and said he would go to the neighbouring village to ask for more food to feed the shifters who had arrived and never returned. We sent men to the town to enquire, but upon their return, they said that the village never had the visit of Junco, and the only horse trails that were visible were heading north.” Spoke Lord Heron with unease. I looked over at Xander, my face becoming paler with dread. Junco was going to Osprey city.
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