Shadowstorm (Sorcery and Science Book 6) (36 page)
Read Shadowstorm (Sorcery and Science Book 6) Online
Authors: Ella Summers
“There’s your target,” Chimera whispered to her, then ran off to help Davin restrain Ariella. She’d managed to find a sword and was a breath’s distance from pulling it on the Selpes.
Madness had consumed Laelia, pouring poison over its delicate beauty. Selpe soldiers were everywhere. They’d invaded Terra’s home. Her rage boiled over, bursting out of her in a wave of Phantom power that whipped across the lawn, mowing down the Selpe soldiers closing in on her. Her path clear, she sprinted for the woods.
Chimera was right. King River had escaped; and the Selpes weren’t attacking anyone else. Anyone except for her. She had to get the hell out of there—because if she didn’t, chances were good she’d end the day in one of Lord Adrian’s prisons.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
~
The High King ~
527AX February 14, Laelia
ARIELLA STOPPED AT the window and stared outside. Darkness had fallen, casting midnight-blue shadows over the cherry blossom trees. A warm evening breeze trickled inside. She slammed the window and drew the curtains shut. She didn’t want to look at the site of the Selpes’ breach—and her wedding.
Davin had been named the high king of Elitia. His father had escaped Laelia without a trace. After felling half the Selpe soldiers who’d swarmed the grounds—and nearly bringing down an airship with that mind blast too—Terra had run off into the woods. Lord Adrian sent Diamond Edges after her, but they’d not yet returned. Ariella hoped they never would. Or at least that they’d return empty-handed.
She paced the length of the high king’s chamber. It wasn’t a small apartment by any means, but after three hours of walking in circles around the place, it felt about as big as a bread box.
Davin had asked her to wait there while he spoke to the Selpes. From the agitated crinkle between his eyes, she could tell he was worried she’d try to pull her sword on them again. He was right. They’d invaded her home and attacked her king. And Davin…he hadn’t even tried to stop them.
At some point, Davin would come back there, and she didn’t even know what she’d say to him. What was he doing? Why had he taken the Selpes’ side over his father’s? She’d thought he finally saw them for who they truly were: villains. They would exploit Elitia, warping its people into an army of brainwashed supernatural soldiers. Ariella loved Davin, but if he decided to stand by while their people were rounded up, tortured, and drugged, she would go rogue too, just like Terra.
Across the room, the wind rustled the curtains, tossing in a handful of pink-white blossoms. Ariella was walking over to close that window too, when Davin entered the chamber.
“They’ve left,” he said, closing the door behind him. “It took hours of my reassuring them that the alliance is still in effect, but they’ve finally gone back to Orion.”
“You really think that after all they’ve done, the alliance should remain? Your father didn’t.”
“The Selpes have declared Father a rogue.”
Ariella stepped forward, the weight of her anger squeezing her hands into fists. “And why should they even get to decide who is called rogue?”
“Terra’s marriage to Aaron cannot be reinstated,” Davin said. “Not without her agreement and a completely new ceremony officiated by the high priestess of Laelia. That’s half the reason it took Aaron so long to leave. He refused to go until I did something about that, no matter how many times I told him there was nothing I could do. He’d probably still be here if I hadn’t kicked him out. Seriously, after three hours, it was just enough. I shouldn’t have had to remind him this is my wedding night.”
Davin reached toward her, but she backed away. His smile waning, he dropped his hand to his side.
“What did you do?” she ground out. His irrelevant speech had only fueled the anger burning inside of her.
“Only what my father told me to do.”
“That doesn’t even make any sense, Davin. King River certainly didn’t tell you to help the Selpes overthrow him.”
“Actually,” he said. “That’s precisely what he wanted me to do.”
Ariella stared at him, trying to read whether he was lying. But his words—and the emotions that flowed through their bond—rang true. Every one of them.
“Tell me what’s going on,” she demanded.
“After we came back from Seastone, Father and I went to Legacy,” Davin said. “He wanted her input on dissolving Terra’s marriage to Aaron. Once we confirmed that it could be done according to Elition law, he asked me to invite Aaron to our wedding. He wanted to make a public declaration that the marriage was invalid.”
“He knew how Aaron would react,” Ariella said quietly.
“Yes. In fact, he was counting on it. Even though he dictated that Aaron come alone, he knew Lord Adrian wouldn’t let the Selpe emperor walk into Elitia without soldiers waiting nearby. He wanted to free Terra, but that was just part of it. He needed that Selpe audience to hear him declare an end to the alliance. And he needed them to react just as he knew they would.”
“Are you saying that King River wanted to be deposed?”
“The Selpes know that we know about the experiments. And they knew how Father would react to their actions. If he hadn’t declared the alliance over, they’d have been suspicious.”
“But they think you’re on their side,” she said.
“Aaron does.” He eased out of his jacket and draped it over the back of a chair. “Father believes he can accomplish more as a rogue than as the high king. He wants to look into the portals and the Xenens. He wants to gather the support we’ll need to face them if…
when
they return. But someone has to hold Elitia together while he’s gone. Someone has to maintain the alliance. We’re not ready to fight off the Selpes. My father is building an army, Ariella, and his first step is the people of Pegasus.”
“This is why he wanted us to marry so soon.” She fiddled with the zipper of her sweatshirt. “He needed you to be able to take his place now.”
“Yes. And I’m sorry,” he said, taking her hands. “I wish our relationship hadn’t gotten dragged into this.”
“I think that was inevitable.” She sighed. “But why didn’t you tell me what you and King River were planning?”
He leaned in, kissing her softly. “You’re not a very good liar, Ariella.”
“You, on the other hand, are a master actor.”
His smile waned. “I had to make it look genuine.”
“My outrage was genuine.”
“I’m sorry.”
She shook her head, relief washing away her anger. “The question is, what are we going to do now?”
“Right now, I’m going to forget about the Selpes, the Xenens, and everyone and everything else plaguing us. It will all still be there tomorrow. As I said before, this is our wedding night.”
He cupped his hands behind her head and kissed her. His kiss wasn’t soft, and it wasn’t gentle. It was intense. Hard. Impatient. He didn’t stop for a moment, even as he pressed against her, backing her across the room.
The tension, the anger, the fear for King River’s safety—it all melted off of her. As her legs bumped the back of the bed, Davin pulled away just long enough to slide the sweatshirt off her shoulders and toss it away. Then, his teal eyes burning with hunger, he leaned forward, tipping her back onto the mattress. His hands slid across her skin, igniting sensations she didn’t even know she had. She couldn’t think—and she didn’t want to. She just wanted to stay there with him. Forever.
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Shadowstorm
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What's coming next?
Nightfall
(Book 7) is coming later this year.
Books by Ella Summers
Sorcery and Science
2.5
Menace
3.5
Revelations
4.5
Masquerade
5
Ensnared
7
Nightfall [2016]
Dragon Born Serafina
4
Rival Magic
[2016]
Dragon Born Alexandria
3
Magic Kingdom
[2016]
Dragon Born Awakening
1
Fairy Magic
[2016]
And
more books
coming soon…
About the Author
Ella Summers has been writing stories for as long as she could read; she's been coming up with tall tales even longer than that. One of her early year masterpieces was a story about a pigtailed princess and her dragon sidekick. Nowadays, she still writes fantasy. She likes books with lots of action, adventure, and romance. When she is not busy writing or spending time with her two young children, she makes the world safe by fighting robots.
Originally from the U.S., Ella currently resides in Switzerland. She is the author of the fantasy adventure series
Sorcery and Science
and the urban fantasy series
Dragon Born.
