The Sartious Mage (The Rhythm of Rivalry) (45 page)

My heart stopped when it opened and I saw who was inside.

“Don’t worry, Sannil and Kalli. I’ll make sure he’s well taken care of.”

Lisanda’s low-voiced accent made everyone turn. Even our neighbors stopped pretending to be busy. A few came over and knelt before her. She smiled and curtsied back.

She wore a black dress with red sleeves that flowed down to her knees. Her dark hair was different, now resting in playful curls on her shoulders. But her brown skin shone golden under the sun just like usual.

Kalli yelped and ran out to squeeze her. Lisanda giggled and returned the embrace. A few people gasped at the strange interaction between a commoner and a Takary princess, but gasps turned to whispers, then to murmurs, then to excited chatter when Lisanda kissed Kalli’s cheek.

I noticed Sannil laughing behind me.

“I suppose this will forever change how our neighbors think of us,” he said.

Kalli turned to me with her hands on her hips. “What are you doing over there, stupid?”

I couldn’t move. My eyes were locked on the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen.

Lisanda lifted her shoulders as she swayed back and forth, showing me an embarrassed smile. “I’ve missed that look.”

Suddenly I was running, throwing my arms around her, and lowering my lips to hers.

When our kiss was done, she went to her toes and whispered into my ear, “I told you I wouldn’t leave you until you were cured.”

My heart fell to my stomach with a crash as she went back down to her heels.

“Didn’t you hear? There is no cure.”

She smiled and squeezed me tight, nestling her head under my chin. “Then I guess I can never leave your side.”

END

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Jek and Lisanda will return. If you haven’t read
Bastial Energy
yet, make sure you do so next. The third book in the series,
Bastial Steel
, follows
Bastial Energy
, but it also includes characters from
The Sartious Mage.

Author Information

I would love to hear from you. All feedback is welcome.

Please email me at [email protected]

Visit
btnarro.com
to view maps and other info on the Rhythm of Rivalry series.

To my mother and father

for their continuous love and support.

They may not be the best editors,

but I couldn’t ask for better parents.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is coincidental.

Copyright © 2013 by B.T. Narro

Cover art by Ricky Gunawan

Maps by Annette Tremblay: midnightwhimsy.deviantart.com

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written permission of the copyright holder.