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Chapter 40
SwayYou're in for a treat in the next few chapters. Hope you're ready! I also hope you are enjoying this book, don't forget to leave a review and/or comment. I love reading your thoughts on this series. :)
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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.
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 47
Xander POV We had sprawled a map on the centre of the table, and Silas and I were looking at routes Osprey could take. Silas pressed his finger on a plain between the Red Mountains and Maple. It was in the farming district of White Birch, which separated us from them. “This is where the battle will take place. We should meet in this district section if we both start moving simultaneously. That’s only if Osprey leaves the comfort of his castle. It’s flat and would be the ideal place for a fight. We cannot penetrate Osprey city’s defences if he stays there. We need to draw him out if ever that’s the case.” “I agree. The mountainside surrounding the castle’s wall is too steep to climb, and an attack from the forest lining the south would make us vulnerable to any assaults from the outer wall. If we are to fight Osprey, we need it to happen here, where we have a better chance at having the upper hand.” I scanned the map again. The White Birch plain offered us a straight path to attack,
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 48
Osprey POV I called the scribe after reviewing the draft for the mandatory enlistment summons. They were to be sent out to all the districts that very week. “I don't like it. It will need to be reworked. This is not a proposition but an obligation, and this document offers a choice. Airedah’s citizens will have none.” I handed the draft back to the scribe, and he inclined his head, begging forgiveness for the error. With this mandatory enlistment, I hoped to hit a soft spot in Cressida. Every abled body man of ten years and older must sign up and fight for their country. I knew she would not want children involved in this matter, and it could offer me an edge if she persisted with this ridiculous notion that she could overthrow me. We were the same, her and I. The sooner she realized that, the better it would be for the entire world. The prophecy my ancestor foretold referred to her. I knew it in my mind. All I needed to do was kill the bastard who claimed her before I had that cha
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