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Back Given Save as PDF
Chapters (49)
  1. Given
  2. CONTENTS
  3. Dedication
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. Acknowledgments
  44. About the Author
  45. Copyright
  46. About the Publisher
  47. Backad 1
  48. Backad 2
  49. Backad 3

Yenni clung to Diedre and did her best to shake off the grogginess, but it was so hard to move, to think.

“Come on, Yenni!” Diedre pleaded. “I can’t carry you on my own an’ I don’t want to leave you! Gohad’s Forced Sleep is an advanced spell and I’m not the best at it. They could wake up any time!”

“I am trying,” Yenni slurred, and she wasn’t sure if she was speaking Creshen or Yirba. Her pulse fluttered in her ears.

“Yenni—oh! Watch’Ahmighty!”

Dimly, Yenni was aware of another body dropping into the alley ahead of them. Her stomach plunged and she felt sick with dread—more members of the thieves’ gang?

A deep, rage-filled roar, like nothing she’d ever heard before, dwarfed the alley. Yenni snapped her head up, the loud noise blasting away her sleepiness. At the sight at the mouth of the alley she let out a sob of relief. He crouched with steam hissing from his nostrils and fire sparking behind his bared teeth, dark and deadly, like some demon beast from the shadows.

Dragon.

16

Kill, kill, kill.

The instinct gripped him, commanded him from the moment he’d caught Yenni’s scent below, rancid with fright. It may as well have been an alarm.

He’d arced right in the sky, shooting after it, his friends screeching after him. Now the scent stung his nose, along with the unclean stink of what looked to be a band of street thugs, and the only thing keeping him from blasting the whole alley with fire was his Given. She stood embracing another woman, the two of them watching him, wide eyed. Movement at the back of the alley drew Weysh’s attention. He stalked past the women, who pressed up against the alley wall to let him pass. Weysh crouched, growling, over the weakly thrashing body of a greasy thug and held him down with one sharp claw. The man opened his eyes.

“Oh shit,” he whimpered. “Oh hells!”

A strong whiff of urine accosted Weysh’s nose. He longed to run his talons down the goon’s body. Just one swipe, through his clothes, through his skin and fat and muscle, and all his useless guts would come tumbling out.

“No, Weysh. You can’t kill him. You’ll be charged.”

Zui’s voice, as if she knew what he was thinking. He hadn’t even noticed when she and Harth had landed.

“Yeah! You can’t kill us!” This from another thug, slumped in a sitting position in the right corner of the alley among empty crates.

“Oh shut up,” Zui snapped at him. “Source as twine to bind my foe.”

Zui handily incapacitated all the thieves with magic. Legal, but nowhere near as satisfying as ripping them apart.