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Cathbad held his temper when he wanted to destroy the queen’s throne room, along with her in it. “I warned you not to put Ossian at risk.”
Queen Maeve had the wit about her to foster an apologetic expression he didn’t believe for one second. She began, “I didn’t intend for him to be harmed. I had hoped to bring us Veronika’s power. It would have made us invincible.”
“Do you really think Veronika would have come to you? You are too old to be that naïve.” No, she wasn’t naïve, but the reincarnation had corrupted her mind. “That witch wanted to rule alone. I knew it and so did everyone else with any significant power.”
“I admit I may have misjudged her.”
“Misjudged? That’s how you excuse sendin’ Ossian to have his majik churned to the point he had to be in constant pain? I saw him. He was hurtin’ and he had been a loyal follower. He was an amazin’ weapon and our best intelligence gatherer. First you force us to break ties with the coalition, then you destroy my polymorph. I poured everythin’ I could into him and he turned out perfect. Then you manipulated him, because you couldn’t compel him.”
“Let’s not quarrel over this,” she said, waving off the significance of what she’d done. “We’ll make another one. I’ll help you.”
Quinn had been right.
Maeve was far worse than merely irrational and losing occasional control. She’d reached a special level of crazy.
“I need some time to myself,” Cathbad announced.
She whipped around in a blur of silk and sparkles. “What are you saying?”
“I just need to get away and deal with my anger. I’m grievin’ the loss of Ossian. I know you don’t understand that, but he meant a lot to me.”
She released a sound of quiet disgust. “Go then. I have plenty to keep me busy.”
“If you mean all the Belador children you put bounties on, that’s stopped and they have all been returned to their families.”
“Have you lost your mind? I gave up a load of Noirre gaining those assets. What were you thinking to squander them?”
“I was thinkin’ to save your life, because they were gatherin’ an army of deities to invade TÅμr Medb and drag you back to make an example of you,” he shouted, cracking the floor in all directions from where he stood. “The dragon was furious about your touchin’ Belador children. The Tribunal went mad when Veronika escaped and they found out you were behind her breakout.”
“They can’t prove anything,” she argued.
“That’s not a concern to them. You see, they found out you were tryin’ to team up with Veronika. You threatened the very existence of TÅμr Medb and all the witches and warlocks down in the human world who’ve been followin’ your reckless orders. If you start somethin’ while I’m gone, good luck to you. I’m not steppin’ in to fix it again.”
With that, Cathbad teleported away, whirling through space as he seethed over how much he wanted to make her pay for Ossian.
When the teleporting ended, he stood in shin-deep snow, but he now wore thick fur boots, rugged pants and a wool shirt, with a fur cape. He would not be out in this for long, though.
Turning around, he took a moment to enjoy the vista of snow-capped mountains as far as he could see.
He’d missed this.
Two thousand years was too long.
Wind and rain had altered some spots, but the mountain range had changed little since the day he’d walked away. He opened his mind to the tranquility he loved about this place and slowly let his pain slide away. After he’d allowed enough time to put his mind at peace over the loss of Ossian, he turned and waded through fresh snow to a large boulder. With a flip of his hand, the boulder made a grinding sound as it moved away from the mouth of the cave.
Inside, he tossed flames to torches that quickly caught and illuminated his way deep inside. He could have teleported in, but he hadn’t enjoyed a quiet walk in many years. The tunnel descended slowly, curving back and forth, then into a long arc, gradually straightening until it opened into a massive room.
An ice palace.
Sparkling crystals hung from the ceiling like ice daggers prepared to attack anyone below. A throne of ice and sapphires perched on a raised chunk of ice ten feet square and one foot thick. Ornate trunks, filled with gold in every form from jewelry to coins to serving pieces and furnishings, had been piled three stories high against the far wall.
Exactly the way he’d left it.
The middle of the cavern was a wide-open space a hundred feet across and a hundred feet high with a pool of water seventy feet across and three times as deep.
Pulling a very old rune stone shaped as a square with rounded edges from his pocket, he turned the carved side to face the center of the cave and began bringing the elements together.
“As sun rises and falls, I ask of you the eyes to see.”
Light glowed through the chamber.
“As the force of time changes all, I ask of you the power to be.”
Thunder rolled through the mountain.
“As the breath of life touches all, I ask of you to set one free.”
Air swirled and rushed around the fur cloaking him. The room’s temperature dropped another twenty degrees below freezing.
Ice began to form on top of the pool.
He stood firm, waiting for the elements to answer him with a yes or a no.
The ground beneath him shifted and shuddered once.
Again.
He would stand here for days if the elements required such of him, but his senses told him he would not have to wait that long for a decision.
A whirring sound started below ground. The water began spinning slowly. The layer of ice cracked and buckled as the swirl picked up speed and spun until the center dipped as it was sucked into the vortex.
If he’d misjudged his power or the elements ...
Out of the pool, a force exploded upward, sending a wall of water shooting out in all directions.
Cathbad held his hand up, creating an invisible shield to avoid being drowned or washed away.
A roar of fire blasted giant icicles from the ceiling, which went flying everywhere.
Had he not been prepared, he’d have been impaled by one of them.
Swooping down in a ferocious dive, then landing gracefully at the last second to tower above him, a magnificent dragon covered in luminescent white and pale-blue scales glared at Cathbad.
He removed his protective shield. “Hello, my sweet. I promised I’d return.”
The End.
Watch for TREOIR DRAGON HORDE (book 10) in 2018.
While you’re waiting on the next Belador adventure, take a look at Dianna’s new League of Gallize Shifters series.
GRAY WOLF MATE (October 2018) is book one in this exciting new paranormal series. Shifters came out seven years back and, since then, the world has never been the same for many.
Tess Janver and Cole Cavanaugh fell deeply in love in college ... then he disappeared without a word. She feared the worst, or thought she had. After six years, he returns as a beefed up version of his former self. That’s not the only thing different. As someone working in a preternatural criminal investigation unit and the daughter of a senator determined to rid the world of dangerous shifters, Tess is caught between performing her duty to humans, protecting the only family she has left and risking her heart to a man who once destroyed it.
Cole had no choice in becoming a Gallize shifter and now he’s facing the end of his days from a fatal mating curse he can’t stop. He never planned on Tess finding out he shared his body with a wolf, but she’s in danger from a rogue wolf pack. He’s not leaving until she’s safe ... and he has a chance to redeem himself in her eyes before his time is up.
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"...non-stop tense action, filled with twists, betrayals, danger, and a beautiful sensual romance. As always with Dianna Love, I was on the edge of my seat, unable to pull myself away."
~~Barb, The Reading Cafe
“...shocking developments and a whopper of an ending... and I may have exclaimed aloud more than once...Bottom line: I really kind of loved it.”
~~Jen, top 500 Reviewer
"DEMON STORM leaves you breathless on countless occasions."
~~Amelia Richard, SingleTitles
“...Its been a very long time since I've felt this passionate about getting the next installment in a series. Even J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter books.”
~~Bryonna Nobles, Demons, Dreams and Dragon Wings