Filed to story: The Chosen Saga Novel PDF Free
“I don’t know, but I can only assume that he is the reason Araiya is also missing.” River answered. “What we have to do…”
“What we have to do is find Araiya. The Goddess said without her we fall to darkness, not just us, the whole realm.” Mac tried to stand, but he couldn’t. He managed to get to his hands and knees. “We have failed her. I have failed her. She doesn’t have access to her Goddess given power because of me. She is going to get sick, really sick. Without her power, she will be weak and vulnerable, and I did that to her.” Mac punched the ground. “I caused her to run away from us, I caused her to feel unwanted. It’s my fault she was taken, and it is my fault she is probably being abused.”
“Mac, you can’t know any of that,” Terran started.
“The Goddess told me,” Mac whispered.
“What?” River leaned in.
Mac cleared his throat and looked at his friends. He met each of their stares before he answered again. “The Goddess told me that she will get sick. The Goddess told me she is our only salvation from Darkness, and she told me that she will endure even more being locked away where she is at.”
“Mac…”
“I saw them.” Mac lowered his eyes to the ground again, trying to hide the tears that freely fell. “I saw my parents. They told me they missed and love me. My father, he said he was proud of the man I am, and my mother, well she is disappointed with how I acted toward Araiya. She created a special flame just for her, did you know that? Soulfire. A fitting tribute for our mate, I think. She burns deep in her soul, but if we can’t find her, her light will go out.” Mac wiped his face. Then he pushed himself up.
“She is hurting,” Talon whispered.
“What did you say?” Mac turned.
“Araiya, she’s in pain. I feel it. I didn’t realize it at first, but then I tried to trace the ache. I thought it was my mate bond, or what was left of the broken bond, but that thread to Shavon is gone. It was my bond with Araiya.” Talon looked off into the forest. “One night I followed down the tether and I came to her in a darkened tent. Her back was…” Talon shivered. “Her back was meat, butchered meat. She said she was in Fire, but I thought it was just my mind making up a dream, but I was lying to myself. She was real, her pain was real. She is hurting. Every day I feel it get worse. Every day the chain grows thinner.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” River screamed.
“Why wouldn’t you at least tell us she was alive? You watched us search. You helped us, and you knew where she was?” Terran got up, the disgust plain on his face. “Your Chosen is gone, so you want us to hurt like you? Is that it?”
“NO, I don’t know where she is, not even a direction. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to get your hopes up when I knew she was getting weaker.”
“LIAR!” River screamed as he got to his feet. “We treated you as our brother even though you are not an Enforcer. We helped you whenever you asked, even at a cost to us.”
“I SWEAR! I would not have kept it from you. Yes, I am hurting, but I would not have caused you the same pain. I swear, I didn’t tell you because I knew it would hurt you that she was hurting, and you cannot save her from it. That she is alone, hurt, and afraid and you aren’t there to protect her. I know because even though she is not mine; I still feel that pain. Even though she is promised to you. I feel connected to her very soul and even though it is a betrayal of my heart and my mate, I love her. Not as a guardian, not as a protector, and no longer as a friend.” Talon collapsed onto himself and sobbed.
“Talon.”
“No,” Talon choked out. “I betray my mate’s memory with thoughts of yours. I am hollow without my love, but now I can’t tell if it is even Shavon that my Dragon is keening for. What kind of mate am I? What kind of man am I?”
“You are a good man. You are just confused about the bonds, and your feelings. It happens to the best of us, Talon.” Mac got up and walked over to his friend. “Do not read too much into anything. Maybe Araiya is a partial mate bond, and now that Shavon’s bond was broken it has come into the forefront. It doesn’t make you a bad man Talon, definitely not a bad dragon.”
“Honestly we all would have had a hard time, just like you are now.” Terran walked over. “Fuck, I am having a hard time with the one bond I do have.” Talon chuckled.
“Talon.” River walked over and waited until the young man looked up at him. “We are older than you, and I always forget it. We have a rule. Be honest with your brothers, about everything. We can’t help unless we know. Okay?”
“Okay, Eta.” Talon smiled up at him. Mac and Terran groaned.
“For fucks sakes, I am not Eta.”
“In this you are,” the three men called back, then paused, surprised. Then all four started laughing.
“Araiya. Araiya, are you here?”
“Mac?” Araiya tried to sit up from where she had fallen asleep after her last whipping. “Are you really here?”
“Yes love, I am. I have missed you.” Mac ran over to her.
“Are you here to save me?”
“Yes. I am.” Mac scooped her up into his arms, causing Araiya to screech from the pain. “Shit, I’m sorry love.”
“Put me down, please.” His arm dug into her back, the torn flesh catching on his armor. “Why are you in armor? How did you find me?”
“We tracked you with your power of course.” Mac placed her back on the ground, but he almost seemed to hesitate. His arm tightening against her back causing her to scream again. “I’m sorry. Oh Goddess, shit I’m sorry.” He pulled his arms, catching even more of the torn skin.
Araiya’s vision started to waiver, but she caught a small smirk on Mac’s face. What the actual fuck?
“Mac? What is going on?”
“Nothing, love. I want to hold you like I did when I first saw you, but I seem to be causing you too much pain.” Mac hovered his hands over her and just sat there with a self-deprecating smile on his face.