Filed to story: The Chosen Saga Novel PDF Free
Talon inhaled and when he turned to face the Goddess, she was gone, and somehow, he was facing the tent flaps again.
Talon stood at the entrance, sweating from the
restraint. His dragon was fighting for him to enter. The scent of Araiya’s arousal almost sent him over the edge, but he held fast. He heard murmurs from inside the tent and stepped in, thinking they were done. But before he could head in farther, her moans started up again. She was close and she fell over another peak and his restraint broke.
Talon rushed in to find everyone calling to each other. Talon’s dragon wanted to join in, but he held back. “What the fuck is going on?” Their song cut off, and they all snapped to look at him. Each male had their dragon so close to the surface that their eyes had shifted, even Araiya’s eyes looked different, but that must have been a trick of the light. Araiya scrambled to cover herself while the men pulled her behind them. “Don’t dress for my benefit,” Talon scoffed.
“I don’t know what is going on, or what I did, but whatever it is, I’m sorry.” Araiya pulled on her clothes.
“Why were you all calling.” Talon ignored her.
“What actually was that?” Araiya dressed and stepped out from behind the men.
River scratched his head, while Mac and Terran chuckled. “You shocked us lamb, when you fell over the last peak you somehow released a call that our dragons recognized. Our females release a call when they are ready to mate, to produce offspring.” River rubbed at his face. “You accidentally matched that tone when you came.”
“What…” Araiya’s jaw dropped.
“You pretty much told us that you’re ready to have children, which is impossible, so don’t look so panicked.” Terran softly chuckled.
“Sadly, we can’t have hatchlings, Firebug. But I would have loved to have the option in a few years.”
“The All-mother was the only one able to have new Dracoy. Which is why we are a dying race.” Talon skirted Araiya and approached the men. “I tried to see where about we are in the desert, but there are no features around. The dream scape shows nothing of value.” Talon glared over at Araiya.
“Well, that makes sense.” Araiya padded away from the men to a dark corner.
“Why does that make sense, if this is really where you’re apparently being held, it should have the same features.” Talon snapped out. He tried to reign in his anger, but he couldn’t.
“Talon, watch yourself,” Terran growled out.
“I would watch how you speak to our mate, Air.” Mac’s glare cut Talon down.
“Why does it make sense, lamb?” River walked after her. When he came to the dark corner, he realized she was sitting on the soft sand. The floor covering didn’t extend to this place. There was a mound of sand that held up a thick metal pole.
“Because like I said before, I don’t really go past the door, this is where I am, most of the time. This is where I sleep or sit, while chained to the pole. The only other place is the arch.”
“The arch?” River kneeled down.
“When it’s time for Donal to have his fun.” She shivered and looked off to the side. River followed her eyes and saw a small crack she was looking through. All she could see was sand, nothing else. “He blindfolds me and Korine. They take us out of here and spin us around to confuse us. Then we get put on a cart and we are taken to the arch. I don’t know how far it really is, they might circle the area, but it takes a while. It’s an arch cut into a flat stone. It’s tall like a dune, but thin, like a door frame. There are similar rocks around, some tall, some smaller, but the arch is the only one that he uses. They have metal hooks and pulleys worked into the stone face and the ground. They use them to hold us in place while they whip me.”
“Us?” Talon reluctantly asked.
“Korine is with me. She tries to take some of the beatings, but she can’t take much. She doesn’t have much left to give, and she doesn’t need to protect me.”
Talon scoffed. “Your bitch sister isn’t protecting you. Shavon told me all about that one. She is playing you.”
“You don’t get to say a fucking thing about her.” Araiya jumped to her feet. “I don’t care what Shavon said about her, I don’t care what the fuck I did to the two of you to make you hate me. But I will not allow you to put her down.” Araiya got right in his face. “You don’t know what it is like to suffer, truly suffer. You don’t know what Korine and I have endured, so you say fucking nothing.” By the end of her rant, Araiya was screaming.
Talon took a step back, not recognizing the girl, the woman in front of him. “You and Shavon were my best friends, and it has been less than four cycles, and now you treat me less than trash. You were my protector. I have been calling out to you for this entire time. I know you felt it, just like I know you ignored me.” Araiya grew quiet again, tears streaming down her face. “No, it’s fine. At least I know where I stand.”
“Come here lamb, you’re starting to fade. Let me give you a boost.” River pulled her into his arms and kissed her. He opened all of his power up and tried to push it into her while he kissed her slowly. The power trickled into her, rebuilding her strength.
“Wait.” Mac stepped in close. “Don’t heal the damage on the outside, then they will know we can send her power. Only heal the inside. The outside stuff we can heal when we get to her, but we need this play to stay between us.”
River only grunted back as he pushed more and more into her. The power transfer was so slow and that in itself was such a hard thing manage. River had to pour in a flood, and only a trickle made it past the block. He poked at the block, tried to move it, but it was solid in place above her power well. The thin flow that made it past slowly filled her power. The rest he tried to heal anything he could.
River stumbled back and gasped for air. “Fuck, lamb.”
Araiya swayed on the spot and smirked. “Yeah, it’s in there. If you poke it enough it lashes out or drains you. I poked at the block a lot the first couple days.”
“What is it?” He leaned over and braced his hands on his knees.
“The chains, I don’t know how, but it’s the chains. One time I was really hurt, and the medic pulled me down, but forgot to Keep the chain on. I heard the Elementals trying to talk to me, but Donal snapped it back on, and the medic was killed on the spot. It’s never happened since.”
“Come here, Firebug,” Mac walked over to where Araiya was still trying to recoup from the transfer. “I know it’s hard, but this is to save you.” Mac picked her up into his arms and kissed each eye. “Are you ready?”
Araiya took a steadying breath and then nodded, “As much as I can be. I feel the scape starting to collapse. Either I am dying or waking up.”