Hidden Dragon (The Treasure of Paragon Book 7) by Genevieve Jack (best ereader for manga txt) 📗

were few and far between. The citizens of Darnuith kept to themselves, and she hadn’t had the opportunity to get to know the few who were involved in the rebellion. Their powers seemed strange and unpredictable. Still, if everything Sylas had told her about his time in the dungeon was true, Raven could be trusted. And if allowing her to scan her body for curses was the only way to prove Sylas wrong and regain her proper role in the resistance, that’s exactly what she’d do.

She nodded. “Okay. I’ll find Raven. You’ll see, Sylas. I’m not cursed. You’re mistaken.”

“Dianthe…”

But she was already striding back toward camp, anxious to prove him wrong.

Chapter Five

The last thing Sylas wanted to do was to hurt Dianthe. As she stormed off, his instinct was to go after her. He longed for simpler times when he could sweep her into his arms and spend the rest of the afternoon making love to her in their tent. He longed to tell her everything would be okay and mean it.

But his decision was for the best. What magical poison might have infected his mate? Could Aborella see everything Dianthe did? Hear everything she said? Could she influence his mate’s thoughts? Her mind? It was too risky to assume anything less.

Besides, wasn’t it time for her to be away from the front lines of this damn war? Even if she wasn’t cursed, Aborella had seen her face. She knew Dianthe’s identity now. Hadn’t she earned a break considering her previous service? Sylas had no choice but to fight. It was his mother after all who was the cause of the problem. His kingdom that must be stopped. Dianthe could rest. She could grieve what happened to Everfield. She could be content being his wife.

On this island, as his mate, not as an officer of the rebellion, she’d be safe.

Sylas climbed from the hot spring, the island air feeling cool against his body from the abrupt change in temperature. Dianthe might hate him in the moment, but did it matter as long as she was alive to hate him?

Everything wouldn’t be okay, not until they overthrew his bloodthirsty mother. She wouldn’t stop at burning Everfield. She wouldn’t stop until the five kingdoms fell under the heel of Paragon.

He dressed and hurried back to camp, hoping some of Dianthe’s anger might have dissipated. The group of tents at the base of the island’s central mountain had been there for years thanks to Circe’s support of their campaign. There was one central tent, large enough to serve as both a mess hall and a gathering place, a command center of sorts for their work across the five kingdoms. Residential tents surrounded that central locale, smaller in size and meant to house one to four adults.

The island itself, bolstered by the magic of the goddess, provided more than enough in the way of natural resources to keep a contingent of rebels fed and clothed until they could safely rejoin their communities.

As he neared the mess hall, the smell of roasted pig met his nose and he was pleased to find the sprites had cooked up a buffet worthy of a family reunion. That’s what this was. He hadn’t spent any significant time with his siblings in centuries.

Dianthe was waiting for him outside. “We should go in together. We can’t make our problems the rebellion’s problems.”

“I agree.” He put an arm around her waist and pulled her into his side. Thank the goddess she’d chosen to listen to reason. She didn’t look happy necessarily, but definitely resolved. Good enough.

“Only Colin is missing,” Dianthe noted once they entered. “Have you heard anything from him?”

He glanced down at her, then intentionally changed the subject. “There’s Raven. Let’s grab a plate and follow her to a table.”

Dianthe nodded, clearly distracted by the opportunity to talk to the witch about helping her determine if Aborella had cursed her. The redirection worked like a charm. The truth was Sylas knew exactly where Colin was. His brother was on a mission for the rebellion. But his whereabouts were top secret, and given Dianthe’s current predicament, he refused to give up Colin’s locale.

He ushered Dianthe through the line and loaded his plate with roasted boar, roots, and fresh fruit, then hurried to follow Raven to her table of choice. He settled across from her, Dianthe taking the bench beside him.

“I see you’ve convinced my brother to do his fair share,” Sylas said, noting that Gabriel had Charlie at the buffet.

Raven laughed. “He’s better at choosing what she’ll like. I’m still getting used to her having a dragon’s diet.” The witch took a hungry bite and then glanced between Sylas and Dianthe. “I have to say it’s a pleasure to see you without an iron grate between us, Sylas. But I get the sense you sought me out for more than a post-dungeon reunion.”

Sylas glanced at Dianthe, then lowered his voice to just above a whisper. “We were wondering if you knew a spell to detect if someone has been cursed or carries negative magic within them.”

Raven leaned back in her chair and sipped her wine. “I don’t need a spell for that. It’s built in. I’m a walking, talking curse detector.”

“Excuse me?” Dianthe tipped her head.

“My inherent ability is to absorb magic. I don’t know if all witches have innate talents, but that is mine. If I touch a person who’s been cursed, I’ll be able to feel it. Taste it. Discern its nature.” Raven gave a sheepish smile. “I can’t necessarily break the curse though. That’s a different matter entirely.”

Dianthe grew visibly excited, her back straightening and the corners of her mouth lifting. “You’ve done this before then?”

Raven nodded, her gaze searching their faces as her expression turned curious. “With my own husband when his ring was cursed. What’s going on? Who’s cursed?”

Gabriel and Charlie arrived then, the second smiling around a face full of something red and meaty. “What am I missing? Your faces look