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

would eventually crack or she’d die. Dianthe cradled his face. “Come back to me. I’m here. You’re okay.”

He blinked rapidly at her. Some of his color returned.

Tobias cringed. “I can’t bring myself to feel sorry for Aborella, but even I know we can’t leave her in the palace if this is true. Aborella is a strategic weapon. She may be trying to help us, but her visions are still deadly in Mother’s hands. Eleanor will use her magic to wring every last drop of information out of the fairy. The resistance needs to either abduct her or kill her.”

Kill her! Dianthe couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “My vision was accurate. Aborella is on our side. We can’t leave her in Eleanor’s clutches. We have to try to rescue her!”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Dianthe understood that what she was asking of Sylas was too much. After what he’d told her the night before, intentionally journeying to the Obsidian Palace to try to rescue the fairy who’d enabled his torture wasn’t likely to suit his fancy. But everything inside her told her it was the right thing to do. Tobias was right—Eleanor could and would use Aborella like a weapon. How long could the fairy be expected to withstand that kind of torture?

As expected, Sylas shook his head. “I agree that leaving Aborella in Eleanor’s hands is risky. She is a weapon, and Mother has a way of forcing others to do her will. But we don’t have the firepower to get her out. We’re not ready to face Eleanor.”

Dianthe’s eyes narrowed as her brain turned over a new idea. “There is one way.” He wasn’t going to like this, but she had to say it. “We know exactly where Eleanor is at the moment, as well as the majority of the Obsidian Guard. She’s here, herself, and she’s going to search every corner of the Palace of Nightfall trying to find us.”

Tobias grunted, then turned deadly serious. “She’s right, Sylas. This is possibly the only time you’ll ever have a chance of getting in and out alive. If Eleanor is here, she would have left only a skeleton crew behind. I can’t believe I’m suggesting this, but maybe we should send Dianthe and Sabrina to Aeaea with the orbs and try to rescue Aborella while we can.”

Sylas remained silent for a long moment, his face impassive. Dianthe waited for him to decide. Would he risk entering the Obsidian Palace again? If they waited, it would be too late. The opportunity was now.

“No,” he said.

Dianthe’s heart sank into her stomach. That was that. They’d all be going back to Aeaea.

“I think you and Sabrina should take back the orbs. Dianthe and I will get Aborella.”

What? Dianthe couldn’t have heard him correctly. Did he say he wanted to go with her?

“Dianthe can see what’s coming, and Aborella trusts her. Our chances of success are better together. Return to Aeaea and tell the others what has happened. If we’re not back in twenty-four hours, we’re either dead or imprisoned. Do what’s best for the rebellion.” Sylas adjusted his pack on his shoulders as if it had just grown a tad heavier.

Tobias scowled. “What’s your plan for getting through the wards?”

Dianthe thought for a moment—she didn’t need a vision to guess what might work. “We can steal one of the mountain horses while the guards are distracted inside. They all have the seal of the palace on their bridles. If we disguise ourselves, I bet we can pass through the gate undetected.”

The way Sylas looked at her was a cocktail of fear and admiration. “It’s possible.”

“All we need is possible,” Dianthe said softly. With any luck, it would be enough.

Sylas took his pack off his back and dug out the Everfield orb. He added it to Tobias’s pack for him, alongside the red orb from Nochtbend. “Will you be okay?” He tipped his head toward Sabrina, still sleeping in his arms.

“I’ll use my invisibility and fly her out of here, as far as I can go. We should be fine once I put a few miles between us and the Palace of Nightfall. We’ll travel all night. Should be back on the island by daybreak tomorrow.”

Sylas slapped Tobias’s shoulder. “Good luck, brother.”

The blond dragon shook his head. “You too. You’re going to need it. I don’t need to tell you what you are about to try is certifiable.”

Dianthe waited for Sylas to deny it or at least respond with a snappy retort, but he simply nodded in agreement. Tobias turned invisible, and a rush of air brushed over her as he took to the skies. Sylas took her hand.

“Are you sure about this? He could be right, you know,” Dianthe said.

He gazed down at her, his face unreadable. “He could be. But I trust my mate. She’s a powerful seer, and her instincts are rarely, if ever, wrong.”

Warmth bloomed behind her breastbone, and she threaded her fingers into his. “I can’t tell if you truly believe that or if you’re simply trying your best to, but either way, I love you for it.” She pressed her lips to his.

“I love you too. More than you could ever know.”

Getting into the palace proved easier than Sylas had expected. Eleanor had left her home poorly guarded. Sylas wasn’t sure what to think of that. Either she was so haughty as to believe no one in the five kingdoms would dare invade Paragon, or she’d used her magic to set a trap for anyone who dared. As he rode past the checkpoint at the gate, he couldn’t help but think they were mice heading for the cheese, unaware of where or when the deadly snap would come.

He waved to the boy in the guardhouse. Boy was the only word for the youngster who barely filled out his uniform. Disguised as a random guardsman he’d seen near the mountain horse they’d stole, Sylas was relieved when the youth didn’t stop him or ask any questions.