Page 121 of Heir of Broken Souls

Delilah stiffens at my question, my words throwing out the work I did in relaxing her.

“No, it’s been awfully quiet for me,” Elysia says.

“Same,” Delilah blurts. Pushing off the doorway, she struts down the hall. “No point talking about something we have no control over.”

* * *

I spread my arm along the railing, my gaze locked on the horizon as the early morning sun glints off the ocean.

No one has trained.

Delilah insisted on everyone fighting against her power one at a time, but she hasn’t allowed anyone to use a drop of power in return. Every time they try, she slams them with a golden shield.

The air is thick this morning, the waves surprisingly calm for how far out at sea we are. But it’s rife with tension.

Something is coming.

Something that I think we aren’t ready for.

Every battle I’ve gone into, my mind and body were in sync with one another, yet I cannot grasp that sense of serenity now, not when I feel in my bones that what is coming is going to be the struggle of a lifetime.

But I can’t say that out loud.

The deck beneath me rattles, which is usually normal, but this morning…there are no waves.

Dread, as quick as a whip, snaps into place. My hand reaches out to grab Delilah’s shoulder, to not only try and steady myself but to yank her into my embrace.

There is not an ounce of confusion or surprise on her face. I spin her and duck my head, boring into her eyes.

“Tell meeverything,” I demand.

She smacks her lips together, her eyes shining bright as she shakes her head.

A deep, guttural roar pierces the sky, gaining my attention. The griffins are sailing in our direction fast.

They roar again—this one a warning cry.

Suddenly, I’m not a king at sea. I’m not a mate or a lover but a warrior, one that has been training for nearly two centuries.

Snapping upright, I bark out orders as I slip into Aurora’s mind as effortlessly as if it was my own.

“Axel, get atop Zephlyn. Lenox, I need you to take the front and Harlow?—”

Someone is calling my name but all I can hear is my blood roaring in my veins.

“Oh my gods…”

I send what Aurora sees into the minds of my court so they know what we face, the death heading directly for our ship.

Slithering in the depths of the ocean, swimming faster than is naturally possible, are three water dragons. Ones with eyes as red as blood, with black veins filled with dark power.

Ones that are under the control of our enemy.

Chapter43

Delilah

The sight that Knox sends down the bridge of our minds is not one that shocks me, because I’ve seen it before. Two nights ago, I received a vision of the events that are about to occur, along with a second, which showed me exactly who I would lose if I warned a single soul.