And she’d gotten Ben involved.
She screamed, her lungs burning with regret and anger. She’d been so selfish. So self-absorbed.
The orcs held her arms tightly and she stared at the dagger. The blade dripped with deep-purple dragon’s blood and she tried to call to the Last Druid. He’d told her to get the dagger, but now what?
He didn’t answer.
Had he abandoned her? How would she get to Ben now and rescue him? Without the Last Druid’s help, she might remain a prisoner of Rupe’s forever. Tears sprang to her eyes, but she refused to let them spill. She was stronger than that, and she wouldn’t let the stupid orcs enjoy her misery.
The orcs tugged her toward the door.
“Come. Master Rupe is going to be so angry with you but that’s your problem.” The orc smiled a rotten smile.
They can’t take the dagger from you either. It’s magically bound to you now.
Tears trickled down her cheeks, but she refused to give in to more emotion, even as the orcs led her to her imprisonment. She’d get Ben back. No amount of money or magical object was worth losing him and she was ashamed she hadn’t realized it before.
They’d known they’d have to fight the dragons to save Oriste one day and now that day was closer. It didn’t matter right now.
She knew the value of love and loss and that meant she wasn’t stupid after all.
Raven sat up on the thin mattress and scratched her head, her hair matted and tangled. She finger-combed it and picked at the knots. What she wouldn’t give for a warm bath or even a cold one. Light poured in from the small, high window across the cell floor.
The orcs had brought her breakfast of porridge and berries and set it on the small wooden stool by the door. Her dagger lay beside the tray, safe as long as she didn’t give it away.
The orcs had stopped trying to trick her into handing over her dagger, and now it lay out in full view, annoying them.
She loved the magic that bound the dagger to her. It was unlike any magic she’d felt before—even from her grandmother’s necklace that Rupe had confiscated. No, the dagger’s magic was thick and warm and familiar.
The same magic would help her free Ben when the time was right. Raven was as sure of that as she was sure the moon would rise and cast its silvery light into her cell.
She’d scratched marks on the wall, one for each cycle of the sun and by her counts, she’d been imprisoned long enough for the fields to have been harvested.
Occasionally, she’d wonder about the horse they left in the stables, but she figured one of the stable hands had taken him for his own. More often, she wondered what her family thought had happened to her. She imagined her mother’s tears, daily at first and now less often but still there. Her siblings might have grown a little more and Ben’s men had probably assumed he was dead.
She looked forward to the day she would go home and make her family proud.
Meanwhile, the Last Druid had been schooling her during her imprisonment. He’d taught her the history of the dragons and some bits of magic and many tales long lost to Oriste. Some, only he knew.
He’d told her of the prophecy, and how she was integral in fulfilling it. Soon, they’d free Ben and find the Last Druid’s daughter, Myst. With her, Raven would start raising an army to fight the dragons and bring back all the magic to Oriste.
And the dragon they’d start with was Rupratis. Raven would kill him with the blade he’d given her as a prize. The blade that had to be given away to get a new master. Raven ran her thumb along the dagger’s blade, and it sang a low note back to her.
It wouldn’t hurt her.
It was an extension of who she was. An extension of her strength. A symbol of the freedom she would soon have.
Raven smiled.
The dragons didn’t have a chance against the smartest fairy in Lorkhit Ka. Hag’s blood, the smartest fairy in Oriste, even.
Hey reader! Thanks for reading Raven’s story! Want to see what trouble she gets into next? She’s going to try to free Ben and find Myst…somehow. You know it isn’t going to be easy! Preorder Dragon Myst here to read Myst’s story in The Orb of Oriste series.
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author Kerry Adrienne loves history, science, music and art. She’s a mom to more cats than children and she loves live music, traveling, and staying up all night. Because…vampires. She writes romance (paranormal, m/m, historical, time travel, and more), science fiction, and fantasy. In addition to writing books, she’s also a college instructor, artist, costumer, editor, and bad guitar player.
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Also By Kerry Adrienne
The Orb of Oriste:
Raven’s Game
Dragon Myst
Dragon Storm
Dragon Ember
Shifter Wars:
Pursuing the Bear
Taming the Lion
Claiming His Lioness
DSD (with Lia Davis):
Dragon Undercover
Snowed Undercover
Captain Undercover (coming soon)
All Mine Series:
Senator, Mine
Druid, Mine
Pharaoh, Mine
All Mine: 1Night Stand Collection
Gallant Gentleman’s Guild (G3):
Artist’s Touch
Sculptor’s Desire
Black Hills Wolves Series (shared world, Decadent Publishing):
The Wolf and the Butterfly
Standalones:
Storm Damaged
Beautiful One
Double Eclipse
Auld Lang Syne
Cruise Control
The Guardian of Blackbird Inn
Saving His Wolf
Ghost in a Bottle (with Lia Davis)
First Contact (with Lia Davis)
Anthologies:
Beefcake m/m authors (Artemis Wolffe)
Unconditional Surrender
Box of 1Night Stands: 17 Sizzling Nights
Spring Fever: Shifters in Love
Come Undone: Romance Stories Inspired by the Music of Duran Duran
Wicked: Erotic Paranormal Romance Vol 3
Wicked Legends
Starstruck Holidays: A MM Sci-Fi Holiday Romance Anthology
Mated: A Paranormal Romance Shifter Anthology
Scorched: Thirteen Dragon Shifter Paranormal Romance Standalones