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Spinning, the ring bounced and landed on
the Great Seal. She slammed the ivory knife down and pinned the ring against
the marble.
:Give him to me.:

He wasn’t sure what she meant, until she
tugged on his bond. Staring into her eyes, he stretched out his full length on
the cold marble and dropped every defense and internal barrier he possessed. He
surrendered, filling his heart with the love he'd never expected, certainly
never deserved. She had every right to hate him.

He ought to be slaughtered beside Asad,
his dragon hide burned, his bones busted into dust and tossed on the wind.

She
loves
me
.

Which was enough reason to let her do
whatever she willed.

The Black Dragon did not go so easily to
the Light. Snarling and hissing in fury, he fought her, slashing at
his—Mykal's—body, refusing to be bound. Through their bond, an ancient vision
awoke.

In a night sky, two dragons were locked
together in a death spiral, tumbling helplessly to the earth. Wings torn and
broken during his fight against her Red mate, the Black couldn’t fly, but the
White refused to be parted from him.

Even then, he'd deserved to die.
:Release
me.:

Her love shone like the full moon in the
sky.
:Never, my love.:

That sweet vision drew the Black as
surely as a moth to a flame. He leaped into the air, and Mykal felt the dragon
rip out of his flesh. He lay flat on his back and stared up at the hovering
shadow of a beast. He could see the shattered Palace through the spectre, but
the wind of its wings ruffled his hair and tumbled tangled strands into his
eyes.

The shadowed dragon flew toward his
mate, the White Dragon shining in Shannari's eyes. She held her bleeding arm
up, and the black shape wrapped itself around her arm, slithering down her body
to the ring coated in blood.

Waters gathered in her heart, swirling
with the weight of all the oceans of the world. With a mighty shove, she pushed
the ring into the Great Seal and chained the dragon beneath it. Roaring, the
Black surged toward the sky, wings beating the air, but the ring sucked it down
like a whirlpool to disappear into the stone.

Trembling, her shoulders drooped.
Dharman stepped onto the seal, wrapped his arms around her, and clutched her to
his heart.

Once again, Mykal saw the ancient vision
of tumbling dragons in his mind.

The Red Dragon slammed into the White's
back, using his own wings to slow their tumbling descent. Even though the two
males had fought for supremacy just moments before, the Red was willing to
surrender the fight in order to keep his mate safe. To give her whatever she
wanted. And she wanted the Black
.

Shannari had sent Dharman, her First
Blood, the Red who never left her back unprotected, in order to save
him
.
Even more shocking, the young Red had obeyed her. He'd risked her life to save
the one he had every right to despise.

Awed and shaken, Mykal lay there,
playing out the Keldari
devalki
legend in his mind. Yama the Black had
plotted to have his competition killed, corrupting and bribing his own tribe to
lay in wait and slaughter the Red. However, Agni had saved him in order to save
their White Dragon whom they both loved. When the black Keldari tribe had
loosed their arrows, they'd killed Somma, not Agni. Her beautiful shining light
had gone out, leaving only one scale to hang in the night sky as a reminder of
She Who Hung the Moon.

One
of us always dies.

Yet here Mykal lay, still breathing.
Even while they’d disliked and rightfully suspected him of foul play, her Reds
had never killed him, because to harm him would be to harm her heart. Her Reds
were all alive and well, and although weak, she shone with her love as brightly
as ever.

A hand reached down, clamped on his, and
dragged him up. Sal, the red-haired Blood, who had every right to challenge and
kill him in order to protect his own place in her heart and bed. Dazed, Mykal
stared at the man, trying to think of something to say. Thank you wouldn’t even
come close to the overwhelming gratitude he felt. They’d risked her life to
save him, even this man who arguably hated him most of all.

“I'm still Second Blood,” Sal said with
a grudging smile. “If you feel the need to toss your hair on someone, do it to
Dharman.”

“We'll Dance the Blades to see who gets
to sleep between her thighs this time.”

Sal grinned wider and leaned close,
dropping his voice even though both men knew she heard every word through their
bonds. “Perhaps you can convince her to wear the crotchless drawers.”

* * *

EVEN THOUGH ALL SHANNARI WANTED to do
was fall into a stupor surrounded by her Blood and her dragon, she forced
herself upright instead of climbing into Dharman's arms. “I’m not finished yet.
For this, I’ll need all of you again.”

Jorah dragged her into his arms, while
Lew wrapped around her from the back, and she let them hold her a minute before
moving on to the rest. She touched each warrior, giving them the comfort that she
was alive and well.

Sal and Mykal were the last to arrive.
The surviving
tal
had given her
Keldari a cloak to wear. She kissed Sal and gave him a playful tug on his hair,
and then she turned to Mykal.

Solemnly, she opened his cloak and
examined his injuries. His abdomen and groin were scarred from the acid, but
his transformation and her constant healing through the bond had prevented the
worst. Lightly, she touched his stomach. The thicker scar tissue felt like
dragon hide.

“Something by which to remember the
Black.” He bowed his head and touched his forehead, heart, and mouth. “My heart
beats for you, brightheart.”

Through his bond, she knew he was rocked
to the core. He'd fully expected to die; in fact,he'd wanted to die, because he
thought the ultimate sacrifice would be the only way to save her and redeem
himself.

Father Josef laid his hand on the
Keldari's bowed head. “Your love redeems you. Love conquers even the blackest
shadow of night, and your son will be proof of that gift.”

Mykal’s knees trembled and he nearly
fell. She grabbed his arm, and Sal took his other. “It’s true, then?” His voice
was hoarse, his eyes shimmering with tears. “You carry my foul seed?”

“Not foul.” She stroked her hand over
his cheek. “I know what you Dreamed, Mykal, but Our Blessed Lady has another
Dream. She wishes a son to shine as brightly as her love, even though he
carries a thread of Shadow.”

“Why would you risk yourself like this?
I saw, brightheart. I saw what I did to you and I can’t bear—”

“Do I love you?”

“Beyond my wildest hopes.”

She smiled and pressed her lips to his
in a soft, gentle kiss. “Then have faith in the strength of my heart. Trust me
to love your son as well. That will be enough. Now, come closer. I need to make
use of your friend and rebuild the Palace before my knees give out.”

By the confusion on his face, he didn’t
understand. Even Father Josef arched his brow expectantly. She moved back to
the Great Seal. “Come near, all of you, but don’t touch the Seal yet.”

She waited until they were all ringed
about her, Dharman at her back, Mykal at her front, Sal and Jorah on either
side, and the priest waiting. “Do you need the Rose Crown for this?”

“I don’t think so.” She pointed to the
intricate design inlaid in the marble. “This is what gave me the idea to use
the ring. See? The lion is wearing a band on its claw, the same as the dragon.
If you look carefully, the rose vines climbing around the outer ring appear to
be hiding something. At first, I thought it was a snake, but after seeing
dragons in the flesh, well, I recognize them better.”

Father Josef bent down and touched the
ring embedded in the marble. “Of course. It was a perfect fit. I feel the
dragon hovering here, even though I can’t see him.”

“Exactly.” She took a deep breath and
centered her mind and heart on the Silver Lake that welled inside her. She
built the image until she could see the full moon shining low and gorgeous in
the sky, so close she could touch it. In the distance, Vulkar’s Mountain cast a
deep red glow against the night, and for the first time in her life, the thick
cloaking shadows weren’t threatening to overwhelm everything.

In fact, there was only one Shadow left,
and it coalesced into the Black Dragon. She looked down at her reflection in
the water to confirm that she appeared as the White. He crouched in the water,
wings and tail clamped tight, his triangular head averted. She'd betrayed him.
She’d stolen him from his Keldari body and chained him to her will.

“I gave you blood,” she whispered aloud
so they would all hear. “I bound you with my love.”

:You
bound me with
my
love,:
he retorted, snorting black soot at her. Ignoring his ire, she moved
closer and wrapped her neck around his, rubbing scale against scale in a long,
sinuous weaving that lit his eyes with fire.

“I need you.”

In her mind, she saw black and white
dragons entwined, falling in a spiral toward the earth.
:Evermore.:

“I will give you my blood on every full
moon to keep you strong and happy. All I ask is that you protect me and anyone
who carries my blood, whether my children or through my bonds.” Deliberately,
she drew on the ten bonds that blazed in her mind: nine of molten red, her
Blood sworn to protect her with the last breath in their bodies; and one of
black, her Keldari who’d once carried this same dragon. Those bonds whirled and
spun in her mind, a kaleidoscope of love and strength.

“Use your Shadow to detect assassins
before they strike. You may feast on anyone who’s tainted and dares come into
my Shining Walls. Feast, my Black, and keep me and my children safe from harm.
Will you do this?”

:I
allowed myself to be chained for you. I will do as you ask.:

Wincing, she reopened the wound on her
hand. In the vision, scarlet ribbons wrapped around the White’s shimmering
foreleg. She held it out to him and raised her voice. “By my blood, I bind you.
By my love, I chain you. Protect anyone who carries my blood and feast on the
Shadowed who plot to harm me and mine. As long as my White line offers blood
every full moon, thus you are bound to protect and defend.”

Blood dripped on the Great Seal and she
felt a wave of power spring up in a chilling wave. The Black Dragon hovered
inside the circle and licked the blood from her hand.

:I
accept your oath, Daughter of Somma.:

He shot into the night sky, spreading
black wings like a protective blanket over the Palace. In her mind, she saw a
fierce black dragon with wings beating the air, red eyes glaring at each person
in Shanhasson. Hissing with hunger, he curled through the city streets, a
nightmare of smoke and shadow, hunting for evil.

She had a feeling he would be very busy
for awhile. Indeed, she felt the first attack, and a victorious roar rumbled
through the bond.

“Feast on Shadow.” She shivered,
wondering how many might die by morning. Opening her eyes,she met Mykal's gaze.
“I need my bonded warriors to offer blood, if you’re willing.”

Sal snickered as though she’d made a
grand joke. Indeed, before she’d finished the sentence, ten warriors held
bleeding hands out before them.

“Step onto the Seal.” Her Nine Blood did
so without hesitation, but Mykal trembled, his eyes widening. “Even you, my
black Keldari. I need you all.”

As though he expected the Black Dragon
to soar back and snag him in his mighty jaws at such an obscenity, Mykal
gingerly stepped onto the mosaic. The shimmering wall of power never faltered.

She smiled, letting him feel her love
through the bond. “Come close, my loves, and help me rebuild the Palace.”

Dharman was the first to touch her. He
wrapped both arms around her and held his wounded hand up for her to taste if
she desired.

The sweet scent of honeycakes made her
mouth water. His scent blended with Sal’s gingerbread, Jorah’s clean sunshine
on a crisp spring morning, Lew’s well-worn leather, and Mykal’s sandalwood.
Each scent, each blood, each heart, she knew them without looking. She felt
them deep in her heart and soul. With their blood mingling with hers, she let
her head fall back against Dharman’s chest.

Holy waters bubbled up out of her, a
geyser of magic and moonlight.

She didn’t try to control it. Our
Blessed Lady knew best what She wanted her High Court to resemble. Shannari
simply acted as the vessel and let Her work through her body. Waters poured
through her, a sea of endless love, sweeping her higher. Shanarri floated on
the Silver Lake, gently rocking, back and forth, while Our Blessed Lady smiled
down from the moon above.

CHAPTER

TWENTY
SIX

SHANNARI
STRETCHED WITHOUT OPENING HER EYES. She felt the heavy weight of Dharman at her
back, alert and ever present. Silken hair tumbled heavily over her face,
scented with cinnamon and spice. She didn't know how long she'd slept, but she
felt well rested and fully at peace. Something she hadn't felt in a very long
time.