Saltbound and Bloodsworn (by Allison Franklin) novel Chapter 85

Chapter 85 Chapter Eighty-Five

Isla heard Sylvan’s laugh echo through the forest, but she paid it no mind. She sprinted through the trees, her aim set on the beach. She wanted to practice. She wanted to hone her skill without the lingering pressure of her mother watching from some unknown distance. Then, tomorrow morning, she would put her practice to the test and finally move on to the next level of her training. Isla broke through the treeline, scooped up her clothes, and kept running. She shimmied her skirt up her legs while skipping along the smooth pebbled roads. She threw her shirt over her head, taking her temporarily blind. Then smack.

Isla tumbled forward. Her own shrieks of surprise mingled with those of another equally shocked woman. They rolled over each other, only stopping once the inertia had worn off. Isla and the girl slowly extricated themselves from each other’s garments. Isla looked across her lap and their tangled legs toward a girl she recognized.

Eloise’s smile lit up the entire city. Isla’s eyes widened far enough to be painful. In the next moment, the girls were embracing again, grasping each other tightly about the shoulders as tears of happiness streaked down their cheeks.

“You made it!” Isla whisper-yelled into her friend’s hair.

“We did. We didn’t stop for a second. Nikolai wanted to get here as fast as he could, and well, so did we all,” Eloise said.

“You were the one who only let us sleep for two hours at a time,” Delilah said somewhere over Isla’s shoulder.

Isla pulled away from Eloise and wiped her cheeks before turning on her butt to look at the rest of the group. Everyone was filthy. Dust coated their clothes, hair, and faces. They looked exhausted from their trip, a fact even the most powerful witch on the continent couldn’t hide. Delilah did a small wave while Isla carefully got to her feet. She hugged the witch tightly and closed her eyes as she inhaled the comforting scent of herbs and magic that rose above the stench of her travels.

“I know, I know,” Delilah said, reading her mind. “We all need a bath.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Sylvan called, walking up on the group. “I could scent you from the woods ten miles away.” Sylvan grasped Nikolai by the forearm and drew him into a hug that ended with him pounding on his beta’s back. “I’m glad to see you. You made impeccable time.”

“I didn’t like the idea of you being unprotected,” Nikolai said. Though there were rings under his eyes and his shoulders sagged with the weight of his

travels, there was a brightness to his gaze, a determination to fulfill his duty in protecting the royal he’d been charged to safeguard.

“I’ll admit, it felt odd to not have you by my side this last week,” Sylvan admitted, squeezing Nikolai’s shoulder.

Though the beta kept his face stoic, Isla didn’t miss the pride shining in his eyes at the compliment. “We have come bearing news. While treading carefully through the outskirts of Eredhal, we…”

“Come,” Sylvan said, stalling his announcement as he pulled him along the road. “You all are weary from a long journey. You need to eat, bathe, and rest. Whatever you need to discuss can be done on our way to the house we’ve been staying at.”

“A bed sounds nice,” the soldier, Gregory, said with a sigh.

Isla looped her arm through Eloise’s, noting how she blushed a bit as her eyes met the young man who had just spoken. Isla raised her brows, and Eloise rolled her eyes. Later, Isla decided. She would discuss what on earth was going on between her friend and the soldier later.

“As I was saying,” Nikolai continued, clearly thinking the information too pertinent to put off. “We heard more news of the king and queen’s passing. It was done by a stable hand. A Tridean boy.”

“Noah?” Isla asked, her full attention now on the beta.

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Chapter 85 Chapter Eighty-Five

Nikolai leaked over his shoulder and nodded. “He was caught near the Eredhal-Tridean border with evidence on his person.”

“I know he was acting a bit insane, but it’s still hard to believe he would do such a thing.”

Sylvan glanced back to give her a look of pity. “He’s Tridean, Isla. He’s upset you are my mate, as is my brother. He saw the opportunity to earn respect from the Tridean people while Tristan probably saw the perfect scapegoat to make the Eredhal public even more fearful against my union with a Tridean princess.”

Nikolai bobbed his head eagerly. “Those were my thoughts exactly.

“What is to happen to him?” Isla asked.

No one responded, and that was an answer in and of itself.

“What news of Slade?” Sylvan asked.

“Yes, that was something else we learned. He is on the move. Rumors have it he is headed toward Ardan, to speak with the Aradian Council…” Nikolai dropped his head and widened his eyes, and Isla knew this next bit of information was important. “On behalf of both Tridea and Eredhal.”

Isla growled, making Eloise jump and Gregory flinch closer to her side as if to shield her. “He set Noah up. He’s working with Tristan.”

Sylvan raised a brow. “It’s not a bad theory…”

“It’s not a theory, Sylvan. I heard Noah speaking of Slade. It was clear he still followed him and believed in him. There is no way he would have sided with Tristan without someone he deemed more influential whispering in his ear. I know Tristan and Slade are working together and they conspired to get Noah involved. It’s perfectly logical.”

“You’re right,” Sylvan agreed before releasing a sigh. “This certainly complicates things, and we need to alert the fae queen. I imagine Slade will try to convince the council to be on his side, but if that fails, he may try to summon her.”

“Why not do that beforehand?” Delilah asked.

“If he can manage to take me down through the law of the council,” Sylvan explained. “It will work out better for them in the long run. I imagine his deal with Tristan involves not only the decimation of the fae, but continuing my father’s plans to rid the world of dragon riders too. He won’t try to summon a powerful Saltbound if he can help it. Leashing that kind of power will not go unnoticed and can only spark a war. If he and Tristan can find a way to break my bond with Isla, keep hold of their thrones, and their objectives without killing each other, it will be all the easier for them to get what they want.”

“We need to start strategizing,” Isla announced, her voice firm as they rounded the last corner leading to the home they’d been staying in. “It’s only a matter of time before the council calls on us. The people who sit at that gilded table have never been for the fae. They fear my kind. It’s why Sylvan’s ancestors were able to get away with massacring them for centuries. It will only take a few sweet words from a skilled manipulator like Slade to get them on his side. They’ll call on us; we’ll have to show in person. There will be assassination attempts, tests meant to prove I am unstable, which will make Sylvan appear the same. It’s an inevitability. We will have no choice but to go before the council and, most likely, end their reign if we are to hold our own.”

“You speak as though you have been around the council,” Eloise said.

Isla remained quiet. They reached the gate to their home. Everyone looked at her with eyes filled with sudden suspicion. Isla swallowed and looked away, but she could feel the doubt rolling off Sylvan’s aura crashing into anger.

“Everyone, go inside. Get cleaned up, and get some rest. There is a party on the beach every night, and I think you all can use an excuse to unwind one last time before we are thrown into chaos once again,” Sylvan remarked, holding the gate open for them.

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1:07 am

Chapter 85 Chapter Eighty-Five

Adells jingled, alerting anyone inside the home to visitors. Cole emerged, his mouth full of bread dough. His eyes widened, as did the smile on his lips.

“Nikolat! Delilah! Everyone else! Welcome to Deveraux!” Cole exclaimed a moment before the ground shook and Bessimor came bounding around the back of

the house to lead the welcoming committee,

Isla tried to step past Sylvan when his hand shot out and snagged her forearm. “I don’t think so,” he murmured down at her. “What aren’t you telling me, and how did you hide it from me when our bond was formed, hm?*

Isla swallowed the lump in her throat and looked up at Sylvan, her gerves twisting her stomach as his gaze shone with betrayal. “I was young… the memory

is faded, but since I’ve been attuning with my wolf and discovering my te…”

Sylvan bent lower, his lips pulling over his teeth as he sensed the fear and pain she’d kept buried rising to the surface. “Tell me now, Isla, before my wolf comes forward and he is sated by claiming the blood of those he feels justified in taking.”

Isla glanced downward, unable to keep looking at his eyes, swirling black with a torch lit behind them. “I’ve met the council before,” she whispered, not wanting the other wolves within the house to hear her shame.

“When?” Sylvan pressed, pulling her closer in a gesture that was both shielding and demanding.

“Sylvan, please…”

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