Last of the Temple Line Read online

  Paelia's unrefined snort interrupted Emersyn's dark thoughts. "One day, I had hoped you would unravel the potential I had sensed within you. However, this, too, will be beyond you even if you choose not to give Rite to the Akkadians. It is time to accept that your power will never heed your call. You need to think on how you will make your way in the world now that the position you had been promised in Gilvern will be filled by another."

  The rocks in her gut twisted. Emersyn had not even gotten that far in her future. Another troubling thought circled in Emersyn’s heart. She hesitated to broach such a private subject, but she knew none other she could ask who might have an answer. “Paelia,” she ventured, “Is it normal to feel for an Akkadian?”

  “Eh? Feel?” Paelia’s lips pursed.

  Emersyn blushed fire-red. “Desire,” she choked out. “I had thought myself lacking in the ability to feel such for anyone, but at the Falls, when Dalaric had found me, it was there. I hadn’t wanted it,” she hastily added lest Paelia think she had sought such a thing for a being who was so far above her it was as if a mountain stood between them.

  Paelia rolled her eyes up to the heavens. "It is a natural condition of the body to seek pleasure." Her mentor chided, “You refused to participate in the many ceremonies and festivals which were your right to partake of and would already understand this of yourself if you had.”

  Emersyn shrugged; her embarrassment was temporarily forgotten. “I wanted my first time to have meaning. To wait for a love like what my mother and father shared.”

  “They were a most unusual couple. Witches do not marry as a rule. You know this, Emersyn. Our creed demands our loyalty to lay with the town we foster not a single lover.”

  “My mother helped the people of Kildair until her illness took her from us,” Emersyn defended her mother. “She never let her love for my father interfere with her responsibility to the people.”

  “Did she not?” Paelia challenged. “Her illness was not a true sickness, but a melancholy born of her grief at his passing. If she had held to the proper rote she would have been saddened but would not have abandoned her daughter to care for the husk that remained of her.”

  Before the argument could gain heat, Paelia struggled to rise. Seeing her difficulty, Emersyn darted to her side and helped her. The elder witch placed an age-spotted hand over the slender one on her arm.

  Looking away from the knowing visage of her mentor, Emersyn bowed her head and released the irritation that always came when her mentor criticized her mother. Paelia was not there. She did not understand. Though it had broken Emersyn’s heart to lose both her mother and father, what her parents had shared had been worth every heartache. She wanted to same for herself.

  Paelia turned Emersyn’s attention back to her with a finger on her chin "I see you are troubled. Do not let this Akkadian turn you from your true path, Emersyn. Pleasure is natural to the body, but it should never be allowed to control your mind or your heart. You are human. A liaison with a male like that would prove dangerous not only to your loyalty but your very life would be forfeit. No woman can lay with a blooded Akkadian and live. Do not forget who you are. What you are. That male needs you now. Once he no longer has a use for you, you will be discarded.”

  Emersyn wrung her hands and avoided Paelia's searching gaze. According to Dalaric, she was not just a woman. If she could survive the touch of Ki during the Rite, would that mean she had protection other human women did not? Would it even matter if that were not the case? she challenged her own logic. Pain was the only guarantee Lord Dalaric had promised. Why was she even thinking on such things?

  Paelia patted Emersyn's hand before sighing. Emersyn would no doubt choose the hard path. The young woman was willful in her own quiet way. Who else would claim an exiled Liindre assassin and a ball of insubstantial fluff like Sarah for sisters? Emersyn would no doubt have her heart broken in the future. Perhaps, then, she would learn to accept the counsel of those older and wiser than she.

  A loud shout reached both women through the stone of the cottage walls. There was no mistaking the voice. Bannon.

  The women shared a look and turned as one to leave the cottage. Walking briskly down the main path of the village they soon reached the outskirts. It was also the site Bannon had chosen to build another cottage for his family adjacent to the rubble of their old one.

  Standing to the side, face screwed up in worry, Alvin watched the scene but did not intervene. Sarah was holding her baby and stood directly behind a growling Bannon with one of his hands holding her hip to keep her there. Towering over his nephew, hair glinting in the morning sun, stood Lord Dalaric.

  Coughing behind her hand, Paelia drew the Akkadian's attention. "Lord Dalaric. To what do we owe the honor of your presence?" she asked.

  Dalaric directed his gaze to the fuming countenance of his nephew. "I have business with Emersyn."

  Sputtering, Bannon stopped growling to yell, "The HELL you do!"

  Sarah pulled on his sleeve. "Bannon, he is here to talk to Emersyn. Not you," she whispered fiercely. "I am happy you are trying to protect her, but this is not the time for it."

  Gauging the brewing fury in Bannon's eyes, Alvin spoke up. "Bannon, there are certain developments that you need to be made aware of."

  Last night, Paelia had disclosed enough of what she knew of the mark Emersyn carried to allay most of his personal concerns for the young woman's health. That did not mean the rest of them were safe. The threat radiating off the large male was intimidating to say the least. "Suffice to say Emersyn is in no danger from your uncle."

  "The only business he could have with her is nothing an honorable woman would receive!" Bannon shot back.

  Emersyn gasped. How could he even think that, let alone utter such hateful words? Besides, what was it to him who she chose to share her body with? He was not in charge of her life!

  Sarah snapped, "Bannon! Just because you do not think she is worth talking to outside of whatever it is you are insinuating, does not make it so! Be quiet!"

  Sarah's sharp elbow dug into his side. Bannon winced. His uncle eyed him with disdain. His anger came to the fore once more. The hell if he would bow his head in front of the bastard.

  Dalaric turned a narrow glare on his nephew. Bannon needed to learn how to hold his tongue if he could not control its direction. "Speak with the old one." Paelia knew enough, he was sure, to explain the situation.

  Bannon looked ready to explode. Sarah shrugged off Bannon's arm and held up a hand when he leveled a furious glare on her over his shoulder. "Stop it. Emersyn is going to talk to him. We will go to Paelia's cottage so we can learn more about what is going on before you get angry over nothing."

  Seething that she would order him in front of his uncle, Bannon said, "Sarah he's-"

  She cut him off to state, "I know who he is, Bannon. Paelia said she will be fine. That is all I need to know. If Emersyn needs help, she can ask for it." Sarah's brow lifted. She tilted her chin and walked away from the group. She headed down the backroad to Paelia's cottage.

  Bannon cursed, finger pointing at Emersyn. "You see now? This is why you should not be here, not be anywhere near her!" Forgetting his apology of just the day before, Bannon snarled, "Stay away from my wife!"

  Emersyn's face leeched of color while he ran to catch up to Sarah with a last, hate-filled glance at his uncle. Alvin and Paelia gave the Akkadian a wide berth and followed after the married couple.

  "His blood is wild," Dalaric interjected into the silence.

  Emersyn's lips wobbled. "He thinks I am going to interfere with his marriage. That Sarah will leave him." She took a deep breath. "I don't know why he thinks that. Sarah loves him. They have a baby together. I am her sister. Akkadian instincts are horrible. Horrible," she repeated, arms crossed over her chest.

  "What eats at that whelp is not instinct. It is untried ego," Dalaric growled. Had Bannon been following instinct, he would have taken the sister of his wife beneath his protection. Not scr
eamed at the gentle female and brought her to tears.

  Emersyn walked over to Dalaric. She stared at him for a minute, unsure of what to say. What could one say, in a situation like this? Finally, she gave a half-hearted smile. "Well met, Lord Dalaric."

  She would excuse the male's behavior and pretend it had not happened. Very well, Dalaric decided. He did not wish to waste more time on the brash whelp. Dalaric gave a small nod. "And to you as well, Emersyn."

  Emersyn took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I am a little on edge." She wrung her hands. She could not hold his gaze for long. Dropping her eyes, she glanced about the tree-line, seeking a topic, any topic, to break the silence.

  Startled, her eyes widened at the feel of his crooked finger under her chin. Once her eyes met his he let his arm drop. "I brought my son to make his formal introduction," he told her.

  Swallowing thickly, Emersyn nodded.

  Dalaric growled low. Caelwin stepped away from the shadows in the woods and slowly walked over to join them.

  Emersyn took a deep breath and bowed slightly to the taller male. "Well met."

  Caelwin returned the bow with one of his own. "Greetings, Emersyn.”

  She could not help comparing the two males. Caelwin was dark-haired, which apparently meant he was one of the un-blooded. Lord Dalaric had explained that the white hair was a sign of a successful Rite. Caelwin was slender, almost child-like, compared to the broad strength of his father, though on closer inspection Emersyn realized Caelwin was of a size to Alvin which made him much larger than most human men and much, much larger than herself.

  “How old are you?” she asked Caelwin, unable to quiet her curiosity.

  Dalaric answered for Caelwin, “He is of age to Bannon. He has reached his century mark.” He placed a hand on Caelwin's shoulder. "Caelwin is the hatchling of Kylara’s egg. She was the First Daughter of the second-in-line green clan, but now she is the vowed mate to the First Son, Dorian, of the blue breed."

  Emersyn blinked. 'First Son' she understood. That was an heir. But second or third-in-line for what? Was a clan the same as a breed?

  She chewed her lip. "When you say 'second-in-line' and breed what does that mean?" She hated to sound ignorant, but she had been too busy failing to weave mana to learn about Akkadian lineage.

  "There are many breeds of Akkadian dragons,” Dalaric explained. “Each breed is composed of clans that are ranked by power. The clan leader, or as your people name them, patriarch, that has achieved the greatest amount of power and prestige within each breed earns the title of First Son. The original clans from the beginning of our existence on this world usually rank higher, though they can be defeated and replaced from time to time. Each successive line ranking shows a step down from the Ki potential in each bloodline."

  Before she could ask, Caelwin broke in to further explain, "Our breed, shown when we transform into our dragon form, dictates the color of our feathers and scales and decides our abilities. Males breed true upon any female’s egg, so our lineage is tracked through the name of the mother to respect the sacrifice of their parent clan to preserve the lineage of the sire."

  Nodding, Emersyn tried to take in all he said. She grew thoughtful. "Which line is your clan?" she asked Caelwin curiously.

  "We are the only of the white clan," he replied, pride plain on his face when he turned to look on his father. “My great-great-great-grandfather, Dagesh, was the First Son of the white dragon breed to make a home on this world. The designation has never moved from our clan though many have tried to wrest it from us. Now, our clan is the last heir of both my sire’s namesake and the only surviving members of the white breed. One day, I hope to breed true and continue the line until it is powerful once more."

  Emersyn swallowed thickly. She had known Lord Dalaric was the last of the white dragons, but to hear it from Caelwin that the hope of the clan lay with his ability to Ascend caused the weight of what she had been born to accomplish to suddenly drop its full weight upon her shoulders. How had that happened? Even if they had been half as powerful as Lord Dalaric, no human could have brought them so low!

  "Emersyn!"

  Face flushed with anger, Bannon raced between the young woman and the Akkadians. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he seethed.

  Emersyn stepped back. He had gotten too close. His anger scorched her. A physical pain. Sarah ran up to him, panting with the effort.

  "Didn't I tell you to stay out of this!" Sarah screeched. She turned apologetic eyes on Emersyn. “I am so sorry, Emersyn! He won’t listen to me!”

  He glared over his shoulder at her. "Stay out of this, Sarah. You really going to let this happen? All so he can be more powerful. She's doing it to spite me!" Bannon panted with rage, turning his full attention back to Emersyn.

  Restraining the urge to silence his loud-mouthed nephew, Dalaric motioned Caelwin to remain silent though his son’s anger lapped at his senses. He squeezed Caelwin’s shoulder. Instantly, the chaotic Ki Dalaric could sense inside his heir quieted.

  Emersyn felt a calm fall over her once Bannon's temper was directed toward her and not Sarah. She took a deep breath. "Fate chose me to work with the Akkadians. And there is more to the story of our history, human and Akkadian, than you know. I will help him not only because Caelwin does not deserve to die but also because it would be a terrible thing to bear as a parent to know there is nothing to be done to save their child."

  Bannon cursed darkly. "No one is that nice.” He waved a hand at his cousin. “He is not a child. He is a grown male. You made a deal with my uncle, didn't you? He will give you everything you need to steal Sarah away. That is why you have been turning her against me!"

  "If it were for your daughter, I would not hesitate," she stated. “And Caelwin is not young in the human sense. However, no matter how many years he can claim, he will always be Lord Dalaric’s child. You are being selfish, Bannon. I do not make decisions to deliberately hurt anyone.”

  Bannon sneered down at her. "So? You are going to choose the bastard’s spawn over Sarah? Because if you do this you will only prove that you are doing this to spite me. Deny him. Tell him to leave, and I will think about forgiving you for what you have done to my wife. Otherwise forget ever seeing her again!"

  Dalaric swallowed the flames that ate through his control. The whelp would only be forgiven so much. Had Bannon been an Akkadian of another clan he would now be eating his own innards for daring to talk to Emersyn, let alone levy threats against her or give insult to his son. By virtue of her importance to his clan and the gentle nature that he had noted already, she was under his protection. She was not to be spoken to thusly. Ever. The cunning of the ages stilled his claws, however. There was a story here he needed to understand to further his ability to protect the woman.

  Emersyn's sharp intake of breath matched Sarah's.

  "You self-serving, conceited bastard!" Sarah yelled. "How dare you talk to her like that? You promised me! She does not have to steal me! I am my own person! Not your property to be bargained over!" Her eyes glowed in anger. "I am not yours to control, Bannon," she snarled in pure rage. “You will never turn me away from my sisters!”

  "They are not your sisters! You are weak and female! That makes you mine and you will obey me!" he shot back.

  "NO!" Sarah screamed. "You are not the man I agreed to marry! Now back off!"

  Emersyn's eyes widened. Her heart stuttered when she watched Bannon pull his fist back. He was going to hit her! Hit her sister. Hurt Sarah with his strength. Every feminine instinct within her responded to the insult to her very being.

  Mana burst from every pore of Emersyn's skin. It whipped around her in a violent storm of blue crackling flames.

  Dalaric shoved Caelwin away from the inferno before it could trigger a Ki storm in his son. He watched Caelwin quickly catch his balance then move further away into the tree line. Caelwin stopped just shy of the wooded perimeter. Dalaric turned back to Emersyn and narrowed his eyes on young witch. Th
e flames of Emersyn’s mana began to glow brighter and brighter. She was losing herself.

  "Emersyn, calm yourself," he ordered. Desire unbidden curled in his gut at the display of power that danced over every inch of her body. She was magnificent in her abandonment to the essence of her being. However, it was dangerous to allow her to burn off her anger uncontrolled.

  Calm? repeated in Emersyn’s heart. Life was not calm. Fate was not calm. It was hatred and lies and evil and she wanted none of it!

  Emersyn felt the heat of the mana upon her skin. It hurt. It hurt good. Finally. Just let it out. Let it all go! Burn it all. Burn everything! There would be nothing left to fight over! She threw her head back and screamed her defiance to the world that would see her suffer.

  Violent green Ki engulfed the raging mana in a vise grip. Wild witch essence fought Dalaric's Ki. Fought against him! Dalaric's fangs ached to rend flesh. He struggled to hold back both his bloodlust and the ache in his now hardening cock. The need to gut the offending male who had pushed the woman into a deadly mana storm was overwhelming even as his body screamed at him to claim the powerful female for himself.

  Every muscle in his body tightened. The pulse of his blood begged to answer the challenge of the blue flames.

  Eyes gone black, Dalaric grabbed Bannon's arm in an iron grip. He roared into the male's face, fangs extended. Claws bit into the Annunaki's arm. Crimson seeped into the green leather. Only the frightened whimpers of his nephew’s wife stayed his hand. His fist sliced through the air and cracked against his nephew’s jaw. Bannon hit the dirt in a dead heap.

  Pulling more Ki into his hands, Dalaric grabbed Emersyn's arms and pulled her into his embrace. She would not burn out, every bit of her power down to her soul essence fed to the inferno of the storm. He would never allow it.

  "Child, calm yourself!" Paelia yelled at Emersyn from outside the reach of the Akkadian's Ki. She had followed after Bannon had run from the cottage in a rage. The male was always so hot-headed. Her eyes widened when she saw what the Akkadian was doing. It was not possible! Ki could not command mana. It was blasphemy!