Realm of Mirrors (The DeathSpeaker Codex Book 3) by Sonya Bateman Read Free Book Online Page A

emphatic gestures. None of them had seen what happened—it was over too fast.
    “Gideon.” Sadie’s voice trembled. “Where is he? Where’s Taeral?”
    I wasn’t sure I could speak. The weight of it threatened to crush me, the sick certainty that we’d never get them back. Those Fae had swatted every one of us down like insects in the space of two minutes, and there had to be a lot more where that batch came from. But she had to know. “I’m not sure,” I managed. “But if I had to guess…I’d say Arcadia. Specifically, the Unseelie Court.”
    “You’d be right.”
    I barely recognized the splintered voice from across the room as Reun. He’d managed to stand with Denei supporting him, and now he limped toward us with an anguished expression. “They took both of them, didn’t they? Daoin and Taeral.”
    I nodded, wincing at the fresh pain moving my neck caused.
    “Oh, God,” Sadie said. “We have to go after them.”
    “Who’s them?” Denei demanded. “Reun, what the hell happened? Why didn’t you call me down here?”
    He eased himself straighter. “ They are the Unseelie Guard. And you’d not have made it in time,” he said. “This was carefully planned. The new moon, the precise location. They intended to neutralize, grab and leave.”
    “Well, when they come back, I’m damn sure gonna lay a hurt on ’em,” she said.
    Just behind her, Zoba made a very unpleasant sound. I could only assume he agreed.
    “They’ll not return. They have what they came for.” Reun stepped away from her, his hand lingering on her arm for a moment. Apparently the two of them still had a thing together, though I couldn’t imagine the attraction. “Gideon, your shoulder,” he said. “A drais-ghan ?”
    It took me a few seconds to puzzle that one out. Spelled dagger. “Yeah, that,” I said. I decided not to mention it was a copy of the one Reun’s wife had given to Daoin while they were having an affair. No need to rub that in at the moment.
    “Jesus!” Sadie scrambled to her feet. “You’re bleeding all over the place. Why didn’t you say something?”
    “Thought it was kind of obvious.” I was still on my knees, and I wasn’t sure I could get up. The slightest movement made my whole arm feel like it was going to explode.
    She bent closer to look at the wound. “How bad is it?” she said, reaching for my shoulder.
    “Don’t—”
    She touched it. And I screamed.
    Sadie snatched her hand back fast. “Sorry. I guess that means pretty bad, right?”
    “Good guess,” I ground out.
    Reun stepped up beside me and knelt. “I can remove the enchantment,” he said. “But I’ll not be able to heal it completely. And it will hurt.”
    I managed a weak laugh. “Can’t hurt more than it already does.”
    “Actually, it can.”
    “Great,” I sighed. “Well, go for it anyway.”
    “Hold on.” Denei made her way over, working something free from the pocket of her tight leather pants. I half expected one of her voodoo pouches. But what she produced was a block of wood about the size of a small candy bar, wrapped with flat strips of leather. “Bite down on this, handsome,” she said. “It’ll help.”
    I wasn’t even going to ask why she carried something like that around with her. Or why it already had teeth marks in it.
    Without asking whether I agreed, she shoved it in my mouth. So I bit down, closed my eyes, and waited.
    It did hurt more. A lot more.
    Just as I was sure I’d bite the damned wood block in half and pass out choking on the splinters, the blinding pain eased to a sharp ache. I opened my eyes in time to see Reun sag back, panting. “I’ve done all I can,” he said. “But now the rest will heal on its own.”
    I used my non-stabbed arm to take the block out of my mouth and wiped it awkwardly on my shirt. “Uh, thanks,” I said, handing it back to Denei. “Both of you, I mean.”
    Reun nodded and stood slowly. “I’ve failed to protect Lord Daoin,” he said, his voice