The Tainted Web (The Godhunter, Book 7) by Amy Sumida Read Free Book Online

they looked at me and sparkling green scales on angled cheeks. His hair had been gold and I remembered touching it. It was soft like dandelion down. My throat constricted, my heart aching for someone who was lost to me, someone I hadn't even known I needed. To have something of his, was a blessing I couldn't have even hoped for.
    “Thank you,” I held it to my heart, not even wanting to open it, just enjoying the fact that it had been his. I saw my mother's face then, her dragon beauty covered with a veil of humanity. Her eyes had been very light blue in that guise and her hair was human red but in her dragon-sidhe form, her eyes burned blue like the crest of a flame and her hair was like the flames themselves, alive with light and heat. She had gold scales at her temples and I remembered how my father would touch them reverently, the few times she'd taken us to some secret spot in the forest to meet him.
    “ Well, it's more than just a box, my dear. Open it,” King Cian cajoled softly, pulling me out of the long-buried memories. I looked up at him with tears in my eyes and he nodded. “Ah, I understand. It makes me even happier, that you appreciate the return of it but its value far exceeds the connection it holds to your father.”
    “ Not for me, it could be a piece of string and I'd be content,” I whispered and swallowed hard. I hadn't really known my father in this life either. The man who had raised me was actually my Mom's father, my grandfather who I loved very much but still it wasn't the same. Two lives in a row, I hadn't known the man who had truly fathered me and I'd wondered at times if there was a reason for it. So it didn't matter what this gift was, it was my link to the man I never really knew but whose magic ran through me regardless.
    I finally took a breath and opened the box. Over on my left, I heard Arach gasp and when I looked up at him, his eyes were as round as a mermaid's. I frowned and looked back at the simple piece of jewelry, nestled inside the box on a layer of black velvet. It was a ring. A thick gold band with a single clear-colored cabochon set in the center of it. The stone was an oval, set horizontally, so that it didn't break up the line of the band.
    “Is that?” Arach looked up at King Cian and the High King smiled and nodded. “I thought it was lost, destroyed.”
    “ No,” King Cian smiled at me, “simply waiting for its mistress. Fey artifacts have life in them, Queen Vervain. They've been known to develop a fondness for their bearers and this one in particular was very fond of Lord Finnian. It would not allow another to wear it until now. This is not just a ring, it's a member of your family. Please, treat it as such.”
    “ I will,” I promised and held it up. The rest of the room sighed. “It's nice to meet you, ring.”
    “ You must tell her what it does, darling,” Queen Meara smiled at her husband. “Remember, she knows not our history.”
    “ Oh yes, of course,” King Cian laughed. “This is the Ring of Remembrance.” More sighs and some murmurs. “It is a time bender.”
    “ Excuse me?” My heart started thumping faster in my chest. Did that mean what I think it meant? The possibilities were mind-blowing. I could save my lions and the Froekn we lost in the last battle, Mr. T, and Alfred. I could-
    “ It is as you assume,” the King cut off my thoughts. “But there are limits. I know what you're thinking. I know what I would think if someone were to present me with such a treasure, but it cannot be done, I'm afraid. Even magic has limits. Time can only be bent, not broken, the past can't be meddled with. You cannot use it to save a life, in the past or present, not even your own. If it had been capable of such, your parents would still be alive. All of the dragon-sidhe would, I'm sure. You can't change anything that you yourself have experienced either, the new memories would be in conflict with the old and the discord would shatter your