The Guild Codex : Unveiled, Tome 4 : The Unbreakable Bladesong Druid

Chapter 1 (Unedited, may change before release)

With the first aid kit repacked and returned to the truck, I grabbed an empty water jug and headed across the barren ground toward the stream to refill it. I dunked the jug into the clear water, still debating what my next move should be. I had water but no food, and I desperately needed first aid for myself, a shower, clean clothes, and sleep. All of those required going back to the city—and even farther from Zak.

A shiver ran across my skin, and I froze where I crouched. The water jug overflowed, water rushing over my hands, but I didn’t move, my senses straining for the source of … I wasn’t sure. It was a gut feeling, a thrum of power so deep in my bones it was like the beat of a massive drum too low to hear.

Ríkr? I called cautiously.

He didn’t answer, too far to hear me. The thrum grew deeper, more profound—more unsettling—and some primitive instinct made me look up. I squinted at the bright overcast sky, feeling uncomfortably small and hunted.

At first, I thought it was a trick of the light, but no. A patch of clouds was darkening as though a shadow had been cast over it. It darkened more—then in a burst of white mist, something plunged through the cloud cover. For a terrifying second, I thought it was a monstrously huge version of Lallakai’s eagle form. But it wasn’t a bird.

I braced a hand on the ground, my heart jammed in my throat.

It was a dragon. A real dragon.

The creature swept downward, and as it approached, I took in the details: its arched, ribbed wings; a long, snaking tail armed with barbs at the end; a slim, graceful body; and a narrow head, framed by horns, on an elegant neck.

Now I knew why Zak had insisted on calling the woodland beast we’d slain in Hell’s Gate a lesser dragon. That fae and this one bore as much resemblance as a housecat and a tiger.

The dragon swooped lower and banked, its shadow passing over me. It was going to land. I shoved to my feet, leaving the water jug in the stream, and backed up.

With a flare of its gargantuan wings, it landed on the other side of the stream, touching down so softly I barely heard its clawed feet meet the earth. Wind rushed over me, blowing my bangs off my face, and the stream rippled violently.

For a moment, before it folded its wings, I was entranced by the ethereal shimmers that swirled across them in shades of blue and purple, like starry galaxies dusted across black velvet. Its huge head lowered, dark eyes gazing at me. The creature was so impossibly large I could have walked between its front legs and under its chest without having to duck.

Large enough to crush small towns.

“Echo.”

The fae’s name fell from my lips, and as soon as I said it, I knew I was right. This huge, otherworldly dragon was Zak’s mysterious fae ally, the one he’d gone north to find.

A deep rumble sounded in the dragon’s chest, then swirling light rushed over him. With a burst of glimmering sparks, the magic vanished. In the dragon’s place, a humanoid fae stood.

Unlike Ríkr, Echo retained more of his inhuman features. A smaller version of his dragon wings arched from his back, and a long tail swished gracefully behind him. The same horns that framed his reptilian head swept out on either side of his face.

But like Ríkr, he was sublimely beautiful and androgynous. Flawless skin, wide cheekbones, a sharp but delicate jaw, refined eyebrows, and dark eyes. Black hair, shimmering blue and purple in the gray light, was pulled over his shoulder in a long braid, and silk-like robes draped his slim body.

Those dark eyes drifted slowly and deliberately over me, his assessment coolly clinical like a sculptor evaluating his rival’s work. Wariness rolled down my spine to settle in my gut. This fae might be Zak’s ally, but he wasn’t an ally of mine.

“Bladesong Druid,” Echo greeted, his thrumming voice lilting with an accent that reminded me of the fae language Artear spoke.

I stiffened. “How do you know that name?”

“The Shadow Court is a hive of whispers, buzzing with tales of their queen’s final acts. Little did Marzanna realize the name she gifted you would be her last to give.”

I couldn’t read his tone or his expression to guess at how he felt about Marzanna’s demise, and I wished Ríkr were with me. How far had he gone to check for pursuers? Had he sensed the dragon’s approach?

Dozens of questions boiled in my throat, but I asked the ones that mattered most to me. “You spoke to the Shadow Court? Did you see Zak?”

“The Crystal Druid was not among them.”

Tension—and terror—wound through my muscles. “What about Lallakai?”

“The Shadow Court’s new queen was not present.”

If he knew Lallakai had killed Marzanna and taken over the court, was he aware of everything that had happened over the past few days? We’d thought he was poisoned and deathly ill, but clearly not. “Do you know where she and Zak are?”

The dragon stepped forward, his elegant leather boots silent on the desiccated ground. As he reached the stream, his wings unfurled in a smooth sweep, and when he stepped again, he drifted across the water as though floating in zero gravity.

His feet touched the ground—right in front of me. I lifted my chin, refusing to cower despite the low-pitched thrums of deep, potent power that reverberated in the air around him.

His eyes—a midnight blue—stared unblinkingly into mine, then he sidestepped, circling me. I turned with him, not letting him walk behind me. Not that facing him would save me if he decided to attack.

“I heard many things from the Shadow Court,” he murmured, and I still couldn’t interpret the tone or emotion in his accented voice. “They were eager to divulge details of the bloodthirsty master of death who overtook their court, of the Crystal Druid and his female counterpart, and … another unusual companion. A bold and imperious Lord of Winter.”

Alarm bells erupted in my head, and I was glad Ríkr hadn’t returned yet.

“A Lord of Winter …” the dragon repeated softly. “In my territory? Without my knowledge?”

He kept circling me, forcing me to turn with him.

“You called Zak,” I replied. “He was trying to find you. We thought Izverg had poisoned you and you needed help.”

“The master of death … harm me?”

At this point, I also found it wildly implausible that Izverg could have done anything to Echo. “If you weren’t hurt, why did you call for Zak? And why did you disappear right afterward?”

“I called him for his knowledge of fae in these lands. For you see, Bladesong Druid, I heard something most interesting. A tale I was disinclined to believe … at the time.” His midnight eyes gleamed dangerously. “This tale spoke of a fallen king, hidden in my very shadow, plotting his return to power.”

My stomach churned. “And where did you hear that?”

“From the Queen of the Summer Court.”