A Bond Of Blood And Lies – Sarah L Reiss

Zyric. Fire. Screams. Death. My lungs refuse to draw in anything more than thin, shallow gasps. I can’t move. Can’t stand. Can’t look. “No,” I whisper. “No, no, no.” My vision blurs as pressure builds in my chest. I’m on the verge of passing out. Pain locks me in place as I try to curl in on myself, ribs screaming as I lie rigid against a stone boulder, trapped inside my own skin.

Suddenly, warm, gentle hands cup my cheeks, and the familiar scent of mint floods my senses. Forcing my eyes open, I see Cal in front of me, his presence alone enough to take the edge off, enveloping me in a calmness I didn’t think possible. “Hey,” he says softly. “Look at me. Just me. Breathe.” Gazing into his dark eyes, I do as he says, focusing on my heartbeat, and eventually the world returns in pieces.

I don’t speak, neither does Cal. It’s as if we’re trapped in a bubble, just the two of us, and nothing else matters outside it. Slowly, he slides his hands down to my neck, brushing my cheekbones with his thumbs. Closing his eyes, his forehead rests against mine, and for a second, everything is still.

I can feel his breath. His pulse. The tension in his hands. His restraint… and then it snaps. Cal’s mouth crashes onto mine like it’s something he needs, like his body moved before his mind could stop it. His kiss isn’t gentle or slow—it’s urgent, desperate, filled with need. My mind protests immediately, a thousand thoughts colliding. This is the bond. This isn’t real. This isn’t a choice. This is wrong. I want this. This feels right. Gods, it feels right. His hands tighten at my neck as I kiss him back with the same hunger and desperation he shows.

I shouldn’t want this, but I do, so I make no attempt to stop whatever this is. For a long moment, the world disappears. No mountain. No dragon. No danger. No blood bond. No fear. Just heat. Breath. Contact. Cal. When he finally pulls back, he almost looks dazed, a boyish grin tugging at his lips. “You have no idea how badly I’ve been wanting to do that.”

“You have no idea how badly I’ve been wanting to do that,” Cove mocks in a high-pitched voice from behind Cal. “When you two are done, I’d quite like to get off this mountain.” “Fifty shifts when we’re back, Cove,” Cal says without looking away from me. “What? That’s not fair… fuck.” “Do you trust me?” Cal asks. Peering over his shoulder, I cast a glance at the dragon hovering just beyond the mountain, my breath catching, eyes flaring wide.

This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Cover designed by GetCovers 1kitap1.com/en TABLE OF CONTENTS One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty Twenty-One Twenty-Two Twenty-Three Twenty-Four Twenty-Five Twenty-Six Twenty-Seven Twenty-Eight Twenty-Nine Thirty Thirty-One Thirty-Two Thirty-Three Thirty-Four Thirty-Five Thirty-Six Thirty-Seven Thirty-Eight Thirty-Nine Forty Forty-One Forty-Two Forty-Three Author’s note Acknowledgements 1kitap1.com/en ONE “Elora, wake up.

They’ve found us!” “Go away, Lyra,” Elora whines, still half-asleep, pulling the covers back up over her shoulders and holding them tightly. She’s always been a heavy sleeper, but we don’t have time for this. We need to go now. They’ll kill us if they find us. With trembling fingers, I grab her shoulder and shake harder. “Elora, come on. The dragons are here.” Her brown eyes snap open, confusion flashing for half a second before my words sink in.

Then it’s gone—replaced by immediate fear. “Shit.” She throws the covers back and scrambles out of bed, grabbing her go- bag that’s stuffed underneath. We’ve practiced this once, but we never thought we’d actually do it for real, and in a matter of minutes, we’re ready to leave. “Are you sure it’s dragons?” Elora asks as we make our way out of our apartment.

The cold air hits my skin, but it does nothing to cool the heat of panic building inside me. My heart pounds so hard I’m amazed I’m still standing. “Positive.” When the shifters are in their dragon forms, their smoky scent is stifling, but even in their Aelari forms, I can smell them for miles. “Can you detect how close they are?” Elora asks as we stick to the shadows, heading for the forest about a mile away.

“No, but I think they’re close.” “Can you phase us?” “Not if we need to phase back to Azhareth.”

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: c5d68ca10f45a256
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 3,355,863 bytes (3.2 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 290
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 420.19 minutes
• Total Words: 84,038
• Total Characters: 462,674
• Average Words per Page: 289.79
• Average Characters per Page: 1595.43

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