Page 33 of The Shadowed Oracle (The Bonded Worlds #1)

She was losing ground. Her legs and her hands and her shoulders were on fire with tension. The razor-sharp edge of the creature’s blow nicked her ear, then her neck, barely missing vital veins.

The creature didn’t seem to tire. It charged and lunged with ample speed, varying the direction and style every few seconds until Ingrid could parry no longer.

She fell, hurtling to the colorful ground and smacking the back of her head on some large, blunt object.

Her vision, which had seemed more precise upon arrival in Ealis, now went blurry.

All she could make out was the creature rearing up on its hind legs, readying for the killing blow.

Blood, thick and profuse, sluiced down her face.

“They shouldn’t be here. They can’t be here.”

Ingrid’s rattled mind barely made out the whispers.

She had come to, straining her already sore muscles to sit up. Her eyelids weighed a ton. Her stomach was unsteady. The cuts she sustained stung persistently, and a pulsing headache throbbed at her temples as she tried to make out her surroundings.

Slowly, she moved her hands behind her. She’d been placed on a soft surface.

A feathered pillow held her head up, and beyond that was a wooden frame.

Not only was she inside, she was in a bed.

A bed! She rejoiced at the discovery. Ten damned minutes in the forests of Ealis was all it took—she’d never be unappreciative of one again.

“Did you think the Wrane was lying?” the next voice said.

It was a familiar bellowing tone, but Ingrid couldn’t be sure if it was really Raidinn’s. Not until her concussion symptoms faded or she was able to see him with her own eyes.

“I’d heard from Karis,” said a voice that sounded very near Dean’s. “He saw the scourge spreading to Makkar’s doorsteps. But I had no idea it had happened already. Peloria Forest, though, the Ungii have never spread this far.”

Ungii.

Was that what attacked her?

It sounded right, an ugly name for an ugly creature.

“Maybe it was a stray. Wandered away from his pack? Peloria might be fine. Only hitting a rough patch.”

“Don’t be daft. Look around.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“Not that bad? Are you—” A tense pause. “No. Ungii never travel alone, and they sure as shit don’t like thriving habitats. They’re here. And the scourge is what brought them.”

This voice was the easiest to discern. Tyla. That unique rasp, her melodic cadence. Ingrid knew it was her. She knew now that her friends had saved her. Unless this was some cruel illusion, she’d been rescued at the last moment from that scaly beast. That Ungii .

Ingrid willed herself to her feet, wobbling at first, then steadying and planting herself. She took one slow step at a time to the door, reaching for the handle.

But she stopped short, frozen as she heard what Dean said next.

“If other southern kingdoms are suffering the same, then Makkar might’ve dug his hooks in already. If he’s expanding, if the old ways are being followed again, there might be nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide Ingrid.”

Raidinn scoffed. “Would you cut it out?” His weighty voice lowered slightly, like he’d moved closer to Dean.

“I’m so sick of hearing about the reasons not to fight.

No matter how dangerous it is to be around her, it’s no worse than what we’re already facing.

I’d rather be dead than inconsequential.

We’ll go east. They haven’t forgotten Izadora there.

I doubt they’re all buddying up to Hydor already. ”

Tyla took in a long breath, exhaling slowly, and Ingrid got the distinct feeling of eyes scanning in her direction. “He’s right. We can’t wallow. Maybe the delay in the portal means her magic is waking up faster than we thought. There is a chance, Dean. We can still make this work.”

Guilt struck Ingrid then, uncomfortable and urgent.

Painfully aware she was eavesdropping for the second time in as many days, she gripped the door handle, mustering all her remaining strength to walk out and confront the trio.

The hallway of the cabin was short, and she barely had time to notice more of those ancient symbols and talismans hanging on the wall before she was face-to-face with her fellow world-walkers, wavering a bit, wincing from the headache.

“You’re awake.” Dean spoke first, the words bursting from him as he walked hurriedly toward her, giving her a once-over to make sure she was fit to be out of bed. “How are you feeling? Any dizziness?”

“I’m okay,” she said. “It’s you three I’m worried about.”

Dean took a step back, while the twins stood staring at the injured Oracle. There was a hint of embarrassment in their eyes, realizing Ingrid might’ve been listening to them talking behind her back.

“You overheard us?” Tyla asked.

“Yes. I got the gist.” Ingrid turned to Raidinn. “You’ve always wanted a life here,” she said sincerely. “And now I’m the biggest thing standing in your way.”

All three tried to cut in, but Ingrid trounced their pleas.

“I appreciate all you’ve done, all your help.

You had a plan. A lifelong goal that you trusted me to help with.

But it failed. Before you even got the chance to try, it failed.

I may not know much, but I know enough. Ealis isn’t safe for people like you, and lugging me around creates an even bigger target on your backs.

” She again looked to Raidinn. “You don’t owe me anything.

I wouldn’t blame you if you went off and found some corner to hide in, really. You should leave me behind.”

One after the other, the trio took turns opening their mouths and then quickly shutting them.

Ingrid took it as a sign. A sign that she was right.

That the smart, albeit selfish thing to do was to leave her to fend for herself, to start again here in Ealis, or begin searching for a way back to Earth, to rally their troops.

“Hell no.” It was Dean who broke the silence, following his argument with a crunched smile, as if to say, “Do you really think I’d leave you that easily?”

“Yeah, fuck that,” Raidinn said dismissively. “Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with us.”

Tyla stepped forward, smiling so wide her lips went white. It was all she’d had to do to communicate her loyalty.

“We’ll find a way,” Dean said, holding that intense glare of his on Ingrid.

“Like I’ve said, I knew from the moment I found you, it was my duty to protect you.

” He looked to the twins, and they returned an imploring look, as if they were permitting him to go on.

“But it goes beyond that. Beyond us. Without you, we wouldn’t have the luxury of this conversation.

Without you, there wouldn’t be any hope left. ”

The declaration felt far more dire than anything he’d said the day prior, and Ingrid was struck speechless.

“Unfortunately,” Tyla said. “That isn’t Dean’s flair for melodrama talking. The truth is, Ingrid, we need you. Earth and Ealis need you, because you are the only one who can defeat Makkar.”

“What? What are you—” She shot her eyes at all three of them, bouncing back and forth for answers. “What the hell does that mean?”

“Before you get mad at me.” Dean threw his hands up innocently. “Think about how you’d receive this news just a day ago. Think about all that’s changed since then. I couldn’t tell you. Not then.”

Ingrid scanned the room, feeling woozy again.

Her head still ached, but the concussion symptoms had mostly faded—Ealis already aiding her regeneration.

A small dining table sat in front of an alcove by the kitchen and she shuffled over, plopping with a wince, murmuring, “I knew you were still hiding something from me.”

“Not hiding, really,” Tyla said. “Just waiting for the right time. We didn’t want to throw too much at you at once.”

Ingrid wanted to laugh, wanted to scold them, wanted to inform them it was too late for that. It had been too much, and too fast. Like some divine ruler had hit a button, and everything moved at twice the speed.

Just a week ago, even the mention of another world would’ve been a joke. The idea that she was anything more than a bartender—condescending.

She looked the trio over again, really looked at them, searching for answers, for what they expected from her.

“You’re serious,” Ingrid said. It wasn’t a question.

“Yes,” Dean asked. “But we can wait to have this discussion.”

“Wait? You want me to wait?” This time Ingrid didn’t attempt to hide her irritation. She’d gone from willing martyr to seething mad in seconds. “You mean keep me in the dark even longer? Absolutely not. I’m fine to hear it now!”

“Pfft. Fine,” Raidinn muttered under his breath, “Fine, she says. Nearly beheaded by an Ungii, but no, she’s fine.”

“What was that big guy?” Ingrid growled.

Raidinn didn’t hesitate to clarify. “I said, if it weren’t for Dean’s bow skills, you wouldn’t have a head. You’ve been unconscious for twelve hours. And now you’re saying you’re fine?” He angled his chin, almost daring her to come up with a tough response.

“As we were saying,” Dean cleared his throat as a way of cutting the tension, waiting for Ingrid to give him the okay to go on.

She nodded, still seething.

“In a nutshell, you’re the only one that can stop Makkar because?—”

“Bullshit,” Ingrid said with a scoff. “I don’t know anything! I literally almost died five minutes into being here. No. You’re wrong. I’m not… whatever it is you think I am. I’m a liability! Not you’re fucking last hope.”

Tyla stifled a laugh with her palm.

“Well, that didn’t take long,” Raidinn said. He looked to Ingrid with that incendiary smile of his. “Fine, she says.”

“I’m fine enough to stick my foot up your ass.”

“There it is! The great Oracle and all her glory. Makkar must be shitting his pants about now.”