Sun Broken (The Wild Hunt #11) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,96

for power. They’re willing to wage war to get what they want, where the Earth Dragonni and the Star Dragonni seek out realms and places that are free and open for holding. We’re not pacifists, but neither do we believe in forcing others from their lands.”

I struggled to take in everything she was saying. “So, the three factions—the Celestial Wanderers, the Mountain Dreamers, and the Luminous Warriors—all of you are descended from Typhon?”

“Yes, Typhon and Echidna—his wife. She vanished long ago and we’ve been looking for her ever since. Both Typhon and Echidna were born from the union of Tartarus and Gaia. But the Celestial Wanderers and the Mountain Dreamers favor our ancient mother, while the Luminous Warriors stand by Typhon.”

“Let me guess,” I said, wincing at how sore my throat was. “Now that Typhon is returning, the Luminous Warriors are rising to stand by his side?”

“Yes. I am in an elite group of the Dragonni who are working against our more volatile kin. We cannot prevent them from entering your world, but we will be establishing lairs and working to prevent them from destroying the civilizations you have built up over the years. Now that I know they are already infiltrating, I can contact my superiors and we’ll discuss ways in order to help you the best we can. I’ll call on two of my Star Sisters to join me—one’s a silver dragon, the other a gold.”

I frowned. “How does water connect with the stars and sun? I’d think that your kind would be more akin to the… What are they? Mountain Dreamers?”

She smiled and her eyes spun like a kaleidoscope. “Oh, child, no. Water is controlled by the moon—the tides follow the moon’s pull. The blue dragons are not only connected to the water, but to the Moon’s influence.”

“Well, we know one thing. We must figure out a way to repel Pandora for the long term. My grandfather’s magic hurt her, but she’ll be back. We can’t kill her, but we have to put her out of commission for a long time,” Herne said.

Morgana turned to him. “I know of one way, or at least my father does. Trapping her in stasis. If we can trap her in the Crystal Cavern in Annwn, we can keep her hidden and out of action for centuries. But that will take a great deal of planning.”

“Not to mention, she’s only one of the emissaries Typhon is sending. I’m afraid,” Herne said, “that the world will never be the same. The tipping point will come soon. And there are more dangerous agents beyond Pandora. I fear what we’ll see next.”

Ashera sighed. “Well, you have the help of the Star Dragonni and the Earth Dragonni. And we are not lacking for power.”

With that, they fell silent. Herne reached out and laid a hand on my arm, a worried look on his face. I wanted to cry. Everything around was changing so fast, and I was afraid he was right—it was going to get far worse before it got better. We needed all the allies we could get in this war.

Two Weeks Later: Walpurgisnacht—the Night Before Beltane…

Raven was home, and so was I. We had both stayed in Cernunnos’s palace for over a week before Ferosyn let us leave. Now, we sat on the sofa in my living room with Herne and Kipa, and Angel and Rafé. Mr. Rumblebutt wouldn’t leave me alone. I snuggled him tight, but I was still hurting, and my sprained wrist was still splinted. Ferosyn had put me on light activity only, and warned me that if I wasn’t careful, I could develop a subdermal hematoma in my leg. Meaning, no rousing bed sports.

Raven’s teeth were growing back in—the Ante-Fae had the ability to regrow teeth, and her hands were still bandaged until the nails grew back. Ante-Fae and Fae healed much faster than humans, so it wouldn’t be long, but she had confided in me that she was sure to have a number of lingering scars, especially on her back.

Right now, though, we were all eating hot dogs and beans, thanks to Angel, and there was a cheesecake for dessert, and none of us wanted to talk about Pandora or the killings. All necromancers and mediums in the area had been warned to be on their guard, and they were flocking to the magical guilds, who had been ordered to allow them membership.

While Pandora hadn’t shown up again, she would be back, we knew, and she would probably