Broken Enchantment (Unbreakable Force Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

an uproar with the guards, I daresay. None of them came to help Matias.”
    Aaric stayed quiet. He suspected Matias had been confident in the strength the sky jewel gave him, and that was almost certainly the reason for the lack of guards in his quarters.
    Once inside the Guild, Miss Grace turned to them. “Anyway, my plan didn’t turn out as bad as all that.” She yawned dramatically, then winced, putting a hand to her bruised face. “What I need is a bath.” She turned to leave.
    “Grace.” Adaryn spoke, and Miss Grace froze, looking wary. Adaryn looked down at her feet. “I . . . I want to thank you . . . for trying to help me, when Matias . . .” She trailed off, looking uncomfortable.
    Miss Grace looked uncomfortable as well, and waved a hand, trying to keep the atmosphere light. “I assure you I did it for myself. I wasn’t going to let you take all of the king’s attention.”
    Rolling her eyes, Adaryn shrugged. “Whatever the reason, thank you.”
    Miss Grace smoothed her skirts, refusing to make eye contact with the nomad. She turned to leave when Adaryn spoke again. “I recall you saying once that you didn’t hit people. That it was ‘uncivilized’.” Adaryn tried to keep her face expressionless, but her lips twitched.
    Grace smiled. “Desperate times call for desperate measures. King Matias was being a complete dunderhead.” She tilted her head a little, eyeing Adaryn. “You’re not as horrible an individual as I once thought, I suppose. Your hair is still dreadful, though.”
    Adaryn’s eyes flashed, and she opened her mouth, no doubt ready to give Miss Grace a piece of her mind, but the young woman had already turned her back on them, walking down a side hall.
    Aaric chuckled. “I’ll have to be sure to be on her good side anytime she wields a parasol.” Adaryn grinned, despite her irritation with the other woman, then staggered. Dark circles shadowed her eyes. Using her magic had drained her.
    Aaric scooped her up, despite her protests, and carried her to her room, helping her into bed. He sat on the edge of her mattress, pulling the sky jewel out of his pocket. It hadn’t stopped its faint glowing.
    “I think it does that all the time,” Adaryn said after staring at it for a while. “Incredible. I hadn’t really stopped to consider if the story about the sky jewels was real or not, but I’m beginning to think they’re true. There may be a sky dragon out there after all.”
    “I know one thing.” Aaric gave her a triumphant smile. “We won.”

11
Aaric
     
    A soft knock on the door sounded. Aaric looked up from his writing, seated at the small table in his room. Taking off his reading spectacles, he stood, walking over to the door. On opening it, he saw Luna standing in the hallway, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
    “Do you have it?” she asked, wringing her hands. “I’m not going to take it, but I need to see it, Aaric. After all those years of research, I have to see it.”
    Aaric smiled and opened the door wider. He motioned to the small table and chairs. “Please, take a seat.”
    She did so, leaning forward eagerly when Aaric put the sky jewel on the table. She put her hand out as if to touch it. “May I?”
    Aaric nodded.
    Luna picked it up, reverence on her face. The sky jewel was small, only a couple of inches long, and looked like an oval shard of crystal. Holding it, however, Aaric could feel something. What, he wasn’t sure, but he suspected it was the magic, and looking at Luna, he knew she could sense it too.
    “All those years,” she spoke as if to herself. “I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get to see one.” She looked up at Aaric, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “Thank you, Aaric.” He nodded, feeling awkward at her emotion, but then she continued. “I want you to be careful around Sirius Archer.”
    “Why?” Aaric asked. He didn’t entirely trust the man, but wanted to hear Luna’s reason.
    “He’s a good man, I think, but