Eversworn: Daughters of Askara, Book 3 Read Online Free PDF Page A

Dillon exhaled through the tightness in his throat and unfastened the top few buttons of his shirt.
    No collar. No choke chain. No reason to panic. Breathe .
    He ran a hand through his hair, and it came back sweaty. His stroll down memory lane left his pulse racing. A darting glance, a ripe curse, and he pushed back onto his feet and limped toward the colony. Humiliating? Yeah, it was. The last thing he wanted was for the new guys to catch his shuffle-step toward the last checkpoint. Damn. He was lucky he wasn’t crawling now.
    Once he hit the main aisle between rows of residency tents, he nodded to the colonists lingering there, managed a terse greeting for a couple. Gritted his teeth and acted like everything was fine. He couldn’t afford for it not to be. Besides, routine kept his body, if not his mind, occupied. Every night before the explosion that started his stumble into rehab, he’d checked the perimeter before shift change then retreated into his tent to crash—alone and happy for the quiet.
    Since moving to this colony, he was fast becoming a ceiling connoisseur since demons his age required less sleep than their crossbred descendants. There were other considerations as well.
    He shut his eyes, held his breath. Seconds later, the same old memories sparked.
    Crimson furrows wept blood across his flank. “Only a pureblood will do…” Eliya stroked his thigh, licked his blood from her fingers, “…and yours is so potent.” She smiled in white-toothed invitation. “Think of it, the first child born of the two demon houses. Yours and mine…”
    His eyes popped open on a shiver. Sleep was definitely out.
    “Harper is going to kick my ass over this,” a resigned voice said from over his shoulder.
    Dillon turned. Without missing a beat, he shrugged. “Not if you don’t tell him.”
    “Yeah. Right. Lie to the colony leader.” Mason’s baby blues went dark with concern.
    “It’s not a lie so much as an omission,” he pointed out.
    Those same eyes narrowed. “You’ve been hanging out with Harper for too long.”
    Dillon saw no reason to enlighten Mason that most of Harper’s bad habits were the result of the trickle-down effect—his. Shifting his weight onto his good foot, Dillon stared him down. “How about this then—you keep this between us, or I’ll kick your ass and save him the trouble?”
    Mason grinned. “I could say something here about a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest.”
    “That’s funny.” Dillon scowled, tapping his fingers against his thigh.
    “Sarcasm doesn’t suit you.” Mason stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Stop being a prick.”
    He was one of the few males who could get away with that quip, but Dillon couldn’t let the opportunity pass. “I’ve been told it’s one of my best features.” After all, he had been a sthudai .
    Backtracking like a pro, Mason said, “That’s not what I meant. What were you doing—?”
    Teasing him came too easy. “Your parents did a number on you.” Dillon’s sharp digs were fueled by the pain of standing still long enough to deliver them. He almost felt sorry for the guy. Dillon was a bastard when he was riled, but he wouldn’t stop now. It felt too good to vent for a change.
    Besides, Mason could handle it. He was one of the few who could, or did. Dillon was fuzzy on the distinction. Even though Mason had been raised as a human, on Earth, he’d hung around Dillon long before his voice even thought about cracking, and Mason knew how to handle Dillon’s moods.
    Maybe that was the trick. Go figure, but Dillon was good with kids. He even liked them, well, some of them, and Mason had tagged along after Dillon until Dillon liked him too. Mason had been a damn stubborn kid who’d grown into a damn fine legionnaire, even if the transformation had cost him. Guess that was why they were still friends. They were both too bullheaded to give up on one another. Though Dillon admitted, he worried about the cloud hanging over