A Blade of Air and Darkness

A Blade of Air and Darkness MYSTIC CHAINED DAPHNE MOORE LACEY CARTER ANDERSEN Contents Dedication Chapter 1 Alys Chapter 2 Alys Chapter 3 Walker Chapter 4 Alys Chapter 5 Alys Chapter 6 Alys Chapter 7 Alys Chapter 8 Alys Chapter 9 Alys Chapter 10 Alys Chapter 11 Alys Chapter 12 Alys Chapter 13 Alys Glossary About the Author About the Author Also By Lacey Carter Andersen More Books by Daphne Moore Copyright 2023 Published byDaphne Moore and Lacey Carter Andersen Cover Design by Covers by Christian This work of fiction is intended for mature audiences only. All characters are over the age of eighteen. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either a product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork herein is prohibited without the express written permission of the author. Dedication For James and Gerald McDonald Love you, miss you, Daphne Moore Chapter One ALYS I was finished with my latest frustrating-as-hell mission protecting farmers headed to Palamin. But even though I was exhausted, sweaty, and a complete mess, I was in a good mood, because finishing a mission usually meant I would have time to spend in the Capitol, which meant time to hang out with my son, Dimitri. And nothing was more important to me in this world than my son. Just the thought of him made my chest ache. Sometimes out on the open road, walking with the dirt under my feet, and the quiet trees on both sides of me, all I could think about was my son and the decisions that led to the mess I was in now. And I hated letting my mind go down that road because I didn’t like to think about the past. Not when there was nothing I could do to change it. No way to have my son back under my care and my enslavement over. Maybe enslavement was the wrong word, but it felt right. A tingle moved through me. One that whispered of sinister emotions. Emotions that weren’t coming from me. Which was oh so great. Being a member of one of the Stormdust clans meant I was an empath, someone who could pick up the emotions of others. My gifts helped in times like these, warning me that there were people nearby who meant me harm, but most other times, it was a curse. Who wanted to constantly pick up on other people’s emotions? Not me, that was for sure. Not surprisingly, a man stepped onto the road in front of me, and then two more men slipped out of the trees on either side. The man in front had hair that was slicked back and one tooth missing, which I spotted when he smiled at me. “Your bag, ma’am,” he said, pointing at my backpack, in a tone like he was asking, which we both knew wasn’t true. I smiled right back, keeping all of them in sight. “Notice the stone on my forehead,” I said, pointing. “You sure you want to do this?” Most people outside the major cities thought gems on the foreheads of servants were symbols of status, which often scared troublemakers like these away. They might be willing to rob a farmer, but someone who could get the Wardens or worse, a Judge, sent after them? Not so much. The last thing anyone wanted was to anger our law enforcement, the Wardens, and end up executed or exiled. Or for someone to call on the Judges, not that the five most powerful people would be called on for something as meaningless as a robbery. Still, people on the Outside might not know that. It didn’t really matter that the truth was the onyx on my forehead essentially meant I was an indentured servant to the Guild. I was betting that this guy didn’t know what it meant. It was my way of trying to spare these three the beating of a lifetime. And based on my interactions with people Outside, I was making a safe bet. But he didn’t take the bait. “Sorry, Princess, we still want your bag.” Damn it. The geas set on me by my boss, a magical leash that only let me kill who I was ordered to kill, meant I couldn’t put these three in the ground unless I was truly in danger. It could let me hurt them though, which I was feeling more tempted to do by the minute. If I wasn’t so tired and so eager to get to my son, I’d already have leveled these guys to the ground, teaching them a lesson not to prey on the weaker that they wouldn’t soon forget. Instead, I decided to try one more way to end this thing non-violently, with a little good old-fashioned lie. Well, not technically a lie, but I would be taking advantage of a legend. “Not scared about pissing off the Guild, huh? Our big, powerful government not fearsome enough to you? Well, then maybe you should be scared of me. How about I formally introduce myself… I’m Alys Stormdust-Quinn.” All three thieves took a step back, but it was the talkative one who responded in a soft voice filled with awe and disbelief, “Not possible. You can’t be one. There’s no way.” Stormdusts were a powerful family line said to be able to create incredible pleasure with their touch, and to turn people into a bloody mess with just as little effort, which wasn’t true as far as I knew. Bloody messes took effort. They were also said to be crazy and powerful, which was true, at least a little. They’d mostly been a mystery until the Guild had produced Lightning Flare, a holo that wove small truths with huge lies, so even though Stormdust