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All Chapters of The Birthright Series: Chapter 161 - Chapter 170

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Chapter 161

THE SOUTHERN KEEP'S COURTYARD WAS tiny in comparison to the castles. Otherwise they looked quite similar, like the Keep was a smaller imitation of the castle. Loushka landed with a heavy thud and the others dropped around us. Leseach, Ignatius, and Rashid stood waiting for us.'Leseach,' I said in surprise. 'When did you get here?'Sian, having just climbed down from Sito answered. 'Sito and I brought them through when you were sorting Audi out.'Oh right, I thought and felt a prickle of tears at leaving my beautiful girl behind. She'll be fine, and Ada will spoil her rotten, I reassured myself.I slid down from Loushka and stood beside her, ruffling her mane.'Wish it were over.' I thought to her. The solid coolness of her beak brushed past my neck.'I know, Cat. It will be over, soon.''Have you been here before?''We delivered all the supplies here, remember?'I shook my head. 'Sorry, I meant have you stayed here before?''Oh yes, a few times. You'll like it. It's rather q
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Chapter 162

ALEK AND I SPENT THE day in the stables, where Loushka and the other griffons bunked. We watched in amusement as Daron and Sian play fought.'I wonder what he said to her?' I said.'Never mind that,' Alek interrupted, 'Go on with the rest of the movie.'I exchanged a glance with Loushka and she did her husky laugh, as I tried to recall what happened next. 'Okay, so where were we? Oh! That's right. Indy has to rescue his father from a Nazi occupied castle.'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade had always been one of my favourite movies and it was fun to recall it. Loushka made a very comfortable seat for the two of us and she enjoyed the story too.'What's with those strange machines they keep waving around? The ones that make noises?' Loushka asked.'Those are guns, a form of weapon they use on Earth. Compared to swords, bows and maces, guns require very little knowledge. Just point in the right direction and shoot.''Convenient.''Sometimes too much.''I like his whip. It's alm
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Chapter 163

YAKOV WAITED DOWNSTAIRS AND GRINNED at Alek as he arrived. 'I was about to give up on you.''I was busy.'Yakov gave him a knowing look. 'Mm. Shall we go?'They walked to the Keep's gate then set off at a decent pace on the track Yakov had run yesterday.'Good to go faster?' Alek asked.'Sounds good.'This was just what I needed, he thought. The track flashed by as his feet pounded the earth, arms pumping. The burn in his legs and chest egged him on harder and harder. The path was a bit rough and the challenge of dodging trees and leaping over a log was good fun.He could hear Yakov breathing hard behind him.'You alright?' he gasped.Yakov grunted in response. Sunlight hit the tops of the trees and began to inch downward as the sun rose. The sense of excitement and anticipation flared through him again and he bounded ahead. A sudden yell caused him to stop and Alek spun back to see Yakov bent over his knees, a small distance behind him. He jogged back to the adviser.Yakov g
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Chapter 164

IGNATIUS WATCHED THE OTHERS MOVE away, then turned and stared at the glowing door.'Here!' Rashid handed him a shirt. 'Use this.'Ignatius nodded and wrapped the garment around his hand then moved close to the door, flinching at the heat. In a quick motion, he threw the door open and charged in. He stopped short, and for the first time in decades felt the icy spread of fear.Catherine writhed, naked on the bed, her face contorted in agony. Her normally porcelain skin unrecognizable. When she lifted her head to scream again, Ignatius dived behind the dresser.The pain from both the sound and heat felt nearly unbearable, but the sight of the Princess in her true Elemental form rendered him silent. The figure on the bed terrified him. Flames rippled beneath her skin, and her hair was a mass of molten strings. Everything around her burned.Panting in fear, Ignatius tensed his muscles, waiting for the moment she drew a breath. When she did, he lunged forward with Rashid's shirt stoppin
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Chapter 165

Book Three: Feel the BurnA TANGY, SALTY TASTE ON my lips broke through the darkness. I blinked awake, trying to swallow but my tongue felt thick and awkward. An absolute lack of saliva made me painfully aware of an aching thirst and parched throat. Blinking again, I tried to make sense of where I lay, my limbs heavy and aching on a dense soft surface. I groaned, then broke into a hacking cough. Red flashed behind my eyelids. Each cough felt like a file scraped the back of my throat and I rolled onto my stomach, trying to contain the coughs while tears squeezed out. Then a different scent; musky, spicy and undeniably male registered in my brain like a bolt of lightning. I gasped, his name searing through my mind.Alek.The physical pains and desiresthroat, body, thirstvanished when sheer agony tore its way into my soul, mind seizing the memories of those barely human screams and the body contorted in anguish that I'd seen through our link. Then blackness. A sense of complete absence
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Chapter 166

THE ROOM ROCKED AND I jolted in surprise, gulping a sob. Kassie squeezed me gently.'Shhh. It's okay. We're on one of the ships.'Those words stunned me and the tears stopped. I lay there, the darkness adding to the numb sensation that spread throughout, fogging my mind.'Breathe, Cat.' Kassie gave my shoulder a light shake and I nodded dumbly, not realizing till then that my lungs burned for air.Are we really sailing South? It didn't seem fathomable. How could we leave without Alek? How could he be dead? I could still see his navy eyes, creased in amusement when I teased him before he left. His scent from the pillow beside me only increased the strange detachment. With my eyes closed, I could see his hands on my skin, feel his lips on mine.My heart beat a strange, hollow drum within the cage of my chest while the realization began to hit, each thud jarring my body as the horror set in.Jenviet had ripped him from me, torn my soul in two while she gleefully tortured him. I whim
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Chapter 167

WITH A SOFT TOUCH IGNATIUS eased the door to the Princess' room open, not wishing to disturb her if she still slept. He stopped short in surprise. Catherine sat at the table, head turned his way, and he inwardly flinched at the sight of those red, raw looking eyes, green irises in sharp contrast. From the bed the quiet steady sound of Kassandra's breathing broke the silence.Stepping into the room and closing the door, he bowed to Catherine then took a seat at the table.'Your Highness,' he hesitatingly spoke. 'I am deeply sorry for your loss.'She nodded and visibly swallowed, setting the glass she held back on the table before nodding again, turning her head away from him. He watched while her shoulders and back shook, a tiny tragic sound escaping and she pulled her knees up onto the seat, wrapping both arms around her legs. The obvious pain emanating from her made him feel clumsy and he fumbled for something to say. Instead he reached out and tentatively placed a hand on her back
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Chapter 168

I TURNED TO SEE KASSIE at the edge of the bed, her hair a tangled mess of curls and hazel eyes regarding me with concern. Ignatius squeezed my foot and I turned to him.'I'll have some food brought in?''Yes,' I slid a hand down from my knee and gave his hand a light touch. 'And thank you.'His eyes looked warm, sympathetic and he gave a minute nod then stood. 'It was my pleasure, Your Highness.'Kassie half fell off the bed in her haste to get down and I heard the door close behind Ignatius before my friend's arms closed tight around my shoulders.'Okay, I'm telling this 'cause I love you,' Kassie said in a teasing tone. 'Wash, now! There's a bucket and cloth in the corner. Go on, I'll look out the window and catch you up on what you've missed.'Rolling my eyes at her I stood with a groan, the feeling of pins and needles running through my stiff legs and numb backside. A chair screeched when Kassie shifted it to look out of the window. I stripped off the shirt and pants, wonderi
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Chapter 169

IGNATIUS WAS ON HIS FEET in an instant, a hand on Catherine's chair when her facewhiter than a ghostwent vacant and she drew her hands to her mouth, her eyes looking tragic again.'What? Your Highness, what's happened?' His heart pounded, body tense as he stared at her, willing her to answer.Catherine's eyes met his and the vacant expression vanished. 'Loushka!'The mention of Alek's griffon surprised Ignatius; he had assumed the link between the red-maned griffon and Catherine would have dissolved with the others. Catherine shoved her chair back, the wood screeching, and made for the door.Ignatius lunged after her with a curse. 'Princess, wait!'He hadn't wanted the soldiers or allies to see her yet, not until she looked calmer and more like their sovereign, but she didn't slow, racing down the corridor. He hit the stairs a moment after her and took them two at a time, just managing to catch her arm before she reached the top and stepped onto the deck. In a swift and not unexpe
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Chapter 170

I DID GET SOME COMFORT in the familiar faces of those joining us from the General Guard and the Centaur Cavalry and the allies provided a fantastic distraction. Not knowing what to expect, it fascinated me to be able to put names to faces. Ignatius introduced me to the Draoths, who were the sailors on this ship. I caught a fleeting expression of surprise from the Lieutenant when I greeted the men pleasantly, and wondered why, but let the thought go and greeted the next Draoth in line. Their skin was smooth and hairless, dark green on the backs of their arms, legs and head, while their underside and faces were a lighter tan. It looked similar to the skin a dolphin hadthick and hardy. Their dark, nearly black eyes were somewhat disconcerting and so too was the flash of pointy teeth when I greeted another. Then I realized what surprised Ignatius.Were we speaking another language?It only registered when I turned to speak to Kassie then back to the line, a subtle hum in my ears before I
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