All Chapters of The Birthright Series: Chapter 191 - Chapter 200

RASHID STEPPED ASIDE, ALLOWING CATHERINE past and waited for her to disappear in the crush of soldiers moving through the corridor.'Rashid.'His ear prickled at the sudden close proximity of the Northerner and he turned to find her vivid eyes on his. 'Leseach.''Her Highness has requested a lesser dosage of her evening drink.'Rashid nodded though the unease rose again at the thought of dosing the heir to Elion's throne drink with that poison. It appears to do her no harm, he assured himself. And Leseach keeps watch of it, not just Ignatius; two sets of eyes are better than one.Rashid hadn't believed Ignatius when first told about the poison. Seeing the package marked with the Sorceress' ring astonished him that first afternoon at sea and then after Ignatius' disastrous first attempt at dosing the Princess' drink. Yes, he thought with a sense of relief. At least Leseach keeps hold of the drug.'Good,' he said aloud when she stared at him, appearing to wait for verbal confirma

'READY?''Go for it.'Closing my eyes and ignoring the noise and anxious energy from those still onboard I drew a bubble of energy around Loushka, then opened them, smiling in pleasure at the ease of it. The bubble, hair thin and sheer, flickered with flames that smoothed over the sphere's surface, just visible to the naked eye. I looked at the shore and saw several long boats landed and a couple more moving back to the ship for their next loads. Watching them I absently lifted the bubble, floating us higher and higher until we cleared the masts. 'About to release.''Excellent!' Loushka sounded thrilled.The instant the bubble vanished she flicked her wings open, the fan shaped metal greaves sounding like blades unsheathing. I sensed Kassie and Kerak coming up beneath us. 'We better move.''Hold on!'Wrapping the saddle straps around either arm I flattened myself to the leather when Loushka rocketed into the sky. We burst through clouds and she climbed higher then in a slow,

RUMAL AND OOMOTH CONVERSED QUIETLY when Sian came skipping up. Kassie couldn't help smirking at her blonde friend. That flirty little skip in a full suit of chainmail with the dark red rapthna leather plating made the perfect contradiction to her petite form and delicate features; and Sian knew it. She delighted in doing that sort of thing on Earth too, like when she bought a white Hilux fully kitted out for proper four-wheel driving and zoomed around town in it like it was a tiny three door hatch with reckless disregard for the famously obnoxious pedestrians in Wellington.'Kassie,' Sian sang out making Rumal and Oomoth pause. 'We need to put our hoods on.''Me too?' Cat came around from where Leseach and Rashid stood.'Yup.'Kassie went to Oomoth's side and swirled her energy underfoot, lifting herself high enough to rummage through the saddle bag. It lay at the bottom, naturally, and it took a few moments of wrestling past other items to drag the small bit of mail out.'Here,'

IT WASN'T LIKE LIFTING TOMIAR, or even Sito. The whole ceiling of shattered rock trembled under the spread of energy she pressed against it but occasional pieces of stone dropped from the outer section and smashed to the cavern floor. Loi squeezed her eyes shut and focused on the ceiling, trying to get it stable.Leave, earth one.Your friends are through to the next chamber, leave.At this depth the plants' voices sounded quieter and Loi felt a moment of panic, then Cat's red energy synched with hers and the murmurs filled her mind again. Her friend's energy gave her the extra strength she needed and Loi thickened the shield then started to walk briskly toward the next chamber, mind focused. A vicious snarl echoed in the chamber and Loi twisted to look back then gasped. A strange creature with many legs scuttled across the floor toward her, snarling again. The scant light from the cavern's entrance showed a crown of horns and alarmingly large canines as it swiftly covered the space

KASSIE AND RUMAL WALKED HAND in hand in front of Kerak. Rumal held a torch in his other hand. At the very front of the long train of soldiers and allies, Loi led the way with Larvaste and Sabyn. They kept following the cavern deeper and deeper, the ceiling getting lower. Kassie's heart beat fast at the horrible sense of claustrophobia that threatened when the floor started to climb and larger stalagmites appeared, making it a slow and complicated path that they helped Kerak to squeeze through. The darkness intimidated and more than once Kassie jerked in shock, thinking she'd seen something in the shadows the torch created. Rumal kept a tight hold of her hand and when they paused, while Loi assessed the correct tunnel to take, he pulled Kassie tight against him. She sighed and wrapped an arm around his back while they waited. No point moaning, she thought determinedly. But it will be so nice to get out of these caves.A call travelled from the front of the line to where they stood near