Exile: Sídhí Summer Camp #3 Read Free

second dimensional valley was not an
option, not with the dangerous secrets contained within the vast
area. Secrets she would die to protect.
    She stifled a growl of frustration. She had
hoped the peace camp would provide her a way to nullify the threat
of the Dhark Empire. No such luck. Nearly a week had passed since
the first day of camp and she still didn't have the critical
information she needed.
    If she could just convince the dragons to
help her, she might have a fighting chance against the empire. As
it stood, the dhark lords could attack at any moment and crush her
home.
    Over the next hour or so, Sarah and the teens
stood in the dank cave arguing with Guardian Alexander, trying to
convince him that she was not the boogieman he thought her to
be.
    Arguing with the recently tortured shifter
was turning out to be an impossible task, but she refused to give
up. In order to keep the Dhark Empire out of Trellick Valley, she
needed the secret of how to close a gateway, and only the dragon
council knew that information.
    As a guardian, Alexander was her best hope to
contact the dragon council, a group of elderly dragons stuck in the
past. The dangerously stagnated council had refused to change with
the times. The denial to change had brewed the perfect atmosphere
for the Khr’Vurr to step in and stir up a rebellion.
    To gain Alexander’s trust, and to make him
believe her, she even sliced her hand and placed the bleeding palm
in a bowl of liquid crystal, the Sídhí version of a lie
detector.
    Unfortunately, the move didn’t help as much
as she had hoped. Arguing with the wind would’ve been easier,
because Alexander refused to cooperate. Deep in thought, her eyes
narrowed. If the guardian - and the stubborn council - needed a
little incentive, she was more than willing to give it to them.
    Her tactics changed, turning her voice syrupy
sweet. She watched Katie shiver. It was good to know that someone
had enough sense to be terrified when Sarah turned too sweet for
words.
    “Having seventeen hidden gateways that open
into Dragon Valley, and other dragon dominated valleys, might be
the turning point toward change. Don’t you think?” Sarah asked,
bluntly laying facts on the table. Her voice was pure sugar,
holding the barest hint of sharp steel as she threated the dragon
council, referring to the deadly secret that Trellick Valley
possessed.
    Alexander hissed his fury, staring at Sarah
in disbelief. Specifically, at her hand that lay submerged in
liquid synth crystal, not only was synth the root of immortal life
on Sídhí, but a powerful lie detector. Had she lied, the semi-clear
liquid would have turned black.
    “Impossible,” Alexander snarled, glaring at
the translucent liquid, pure energy no matter the form.
    Sarah smiled and watched Katie cringe. She
supposed the girl was correct: the lifting of Sarah’s lips - that
exposed her fangs - was not a nice smile. “I am aware of seventeen
gateways leading into dragon dominated valleys. Gateways the
dragons are completely unaware of. If the dhark armies found those
entrances, Dragon Valley would be destroyed. At the very least, the
dragons would be in a war more horrific than the last Great War on
Sídhí,” Sarah said, watching Alexander’s face for the slightest
change as she mentioned the Dhark Empire, a sprawling network of
second dimensional valleys ruled with blood and terror.
    By the time she finished, the dragon had
turned from red, to white, and back to a mottled red. His growl
made her want to grin with satisfaction. She withheld the telling
emotion, keeping an ice-perfect appearance.
    He opened his mouth to speak and abruptly
snapped it shut. Smart man.
    When Alexander finally found the right words,
his voice sounded nearly defeated. “I’ll say it again. The Dragon
Council will never trust you. I wish I was wrong, but even if you
show them one of the gateways, they’ll scoff and call it pure
happenstance. I believe you, but they... they’re old.”