Reckoning (Book 5) Read Free Page A

passed over the Barrier Mountains into Desolation. That girl was a memory. She might as well be dead.
    "I need my dragon back. Otherwise what good am I? Do you expect me to work in textiles, weaving belts and ropes again? After everything I've done!" Tressa fell on the bed, crushing a pillow to her face. She took deep shuddering breaths, her chest heaving. "I can't go back. I can't."
    "There's no shame in weaving," Granna said. "It's an honorable trade."
    Tressa smeared her tears onto the pillow and sat up once more. She frowned. "I know that. I do. I used to love weaving. All I wanted was to marry Bastian, have a family, and live a quiet life."
    "And now?" Granna asked. She blew on her hot tea. "What do you want now?"
    "I want my dragon. I want Fi to be alive and back with Sarah. I want Jarrett to break whatever magical bonds hold him in thrall. I want..."
    She couldn't say Bastian. Not anymore. She'd given him up a long time ago. Still, when she heard he was having a child with another woman, she couldn't help but think of the night she'd told him about the child she'd lost. His child. The one they'd wanted for so long. She remembered how he'd taken her in his arms, kissed her, and helped her to heal that hole in her heart. Unfortunately, that night had reopened a door she'd long thought closed. Part of her ached again for the redhead who'd captivated her for so many years. "You didn't send word to Connor about Bastian, did you? That I know he’s alive?"
    Granna shook her head. "I did as you asked. I will not tell."
    "Good," Tressa said. "At least one thing has gone right. Bastian doesn't need to think of me like that anymore. We both should move on."
    "Exactly." Granna set down her teacup and stood. "Now move on, Tressa. Get up. I will not allow you to lie here any longer. I've let this go on for far too long. Up, I said. Up!"
    Tressa groaned. Granna wouldn't leave her alone until Tressa did as she asked. Tressa swung her legs over the side of the bed and let her feet fall on the wooden floor. She stood, straightening out her bedclothes. "There. Happy?"
    "Not yet. I want you to head down to the bath, clean up, and get dressed." Granna swept out of the room with the confidence of someone who knew she had gotten her way.
    Tressa wrapped herself in a robe. She yanked a dress and a pair of stockings from the wardrobe, then made her way to the bath. She opened the door. Billowing clouds of steam greeted her, the moist air enveloping her in warm arms. Tressa took a deep breath and entered.
    A few women sat at the edge of the pool of water, submerged up to their knees. They cleaned their limbs with sponges while talking amongst themselves. When they looked up and saw who entered, the talk stopped.
    Tressa's heart fell to her feet. Sarah. They'd only spoken once since Tressa had returned, wounded, to the Ruins of Ebon. When Sarah learned Fi had likely died in the fallen Red castle, she'd spun on one heel and left. Tressa never had a chance to tell her how much Fi loved her wife and wanted to come home to her. Instead, Sarah avoided Tressa as if she carried the plague.
    "Can we talk?" Tressa asked her.
    The other two women looked expectantly at Sarah, who eventually nodded. "Go," Sarah told them. "I need to do this."
    Tressa waited until they left before settling on the bench next to Sarah. "I can tell you anything you want to know."
    Sarah didn't speak for what felt like an eternity. The two women simply stared at each other. "Did you love her, too?" Sarah finally asked.
    "I did," Tressa said, "but not in the way you think. Fi and I weren't in love. We were like sisters. The dearest of friends. It broke my heart when I realized she was likely under the rubble. I dug until my talons bled. I am so, so sorry I couldn’t find her. They wouldn't let us dig further for her body."
    "Is it true? Was there really a giant beast hiding under the Red castle?" Sarah asked.
    Tressa thought of Decarian. To her, he wasn’t dead. His fierce