Sworn To Transfer Read Free Page B

and send him a mixture of emotions—happiness and a wicked sense of amusement.
    Don’t worry. I won’t get into too much trouble, she thought fondly at him. She knew he wouldn’t be able to hear her thought, but still, the emotions would flow through the link.
    Firmly, she elected to focus on the present and pushed the swirl of feelings from Sebastian away. As they faded, the dread that pooled in her stomach began to take precedence. Taking in the Weather Mage’s shaken form, she realized she had a bad feeling about this...a very bad feeling. Edging sideways with a whispered, “Excuse me, pardon me,” she eased around the gathered officials and towards the Weather Mage’s side.
    He didn’t look any better close up. Practically shaking in his unsteady stance. Reaching out a hand instinctively, she sought to steady him as she asked, “Sir, are you unwell?”
    “Back away,” snapped the perspiring mage. “How dare you interrupt a solemn ceremony?”
    “I came to see if you were able to finish. You don’t look well.”
    “This is none of your concern, child.”
    “I beg your pardon? I am offering to help you.”
    He gripped the talisman in his hand so hard that his knuckles turned white. “Perhaps I wasn’t clear. The aid of the Companions’ Guild is not necessary here. Dismissed.”
    Back stiff at the censure Ciardis returned to her place at the Prince Heir’s side. She smoothed her face over as she passed Linda Firelancer’s position among the group. Before she could pass her completely, Linda swiftly grabbed Ciardis’s hand and said, “What did you see?”
    “Nothing, I thought the Weather Master was unwell. I must have been mistaken.”
    Turning to look at the man, the Fire Mage said quietly, “And perhaps not. Some people don’t know how to ask for help. And some people are forever too proud to accept it.”
    “Stand here. Wait for my signal,” the Fire Mage said.
    Linda walked over with a no-nonsense look on her face to the Weather Mage’s side. He had yet to follow the Prince Heir’s second command to steady the ship, which was swaying side-to-side erratically. And the wind shield was beginning to falter, as well. To make matters worse, holes were forming in the shield and gusts of sharp wind and rain would come through the holes and rip across the deck in a fury. As people started to stumble back and forth, they began to murmur disparagingly about the talents of the hired Weather Mage.
    Ciardis was more worried about his health than talent. Any mage under this much stress, battling Mother Nature herself to force calm when the weather was anything but still, would need to be an excellent practitioner, powerful and prepared. And this man seemed to be anything but ready for the task. As Ciardis watched the planks across the decks tremble, she noted that the Weather Mage seemed to be losing his grip. Whatever Linda was going to do, Ciardis hoped she was able to do it fast.
    Meanwhile, a second roar shattered Ciardis’s focus on the Weather Mage and brought it back abruptly to their oncoming guest. Staring at the dragon Ciardis saw the most curious thing. It was hovering . Its wings weren’t moving and neither were its legs. How the massive beast was staying in the air was a mystery to her. But she decided to file that away for another time. It was still vocalizing its displeasure.  Ciardis wasn’t exactly sure what the dragon was roaring about. She spoke Sahalian, thanks to a certain Companion, but this roar wasn’t in the dragon tongue of the Sahalian courts with the fluid language and subtle hisses of its consonants. No, this was primal. The roar was the natural language of one dragon to another, and something that no other being could translate. That didn’t mean she didn’t understand anger when she heard it.
    And then suddenly it was moving again. The dragon banked its wings and prepared to land on the water. Incoming with its wings spread like that, it looked like it planned to grab