Rootbound (The Elemental Series, Book 5) Read online

  Shit, I’d knocked his consort on her ass. “Griffin, it was not my fault. I didn’t know—”

  “You should have told me you stuffed the pink stone in my hut, yeah?” He lifted an eyebrow at me.

  “I thought it was better the fewer people who knew. Wait . . . how did you know?”

  “Viv had someone steal it from me.”

  My guts clenched and I closed my eyes. “Damn.”

  Bella looked from me to Griffin. “Who is Viv?”

  “Long story.” I ran a hand over my head and grabbed the back of my neck. I didn’t know what to do, where to start. That was a first for me. Always the path ahead of me was laid out, a journey I knew I needed to take.

  I glanced at Peta and she shook her head slowly. “I don’t know.”

  Talan cleared his throat. “I do. This is the lull before the storm, Lark. Tell me you don’t feel the world tensing?”

  I stared at him, weighing his words and letting his meaning truly reach me. Under them was a truth I’d been ignoring. Part of the reason the mother goddess had convinced me she spoke truly of the world being destroyed was because I’d felt the same truth already. A humming fear deep within the earth that resonated through me. The world was in trouble, and I knew it in every molecule of my flesh and bone.

  Child.

  I flinched and looked around. Everyone’s eyes widened at once. “I’m not the only one hearing this?”

  A slow shake of heads sucked the air from my lungs. “Yes?”

  Listen to him. He speaks the truth, and you will need his training. The Sylph named you right, Destroyer. But in destruction is new life. Remember that, if you remember nothing else.

  The words faded, but the truth remained. I was not done with Talan, no matter how I wished he would just bugger off and pester someone else.

  “The training?” I made myself ask.

  “You will come with me. Leave everything behind.”

  Peta bristled and Shazer stomped a foot. I lifted an eyebrow. “They will follow.”

  “Your familiars can come, of course.” He smiled. “But no one else.”

  Bella sucked in a breath, but she remained silent.

  Going with Talan, training with him would mean leaving not only my family behind, but Ash too. He was still trapped as a golden eagle, waiting on someone to free him. I was the only one who even knew Cassava had him as a pet. My heart felt as though it were being torn in two. Training . . . as an Ender I understood the importance. The need to be truly prepared for battle.

  I had to believe Ash would understand too. That he would be safe a little while longer.

  But he wasn’t the only one waiting on me. I closed my eyes. Bramley might be out there too. Alive. Dead. Which one, I wouldn’t know until I searched for him, until I found him and brought him home.

  “You can help all those you love more if you have the strength and training to protect them,” Talan said, his voice soft.

  I clenched my hands into fists, fighting the urge to fight him. To deny him even though a part of me knew he was right. To tell him I could do it my way and survive. That was how I’d always done things. I’d fought the way I’d believed was right. It had worked up until now.

  But . . . this time I wasn’t so sure.

  “I will . . . go with you.” The words came out far softer than I’d wanted.

  Talan nodded. “Then we leave now.”

  Shazer groaned. “Seriously?”

  I touched Bella’s hand. “I’ll be back.”

  “I know,” she whispered, tears tracking down her cheeks. She caught me around the neck and kissed each of my cheeks. “Do what you must, Lark. I trust you.”

  I turned to Flint. “Lark.” Just my name, and I turned to Talan.

  This was for them, to protect those I loved. To save them from Viv and what plans she had.

  I mounted Shazer, Peta right behind me. Talan leapt astride, his arms locking around me. Shazer bolted down the length of the Rim and launched into the air with a powerful leap.

  We circled and Talan’s arms tightened further around me in a vise-like grip.

  “You can do nothing. You have to train to help her,” he said, his voice firm.

  What was he talking about? Peta let out a pain-filled meow and I looked to where she stared.

  Bella gazed up at me, her eyes filled with tears, her hand lifted in a wave.

  And behind her wavered the image of the mother goddess. Viv. I lurched forward as if to throw myself from Shazer’s back. Talan’s arms tightened around my middle, clamping my arms to my sides.

  “Forgive me, Lark. This is for the best.” Spirit coiled around me, dampening my mind. I slumped into him, exhaustion overcoming me as my eyes slipped shut. “I hate you.”

  “I know,” he whispered from far away. “I know. But you won’t one day. One day you’ll thank me.”

  Nothing more and the darkness took me, and in it I heard Viv laughing, heard her words as clearly as if she stood in front of me.

  Run while you can, little Larkspur. And while you hide from me, I will destroy your world.

  COMING SOON

  Are you wondering what happened to Ash between Windburn and Rootbound while Lark was in the Oubliette? Coming in August, I will be releasing a full length story about Ash! The best place to find details on this release will be from my newsletter. If you haven’t already signed up, turn the page.

  NEWSLETTER

  For a list of all of Shannon’s other novels along with purchase links, see the NEXT page in this book.

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  ALSO BY SHANNON MAYER

  THE RYLEE ADAMSON NOVELS

  Priceless (Book 1)

  Immune (Book 2)

  Raising Innocence (Book 3)

  Shadowed Threads (Book 4)

  Blind Salvage (Book 5)

  Tracker (Book 6)

  Veiled Threat (Book 7)

  Wounded (Book 8)

  Rising Darkness (Book 9)

  Blood of the Lost (Book 10)

  Alex (A Short Story)

  Tracking Magic (A Novella 0.25)

  Elementally Priceless (A Novella 0.5)

  Guardian (A Novella 6.5)

  Stitched (A Novella 8.5)

  THE RYLEE ADAMSON EPILOGUES

  RYLEE (Book 1)

  THE ELEMENTAL SERIES

  Recurve (Book 1)

  Breakwater (Book 2)

  Firestorm (Book 3)

  Windburn (Book 4)

  Rootbound (Book 5)

  THE BLOOD BORNE SERIES

  Recombinant (Book 1)

  Replica (Book 2)

  THE NEVERMORE TRILOGY

  The Nevermore Trilogy

  Sundered (Book 1)

  Bound (Book 2)

  Dauntless (Book 3)

  A CELTIC LEGACY

  A Celtic Legacy Trilogy

  Dark Waters (Book 1)

  Dark Isle (Book 2)

  Dark Fae (Book 3)

  THE RISK SERIES (Written as S.J. Mayer)

  High Risk Love (The Risk Series, Book 1)

  CONTEMPORARY ROMANCES (Written as S.J. Mayer)

  Of The Heart

  AUTHORS NOTE

  Thanks for reading “Rootbound”. I truly hope you enjoyed the continuation of Lark and her family’s story, and the world I’ve created for them. If you loved this book, one of the best things you can do is leave a review for it. Amazon is where I sell the majority of my work, so if I can only ask for one place for reviews that would be it it – but feel free to spread the word on all retailers.

  Again, thank you for coming on this ride with me, I hope we’ll take many more together. The rest of The Elemental Series, along with my other novels, are available in both ebook and paperback format on all major retailers. You will find purchase links on my website at www.shannonmayer.com.

  Enjoy!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Sha
nnon Mayer lives in the southwestern tip of Canada with her husband, dog, cats, horse, and cows. When not writing she spends her time staring at immense amounts of rain, herding old people (similar to herding cats) and attempting to stay out of trouble. Especially that last is difficult for her.

  She is the USA Today Bestselling author of the The Rylee Adamson Novels, The Elemental Series, The Nevermore Trilogy, A Celtic Legacy series and several contemporary romances. Please visit her website for more information on her novels.

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  http://www.shannonmayer.com

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  Rootbound (The Elemental Series, Book 5)

  Smashwords Edition.

  Copyright © Shannon Mayer 2016

  Copyright © HiJinks Ink Publishing, Ltd. 2016

  All rights reserved

  Published by HiJinks Ink LTD.

  www.shannonmayer.com

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a database and retrieval system or transmitted in any form or any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise)without the prior written permission of both the owner of the copyright and the above publishers. Please do not participate in or encourage the piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Original illustrations by Damonza.com

  Mayer, Shannon