The Dragon Scales, #2
Emberclaw
by L. R. Lam
Contents
63. Sorin: The Warder
Overview
Strangled by Edin, Sorin endures the violent severing of Magnes’s bond and outlives him as Edin dies. Finding Everen and Arcady unconscious, she expends a final Elixir to rekindle her magic and raises a ward that stitches the Veil closed. The storm subsides, and Sorin's spell revives Everen and Arcady.
Summary
Sorin, half-choked by Edin Vayne beneath the flickering dragonstone tree, endures the storm as Magnes’s bond tears out of her. The agony is total, yet Sorin welcomes it, knowing each rip removes more of Magnes’s hold. When the wind stills, she shoves Edin’s lifeless body away and realizes she has survived.
Seeing Everen and Arcady bound and unresponsive at the tree’s base, Sorin tests their pulses and confirms they live. With her magic in tatters and Elixir fading, she hesitates—until the storm’s answering awareness pushes her to act.
Sorin drains a last precious vial of Elixir, its burn threading shut the worst rents in her power. Clutching Everen’s and Arcady’s hands, she invokes her seal—“Vanoté leu ek kasutak al-lei”—and forces a ward up around them. The protective spell is fragile but effective; the rip in the Veil begins to knit.
As Sorin pours the remainder of her strength into the ward, the storm quiets and the sundered sky sews closed. Calling them home, she holds the magic steady until, with simultaneous gasps, Everen and Arcady awaken.
Who Appears
- SorinSurvives Edin’s assault, endures Magnes’s bond ripping free, drinks Elixir, raises a ward, and closes the Veil’s rip.
- EverenFound bound and unconscious; revived by Sorin’s ward after the rip in the Veil begins to close.
- ArcadyFound bound and unconscious beside Everen; revived when Sorin stitches the Veil closed.
- Edin VayneStrangles Sorin but dies during the storm’s upheaval; revealed lifeless as Sorin rises.