Free The Dragon's War by Samantha Sabian

magic.”
    Skye contemplated this milestone. “So I don’t need to physically connect with someone to include them in my spell.”
    “Apparently not,” Idonea said. “Cast the invisibility spell on everyone here.”
    Skye did so, and everyone but Raine disappeared.
    “And of course, nothing works on our Scinterian,” Idonea’s voice said. “Skye, now cast the ephemeral spell.”
    To Raine’s vantage point, nothing changed. But no one was speaking and the room was silent and still. Out of curiosity, she reached to her right and left and made both Idonea and Gimle reappear. And when she reached out and touched Skye, everyone reappeared.
    “That’s amazing,” Skye said, speaking of Raine’s ability and not her own.
    “It is extraordinary, is it not?” Idonea said, knowing exactly what Skye was talking about. She had more than once experienced it herself. “So much magic and power, then suddenly, it’s just gone.”
    Raine chuckled. “Believe it or not, I once took that ability for granted. When I was young and training with the last of the Scinterians, it seemed little more than a novelty. It would not stop a sword or an arrow, or even a punch to the face. It felt almost useless. But after three centuries, I can say it is the greatest gift that I have.”
    Raine left Skye to Idonea’s tutelage and thought to roam about the nearby countryside. It was unlikely that Talan or Kylan had left any Hyr’rok’kin for her, but she could find some game if nothing else. Although she could have found numerous companions to accompany her, Raine decided a little solitude would do her good. She quietly informed the guards at the south gate of her intention, then slipped away soundlessly into the forest.
    After trudging for some time without finding any game, Raine admitted to herself she wasn’t really looking. Her bow was still folded at her belt, the arrows were still quivered, and the swords were still sheathed. She walked noiselessly, but not with the stealth required to hunt. A rustle of leaves in the brush next to her caught her attention, and she spoke to the interloper.
    “Come on out.”
    A young wolf crawled from the underbrush, got to his feet, and shook the leaves from his coat. He trotted over to her, then fell into stride next to her. Raine welcomed his company.
    “I thought I was going to hunt,” Raine said, “but I guess I’m not in the mood.”
    The wolf was content just to lope at her side, and Raine again fell into silence. Her mood at the moment was contemplative, even a little gloomy, something that would have been evident to those around her, and she did not want her temperament to influence them. It was crucial that she appear as confident and cheerful as always.
    But although she still felt confident, Raine was hardly cheerful. She felt an oppression, a great pressure, a darkness looming on the horizon like a deadly storm. It was the hand of fate that was coming down to crush her, or worse, pluck her up and carry her away.
    Raine shook her head to clear it. “I need to stop thinking like that.”
    The wolf glanced up at her quizzically, but continued to lope along. He stopped when Raine stopped, and although he did not sense what she sensed, he sat down on his haunches patiently.
    “What is this?” she murmured.
    It felt familiar, something she had met once before. She cocked her head to one side and now she could hear it. The low rumbling breath of something very large. The wolf, too, could hear it, and the hair on the back of his neck raised ever-so-slightly. He was not fearful, just wary, and he stood up and stepped forward when Raine did.
    Raine pushed through the trees toward the low rumbling, and it grew louder as she neared. She could see the creature through the tangle of branches, the opal-white scales that glowed. She stepped into the clearing, and the deep blue eyes of the white dragon assessed her at length. They slid to her wolf companion.
    “Fenrir’s children adore you,”