A Familiar Betrayal (A Familiar Duology Book 2) by E.M. Rinaldi

Author:E.M. Rinaldi [Rinaldi, E.M.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2022-11-22T00:00:00+00:00

I avoided the cabin, even though I desperately wanted a shower. The chance that I wouldn’t be alone once I went in there, that Auden would be waiting for me, scrambled my brain with a mix of desire and nerves.

Curiosity was one thing, but I wasn’t actually brave enough to act on it. At least, not today. So, I made a wide arc around the cabin and headed toward one of the cooking fires near the training grounds.

With the daily influx of people, there were a few bonfires constantly burning to feed those on different schedules. There wasn’t enough room for everyone to train at once. As a result, people were awake at all hours now. Gone were the peaceful evenings with the coven tucked inside their comfy homes.

Misty mornings now echoed with muffled ringing from weapons, and the ground almost constantly rocked from potions practice. The tantalizing smell of beef stew—the easiest thing to prepare for so many mouths—carried to me on the afternoon wind, and my stomach rumbled. I spotted Taryn in line, and she waved me over.

“Hiya,” she chirped. I couldn’t help but return her smile. “How goes trainin’?”

My cheeks heated, and I swiftly looked away to grab a bowl, mumbling something about it being okay. Once we got our food, Taryn led us away from the main crowd as they settled in to eat near the fires, and I hoped she hadn’t seen my blush.

“Training was . . . better today,” I finally admitted. Don’t think about Auden. Don’t think about Auden. “I caught Fin a few times, and Zuri thinks I’m ready to work on shielding in my feline form.”

“Why do I get tha feelin’ ya don’t agree?” she asked, side-eyeing me over her spoon.

I shook my head, worried it would get back to Zuri that I had a worse attitude than she thought. I’d already spent the better part of a week wasting time by refusing to shift. “It’s not that I don’t agree,” I answered slowly, “but more like I didn’t know it was possible.”

She mulled over my answer as we finished our lunch. A full belly went a long way in replenishing my strength, and I felt infinitely better than I had only an hour ago. Time away from the forest and some fresh air helped to clear my head as well, and I stopped panicking over thoughts of Auden.

Another round of stew later, we dropped our dishes off at the water buckets where some students were on cleaning duty. I winced. Was that a punishment, or were they helping out? That was a hell of a lot of dishes to have to clean without it being because they were in trouble.

“What do ya know about mixed lines?” Taryn asked, and I gave her a look. “Right. I forgot ya new to all this.”

New was an understatement. Try uninformed. Pathetic. “New” implied I had some idea but not enough experience. Our people didn’t know the slightest truth about our world, and it was embarrassing to admit.

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