City of Scars (The Skullborn Trilogy, Book 1) by Montano Steven

Author:Montano, Steven [Montano, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Darker Sunset Press
Published: 2013-06-24T04:00:00+00:00

Thirty-Two

They ate dinner in near silence. The dining room was small and cramped and there was barely enough room for Kath to move his elbows, so he ate with his hands over the table and his arms tucked to his sides. A single lamp cast soft light on the Cardrezhej family’s faces. Small bookshelves lined the walls, and the sky beyond the window was red and black.

Julei made random statements about friends she only occasionally played with or things she wanted to do or see, like going to the doll maker’s shop when it was time for her allowance or taking a walk in the woods east of the city once the new soldiers made it safe again. At one point she talked at length about a book she was reading called The Forgotten Star, which so far as Kath could tell was about a young magical mouse named Kristus and his journey to rescue his friend Patch (a cat) from the hands of an evil faerie. Kath tried to remember if he’d read that book, but if he had it had been so long ago he couldn’t remember anything about it.

He made quiet talk with Julei. He was always impressed by her recollection of what she’d read and her insightful observations into what she thought would happen next or how she thought the characters felt. Unfortunately their discussion seemed uncomfortably out of place. Drogan and Calestra said nothing and kept their eyes on their meals. Both of them seemed to want things quiet, so after a while Kath tried to end the conversation tactfully. Julei figured it out – she was a remarkably bright girl – and the rest of the meal passed in silence.

Kath’s father was the one most at unease. Drogan wasn’t as tall as Kath, nor as broad of shoulder. He’d served in the Ebonmark City Watch and had even fought in a campaign against the Tuscars, but that had been over two decades ago, and since leaving the Watch he’d enjoyed a soft and relatively quiet life filled with big meals and brandy. He was just over six feet tall, and his once brown hair had thinned and faded to grey. Kath had inherited his father’s piercing eyes, and a thin beard covered Drogan’s stony jaw.

Drogan had never approved of Kath’s decision to join the Watch, especially now that it was under the direct control of the White Dragon Army, which he considered a barbaric and mindless institution. The fact that Kath insisted on serving in spite of his father’s misgivings was just the latest of many walls between them.

Calestra was another story. She and Kath had been close once, very close, but all that had changed when their mother had died.

“This is delicious,” Kath finally said. He was tired of the silence. “Thank you, Calestra.”

“You’re welcome.” Her response was cold.

“Yes,” Drogan said, as if he’d just shaken himself awake. They were all finished except for Julei, who usually took twice as long to eat as anyone else.

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