Crystal Empire (Riland Throne Book 3) by John Olsen

Author:John Olsen [Olsen, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Immortal Works
Published: 2019-12-17T05:00:00+00:00

Willem woke and reached for Saleena’s thoughts, but found nothing. He rolled out of bed in a tangle of sheets, checking to make sure the crystals were still around his neck. Finally, he kicked himself free of the sheets and threw on his clothes.

She was off her schedule. If she wasn’t wearing her crystals, something had to be wrong. Saleena must have switched to the herd, but she’d said nothing the night before.

He rushed into the vaulted stone hall and past the guard posted at his door. It still amazed him they considered him important enough to protect.

“Master Willem, what’s wrong?”

“Did you hear any news during the night?”

“No, sir.”

“Follow me, then. I need to talk to the others.” Willem rushed through the halls with the guard clanking behind in his light armor, a sword slapping against his leg as they hurried toward the central information room.

The light of early morning lit the halls though tiny windows as they crossed the patterned stone floor tiles. Occasional torches or lamps still burned, not yet doused by the servants.

Willem burst into the room and found it empty, aside from Lindy setting out a warm breakfast of cracked wheat porridge with bread and cheese.

“Where is everyone?”

Lindy looked up from setting bowls out on the table. “They should be here soon. What brings you so early? I thought everyone was supposed to get rest while they could. You won’t have time to sleep once the fighting starts.”

Willem wrung his hands together. “Something’s already happening. I can’t reach Saleena. I never should have let her go. It should be me out there.” The war suddenly became much more personal.

From the practical side, only two of their connections would work this morning, but the practical side gave way to his internal terrors that he might never see Saleena again, or even know what had interrupted her out on the plains. The closeness of their link was unlike anything he’d ever experienced, yet his mind filled with things they hadn’t taken the time to talk about.

He slumped into a chair and played events from the evening through his head. They’d covered her route, where they would camp, and then he’d placed a marker on the map. The map!

He leaped from the chair and inspected the terrain around the marker he’d placed to represent her, tracing a finger along routes between, around, and over the hills. Many of the hills were forested, which cut down paths for a large force. A few places stood out as ideal for ambushes. Rocky outcroppings, tree-lined valleys, and several places an army could camp and have access to water and forage.

Too many options flooded through his mind, and even if he could figure it out, what good would it do? They couldn’t reach each other until her problem was over and she put on the linking crystals.

Sharise rushed into the room. “Willem, I just heard. I’m sure she’s okay.” She put a hand on his shoulder, but he was intent on the map and continued to trace routes, hoping something would stand out.

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