Dark Gates (Adelman Academy Book 1) by Shan Marin

Author:Shan Marin [Marin, Shan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-02-27T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

“You’re treating me abysmally, little pigeon.”

“I am not a little pigeon,” I said as I reached up and clutched the familiar weight of my pink pendant, squeezing it tightly, trying to will away the fear sitting in my throat. “I’m sorry, Kylan. I spent all morning training with Jacen, and then all afternoon planning with Tamas. You will survive if I go to bed early.”

“Jacen trained your body. And Tamas got his chance to expand your mind.” Kylan hopped down another step, until his chest was right before my face. I had to crane my neck to see his face, and he looked down his crooked nose at me. “When is it my turn?”

I cocked my head up at him, knowing if I backed down from his challenge, Kylan would think less of me. “And what would your lesson be?”

He bopped my nose with his finger. “The most important one of all. How to nurture your soul.”

I laughed. “My soul is perfectly healthy, thank you very much.”

“Then why are you in such a hurry to get back to your room? You’re as twitchy as a cat in the rain.”

“I am not!” My denial rang false in my own ears, and Kylan’s too, from the skepticism on his face. “I’m not.”

He dipped at the knees to grab my hand, and he squeezed it. “Then come with me. Let’s go on an adventure.”

That word made me hesitate. Neyla was the adventurer. She had been the one to choose the fun exploits. Even if the last adventure we went on ended in disaster, we had a trail of happy memories leading up to that point. After her death, my days revolved around Grandmother, and my duties as the only able body in our household.

Adventures brought spice to life. If I pushed away that final excursion from my mind, I could focus on the fun ones. Creeping out to watch the jugglers from the local fairground. Sneaking down to the pond to catch frogs and fish. The time we got caught in the peach orchard by Farmer Woshoes, and had to race all the way home before his carriage arrived, so we could be found safely napping in our beds once he informed Grandmother.

When was the last time I ever had that much fun?

A wild surge of excitement bubbled up in me, until it burst from my mouth in a single word. “Okay.”

Kylan whooped loud enough for the sound to rattle down the stairs. “This will be a blast.”

He pushed past me, his body pressing against mine in the narrow stairwell. My pulse picked up, and it had nothing to do with my fear of the dark. Leading me by the hand, he raced down the stairs until I began laughing as we spun around and around and around.

When we burst out the bottom of the tower, and into the hallway, Kylan beamed at me and tugged me onward. “This way.”

“Slow down!” I laughed, breathless from our spin down the stairs. “Where are we going?”

“To the garden,”

I stopped short and yanked my hand from his.

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