Forest of Dynasties by S.J. Saunders

Author:S.J. Saunders
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Riverbank Publishing
Published: 2022-01-31T22:06:04+00:00

A Theikour’s Will

Allie pushed a leafy branch out of her face as her horse almost sulkily plodded under a low-hanging tree crown, seemingly without thought of its rider.

And this is why you don’t get a name, Allie thought, spitting out the disturbed flecks of pollen and forest grit that had swept into her nostrils as she disturbed the branch. It might actually make me feel a bit guilty when I eventually cook and eat you.

She contented herself, instead, with simply glaring down at the horse’s neck—all she’d ever really do in retaliation, she knew—looking about the tight cluster of trees to find that her companions’ mounts had all swerved about to spare their riders, which now left their formation shuffled from how they’d been a moment before.

And Allie now found herself riding only a few paces away from Gefnar.

The urge to veer away and the urge to capitalize on the brief moment of relative privacy cancelled each other out, for a moment, leaving Allie frozen in her saddle as she peripherally assessed that Jack, Tanner, Itokarr, and Neyoni now rode in a cluster off to her left, slowly shifting back to rejoin Allie and Gefnar.

She turned back to the gnome, seeing in his set profile the determination to keep his eyes forward.

Say something! she screamed at herself, careful not to let the thoughts bleed over into their group’s mental link. Something real! Jack had been right. Things weren’t the same between them, and hadn’t been, Allie had come to realize, since they’d first arrived in Falcon Crest. When Allie had learned her true name…and her dark heritage.

“Have you come to your senses yet?” she asked, the words out of her mouth only a split second before she thought better of them. She grimaced. Just when I was beginning to think I’d learned some tact…

Gefnar sighed, still not looking her way. “Have you really thought about what you’re asking? I don’t want my actions to be ruled by fear, Allie. And…and I don’t want yours to be ruled by guilt.”

Anger flashed in Allie’s chest, fueled even hotter by the calmness on Gefnar’s face. “Oh, how stupid of me!” she snarled. “All this time, I didn’t realize I should have been proud of all the pain my family’s caused. Of ripping apart my only real friend, back in Lorsyn!” The thought of Shala caused her vision to blur with hot tears, but she continued to glare at the shape that was Gefnar. “You’re such a coward! If killing me was the only way to stop Sharrawd from breaking free, you’d be the most selfish person ever not to do it, and the worst servant of Nomenkal!”

And you’ve always been so concerned with the execution of Nomenkal’s will.

Allie blinked away her tears in time to see Gefnar smile sadly, hanging his head. “I don’t understand you, Allie. You’re furious at me when you think I’m convinced it’s my duty to kill you, and you’re furious at me when you think I’ve decided to let you live.

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