Heartstone eBook by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-12-28T06:26:04+00:00

Ash dropped the Taelstone onto its plinth as if it was on fire. His face certainly was. He clamped his hands to his mouth, trying to regather himself. The memory had been so unexpected. So deeply intimate. Finally he stumbled to his feet, scanning the bookshelf. He recognised the book at once. Drawing the dark green volume from the shelf, he read the name on its spine. Levante. The book broke open and there, pressed flat, obscuring the words, was a single star-shaped flower.

1

‘Well, that is unexpected!’ Kep’s dark brows were perplexed. ‘Credé was in love with Leynore?’

Ash shrugged. It was impossible not to blush. He had stammered a recount of Credé’s passionate encounter, leaving out the most embarrassing details. ‘I think so. I fell straight into the memory. Nirias said bonded stones work a bit differently, that strong emotions draw the mind. I think that memory must have meant a lot to Credé.’

Kep nodded. ‘If he was in love with Leynore he would have thought about her a lot … I mean … I suppose.’ She seemed flustered. She had gone bright pink and kept touching her hand to the back of her neck.

‘It’s a great start, Ash.’ Sarin clapped him on the back, beaming. ‘I think we can safely say that the investigation into Credé’s deep, dark secrets is officially underway. You’ve certainly made more progress than the rest of us.’

They had already run through their initial list of questions, sharing what they had found out. It was precious little. Ordelle had found out virtually nothing about the Malshorne, just a few vague references. Everyone agreed it was surprising, given the Malshornes’ long lives.

The origins of the city itself were proving just as elusive. It seemed the Azuri were philosophically opposed to origin stories. There was nothing in their art or stories or histories that told where they had come from, or why. If the Council of the Azuri had kept records, they had hidden them well. Only one thing was clear: the Azuri were not a race of people. Anyone could become an Azuri — in theory. The Heartstone seemed to be at the centre of it all, but they had found no information about the strange orb, who had made it, and how it worked. It seemed the city was reluctant to give up its secrets.

Ash was silent. As he listened to the others, he became more and more miserable, hugging his failure to himself. He had avoided the Heartstone since that first awful encounter; he just could not bring himself to go anywhere near it. The thing terrified him. Now he felt horribly guilty. What if it held answers that could only be revealed to him — to the Taelstaun? He felt as if the others were thinking the same. He was relieved when Sarin shrugged.

‘Come on. We are wasting our time here. Besides, I’ve got something to show you.’ When Kep grumbled about climbing stairs, he laughed: ‘Don’t worry, it’s not far.’

1

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.