Mage Strike (The Enslaved Chronicles Book 2) by R. K. Thorne

Author:R. K. Thorne [Thorne, R. K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Iron Antler Books
Published: 2016-12-15T18:30:00+00:00

10

Truths & Accusations

Miara stripped off the bloody leathers and cast them aside, hoping they weren’t totally ruined and Camil would know what to do with them. The blood rinsed away, and she found a fresh tunic that she happily put on alone for once. Its softness was welcoming, to her surprise.

She tried to wait patiently for Aven to join her, to offer some explanation of what the hell had happened that had led to them bringing her back here. She alternated between sitting and pacing. As the minutes ticked by, she gradually succumbed to exhaustion and the lure of the cushions and drifted off to sleep.

She awoke to a knock on the door being answered by one of her courteous new guards. And if I hadn’t wanted to get up just now? She stifled a grumble to herself. It didn’t matter. They were right—she would have answered to see if it was Aven, or someone similar. And really, who else could it be?

She sat up. The door-answering guard was none other than Devol himself. And sure enough—her visitor was Aven, arm freshly healed, if still bloodied. He didn’t look pale from the blood loss, though. Small wins.

“What by the gods happened, Aven?” she demanded, still rubbing sleep from her eyes.

“Some harpies disguised as you tried to kill him,” Dev answered for him. “And I was lucky enough to walk in on the tussle. Good fun, if you ask me.”

“Says the one who walked out without a scratch.” Aven grinned.

“Oh, you liked it. You’re probably out there waving that arm around at every captain and young recruit you can find. You look just fine if you ask me. Gotta say that healing magic is powerful stuff. We’d be fools to turn our eyes from that outta some foolish religious nonsense. Not sure how keeping people alive is so evil.” Dev’s eyes darted around to the guards as he spoke, as though he was keen to the fact that many might disagree with such words. Was he testing them? Perhaps looking for those who might not be such a good fit for this post? Clever.

“At least one of them was a creature mage.” Aven came to sit beside her, and Dev joined them in a nearby chair. “Could have been both, but I don’t think so.”

“And you said they were disguised as me?”

Aven nodded. Damn. That was smart on their enemy’s part and took planning, preparation. “Of course, the Dark Master would think of such things.” Aven’s pale eyes studied the fireplace as he rubbed his shoulder absently. She wondered if it was truly healed yet. He had not let her speed their healing or repair the scars, though she could understand why.

“The Dark Master?” Devol asked.

“He was one of four masters in control of the slaves in Mage Hall,” Miara explained. “But the one most interested in Aven. The one who sent me on my mission—” She faltered, unsure of how much Aven and his family had really explained to anyone. “Also, he’s far more cunning than the others.

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.