Mark of the Huntress (Heir to the Darkmage Book 2) by Lisa Cassidy

Author:Lisa Cassidy [Cassidy, Lisa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tate House
Published: 2021-10-07T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

It was a two-week journey to Alistriem. The mage in charge—Warrior Restan—pushed them hard, clearly worried they were vulnerable to any follow up attack force.

The healer with them treated Fari and Lira in the breaks they took to water the horses and get some sleep. Exhaustion constantly tugged at Lira, the short rests they got not nearly long enough for someone so badly affected by magic overuse—which was the healer’s diagnosis for both apprentices. Lorin’s leg clearly pained him, but he said nothing about it, instead hovering protectively around all of them whenever they stopped while Garan marched off to ensure the healer came over to check on Fari and Lira before she did anything else.

They didn’t speak much. The shock of what had happened weighed heavily, even on Lira. Her normal resilience seemed to have vanished, gone to the same place her magic had disappeared to. All she could see when she closed her eyes was Tarion planting himself before her. Tarion falling. The look on his parents’ faces when they saw how badly hurt he was.

What she’d seen when he’d lost consciousness, that light… she pushed that memory away every time, sure she must have imagined it.

But what weighed most heavily was the knowledge that it had been all her fault. Her need for the thrill of danger had meant Tarion was on that roof when she should have listened to him and retreated. Guilt twisted her stomach whenever she thought of it.

They rode close together during the days, and at night they set out their blankets in a group inside the cordon of guards. Once the healer had checked Fari and Lira, Garan made a point of ensuring they had enough water and food, that they were warm enough to sleep, and that Lorin got off his leg and gave it some rest. Only then would he curl up beside them in his own blanket.

Normally, this would have irritated Lira to no end. But not now. Now she was grateful for the presence of someone to look out for them, to take charge, when she didn’t have the strength for it. She was glad of Garan. More, she found she trusted him to keep them safe.

Nobody asked her what had happened on the roof. Garan clearly hadn’t said anything to Restan or the other mages and Taliath, and he didn’t raise it with Lira either. He seemed only to care about making sure he got them all to Alistriem safely. Fari was too exhausted to muster conversation at all, let alone questioning, and Lorin rarely spoke anyway.

She should have taken the time to come up with a story to explain what had happened, practice it so she was ready for the interrogation when they reached Alistriem. But even if she hadn’t been too groggy to string clear thoughts together, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to come up with anything even remotely plausible.

Whatever she did, she couldn’t afford the council finding out that Lira had broken out with another mage ability on that roof.

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.