Mark of the Raven by Morgan L. Busse

Author:Morgan L. Busse
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy;FIC042080;FIC009020;FIC009030
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2018-09-05T16:00:00+00:00

21

Selene spent the rest of the day in the small training area on the southern side of Rook Castle until it was too dark to see and her body was thoroughly tired. Then she bypassed most of the castle, avoiding the dining area, and slipped to her bedchambers. Long had her tears dried, but she felt heavy, like a block of ice was inside of her. She shut the door to her room and rubbed the skin above her heart. Maybe she didn’t have a heart anymore. Maybe it was beginning to shrivel up and die like Mother’s.

Every time she remembered their conversation from this morning, Selene shoved the memories away. She wasn’t numb enough yet to face what her family had become: traitors to the other houses and traitors to the people around them. And allies of the Dominia Empire—

Selene clenched her hands and marched across her room to the small table that stood by the changing panels, topped with a ceramic pitcher and bowl. She stripped off her loose tunic and beige pants. After dumping the soiled clothing in the corner, she poured tepid mint-scented water from the pitcher into the bowl and began to wipe away the sweat and grime that had accumulated from her exercise. She finished with her hair, then placed on clean underclothes and black attire for this evening’s mission.

It was fully dark now, barely light enough in her bedchambers to see what she was doing. In some ways, the darkness soothed her, allowing her to hide who she really was in the shadows and become the dreamkiller.

Selene secured the small curved blades to her side and glanced out the window. Tonight she would see what kind of security Damien had, then begin to explore his dream world. But just in case something went wrong, she was ready.

The moon was now rising swiftly over the Magyr Mountains, bathing the peaks in its pale light. She secured her scarf across her face and pulled her hood over her head. Everything in place. But inside, her stomach seemed to have broken out of its ice block and was now writhing like a nest of snakes.

She placed a hand on her midsection and closed her eyes.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Emotions had no place on her mission. She imagined shoving down every feeling inside of her until she felt nothing but cold and her stomach grew hard again. The chill was her friend. It kept the thoughts and feelings that would interfere with her work at bay.

She was in control.

Satisfied, Selene headed toward the door. The hallway was silent, and only the subtle flare of candlelight lit her way. Even that was more than she needed. She knew these halls and could find her way blindfolded.

After two turns, she headed down a fourth hall to a small storage room once used by her grandmother’s personal servant. Inside, she followed a stack of wooden crates to the back wall and pressed down on a small lever located near the corner. The wall slid to the side, leading into a narrow tunnel.

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.