Peril of Dreams: An Urban Fantasy Adventure (The Portal Chronicles Book 2) by E.S. Nisan

Author:E.S. Nisan [Nisan, E.S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Essence Ink
Published: 2023-06-07T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

SERVANT PRINCES

Ravlen kept her ear glued to Marriel’s door with Binner at her feet. Marriel had stopped crying but Ravlen didn’t like the silence that followed.

Alison tiptoed over to her. “Ravlen, will you come play cards with me? Joan showed me a game called Memory. It’s really fun.”

She shivered at the thought of playing cards. “I will, Alison,” she said, keeping her voice low in case Marriel could hear her, “but I’m busy right now.”

“What are you doing?” Alison whispered in return, but in the way kids do where the whisper was as loud as her regular voice. “Is Marriel in there?”

“Yes, I’m in here and I wish you would leave me alone,” said Marriel’s muffled voice.

“I’m not doing anything!” Ravlen called back, through the door. “I’m just... uh… waiting.”

“Wait somewhere else!” There was a long pause and Ravlen’s stomach twisted at the emotion in Marriel’s voice. More softly she added, “I’m okay, Rav. I just want to be alone.”

“Come along, girls.” Joan marched down the hallway and corralled Ravlen and Alison into a bundle. “Let Marriel take the time she needs.”

Ravlen looked back to see Binner reposition himself outside Marriel’s door. He lay down and rested his head on his paws, his tail thumping gently as he made eye contact with Ravlen. Always watching out for his humans. Ravlen smiled. Binner would be there if Marriel needed comfort. Ravlen knew well that sometimes dogs could do that better than humans anyway.

Ravlen settled in at the table in the backyard with Alison for a game of Memory, while Claire dug up corners of the garden in search of worms.

“Jack of hearts.” Alison slapped down the card. “Why isn’t there a prince of hearts? There’s a king and a queen, but no prince. Where did he go?” Alison scrunched up her nose with thought.

Ravlen thought of the princes who had each been willing to have Marriel as their own at any cost. She shuddered. “Maybe the game is better without the princes.” She flipped over another card. “Two of spades. No match.”

“I saw princes once,” Alison said, concentrating on the cards, her finger hovering over many different spots before making her selection. “Eight of diamonds. They rode horses into the castle where the powerful man lived. Oh! Six of diamonds, that was close!”

I’ve got to keep her talking.

“Eight of spades!” Ravlen took the pair. “That was a lucky find.” Keeping the game going would make conversation easier, more natural. Alison didn’t respond well to any kind of stress, so Ravlen had to keep it light. “Ace of clubs. Your turn to flip. What were these princes like? Were they really fancy?”

Alison shook her head while scanning the spread of cards. “No. They were dressed really simple actually. All in the same way—shades of brown and black. They were nice enough, but they mostly kept to themselves. The powerful man didn’t let them do very much.”

“How did you know they were princes?”

Alison lifted her head and opened her arms. “It was obvious.

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.