The Ikessar Falcon by K. S. Villoso

Author:K. S. Villoso [Villoso, K. S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy, Epic, Action & Adventure, Dragons & Mythical Creatures
ISBN: 9781775235613
Google: lHHIDwAAQBAJ
Amazon: 1775235610
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2018-06-19T04:00:00+00:00

~~~

My dreams that night were long and confusing. Parts I don’t fully recall anymore. But the most persistent scene was that of Khine with the demon at his shoulder. I saw it from every possible angle, saw the way the shadows bent around them as he came close to accepting its essence into his body. I don’t know why the image bothered me as much as it did. I only knew that I reacted the same way with every transformation—straight at them, sword drawn, a strangled cry in my throat.

Around me, Mei’s words repeated like a chant, a thin strand in the wind. I woke up screaming. It was still dark and the rain had turned into a blanket that threatened to smother the world. I felt a hand on my shoulder as I forced myself up, and saw Agos’ concerned face peering down at me.

“You care for Lamang, don’t you,” he said. Not a question. I looked up at him in confusion, and he shrugged. “You were saying his name in your sleep. Calling for him.”

My heart was still racing from my dream. “I think he wants to die,” I said. “And I’m dragging him into this mess, just like I’m dragging everyone else.” Speaking my fears out loud tasted bitter in my mouth.

“He just lost his mother,” Agos replied. “It’s normal.”

I took a deep breath and pressed my back on the bamboo wall, listening to the rain drip down from the thatched roof.

My silence must’ve unnerved Agos. “Order him to go back home,” he said.

“I remember people telling me the exact same thing about you.”

Agos bristled. “Which people?”

“Just people.”

“Maybe that’s your problem. You don’t know why you keep people around. You hold on when you should be letting go.”

“Gods, we’re not talking about Rayyel again, are we?”

He remained deathly serious. “We’re talking about you.”

“You and everyone from one kingdom to the next,” I said. “I’m sick of it. Let’s talk about something else. Let’s…let’s talk about horses. No—let’s talk about you, Agos. What have you been doing all these years?”

I didn’t think he knew whether I was sincere or not. I felt my cheeks burn, remembering we had walked down this road that same night. The night I ruined everything. I closed my eyes, hating myself for all my moments of weaknesses. I had to stop doing this. I had to stop trying to seek comfort if all it ever did was to make things worse. If the nation had a stronger queen, we wouldn’t be on the verge of falling apart.

Agos gave a small huff, unaware of what was going on inside my head. “It’s nothing important. Odd jobs here and there. Not the steady pay with the army or the guards, but nothing so dangerous, either. I peddled wares at one point, played at being a merchant. Wasn’t very good with numbers and lost more money than I made. Good thing I learned that before I petitioned to have my name changed to alon gar.” He chuckled.

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.