The Dark That Creates: A YA Epic Fantasy series by Steve Pantazis

Author:Steve Pantazis [Pantazis, Steve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SP Books
Published: 2023-07-07T04:00:00+00:00

Petrah awoke clutching his stomach.

In a panic, he pulled up his saba and searched for blood. There wasn’t any, just a phantom pain receding along with the nightmare that had engulfed his sleep.

He was alone in the room.

It was close to evening. The reddish hue of the sky pierced the window. Sweat made Petrah’s saba cling to him. It was as if he were on the streets of Kanmar, perspiring as he marched back to the pits.

The door opened a moment later. It was Ahleen.

“Petrah—” she started, but faltered. Her eyes fell upon him, stricken with worry. “Are you ill?”

“I’m fine,” he said, sitting up. “What is it?”

“It’s Mina. She’s here.”

“Here, in Tuur?” The incredulity of it came out in his voice. He came to his feet. “How? Why?”

“I don’t know, but she brought a bodyguard with her, one of Mokan-lee’s men. Kruush is with her right now at the front of the inn. This isn’t good, Petrah.”

That foolish girl! Why didn’t she listen to me and stay put?

Her father was going to kill him. He hastily laced up his sandals and followed Ahleen outside.

The cool evening air was the only good thing about leaving his room. The moisture from his scalp and brow evaporated as he walked beside Ahleen. Petrah wished he could have washed the salt and grime from his skin, but there wasn’t any spare time. Kruush and Tan were off to the side of the inn in a heated discussion with a tall, young man Petrah presumed was Mina’s bodyguard. He wore a breastplate with Montabijon’s crest stamped onto it, and a scabbard hung from his belt. A few passersby on the street had stopped to take in the kerfuffle.

Petrah froze when he saw Mina standing behind her bodyguard, eyes fixed upon her feet as the argument ensued. She was wearing a simple, lavender dress whose hem brushed the tops of her sandals. She looked up, then over to Petrah. Immediately, her discomfort transformed into a smile. “Petrah!”

She rushed over and nearly jumped into his arms. She gave him the biggest squeeze. “Gods, I’ve missed you!”

The arguing stopped, and everyone looked at them. Kruush shook his head, then threw his hands up in the air and stormed off.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” Petrah told Mina, even though he didn’t mean it.

“But I had to!” She clung to him as if they were standing on the edge of the world.

“This is”—how could he phrase it without sounding ungrateful—“quite the surprise.”

She pulled back and looked up at him. “You’re not happy to see me?”

“Of course I am. It’s just that—” He glanced at Ahleen, who stood alongside Tan and Mina’s bodyguard. Ahleen encouraged him with a nod. “It’s that we’d already said our goodbyes in Hōvar. Does your father know you’re here?”

Her brown eyes fell to his chest, where she picked at the tassel hanging from the collar of his saba. “No.”

“Why did you let her take you here?” Petrah asked the bodyguard.

The guard’s face flushed. “She told me she was coming here to visit her cousin and that her father gave her permission.

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