The Prince of the Veil by Hal Emerson

Author:Hal Emerson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fantasy, magic, redemption, epic, prince, exile, rebel, talisman, hal emerson, prince of the veil
Publisher: Hal Emerson

Chapter Thirteen: Innocence

Raven fled the tent. He left Tym where he was, dropping him unceremoniously to the ground before turning and rushing blindly out into the falling night. There were still shouts and cries sounding around him, but they were calls for Healers and guard patrols, not the sounds of battle. The attack itself was over.

It was meant for me alone – she wanted my head and nothing else, and we stopped her.

But the cost was too high.

He heard vague movement behind him as someone else left the Council tent, but he kept moving, trying to get away. He passed into the first row of buildings, making his way through a confused ring of soldiers searching the area, dragging brown- and black-cloaked bodies across the courtyard into the light so as to count the number of their attackers. Barely any of them recognized their Prince; in the darkness, he looked to be just another man.

He would have kept going, and who knows how far he would have gone, but a hand grabbed and stopped him.

Raven’s impotent rage boiled up inside him and blew the lid off his temper. He spun and struck the big hand from off him, only realizing it was Tomaz when he’d turned to face the man.

And it was only then that he realized he’d let go of the Raven Talisman.

I … I let go of it when we were fleeing Lerne too. If I had kept hold of it like I said I would, I would have seen Symanta coming. Just like Tiffenal – I let them both in close when I could have given warning far ahead of time.

The fight disappeared from him. He felt his shoulders slump, and his stomach muscles released. His knees wanted to buckle as well, and he thought longingly, for one glorious moment, of his warm bed back on the cliff side of Vale.

“Hey,” Tomaz rumbled, his voice soft and soothing. “Hey now, hold on.”

The big man came forward and caught Raven before he fell to his knees; he held him in a tight embrace, and kept him standing.

“I’m sorry,” Raven said, his words slurring almost as if he were drunk. “I don’t know why I – I don’t know what I’ve been doing. I really thought I could do it all myself, I really thought that if I tried hard enough, I could … I thought I could…. For the past few weeks it’s as if I’ve been sleep walking. I’ve been living in a dream of some kind … I don’t understand, I don’t know why. I’m so sorry, Tomaz.”

He buried his face in the man’s broad chest. Tomaz wrapped his thick arms around him and just held him there, knowing not to say a word. Raven heard someone approaching them, and didn’t need to look to know it was Leah.

“Tomaz,” she said quietly, “bring him in here.”

They moved, but without any real sense of urgency. It was as if they were floating: Raven’s feet barely even touched the floor.

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.