Torn: Bound Trilogy Book Two by Kate Sparkes

Author:Kate Sparkes [Sparkes, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sparrowcat Press
Published: 2015-04-05T16:00:00+00:00

25

Nox

“That was incredibly stupid,” I said to the three of them, once they caught up with me.

The woman leading them down the road was a stunning creature with clear, bronze-toned skin and hair the dark, glossy brown of the mink that townsfolk trapped in the autumn. She kept her blue-green eyes trained on me without fear or concern for propriety. A huntress, I decided, and certainly not from the northern provinces.

I forced my shaking breaths to become even and waited for my heart to slow. These people had saved me from the soldiers. I should have been grateful for that, but my life had a tendency toward going from bad to worse. Perhaps they meant well, but in recent years I’d misjudged too many people. My husband Denn had sweet-talked me into a marriage that left me bitter, scarred, and empty long before his death. I’d wanted to leave town after his funeral, but the townsfolk needed me. They became friendly. Then rumors started about Denn’s death, and they turned on me.

I let my hair fall over my face and glanced back at the others from between locks in desperate need of a washing. Nothing about them said they were a threat. They were clearly fools, if they thought attracting dragons was an appropriate way to do anything but commit suicide, but that might make them more dangerous.

Project strength, I told myself. If they see weakness, they’ll tear you apart. This was my chance to take charge. No longer would I be the little wife creeping around the house the morning after her husband came home drunk, or the student keeping her talent hidden so as not to rouse her mentor’s jealousy. Nor would I be the tiny child swept from her bed in the middle of the night, frightened and crying as she and her mother journeyed to a dark and unpredictable future.

No. From this moment on, I live up to my birthright. I am the daughter of a king.

If I could truly believe that, perhaps I could get out of this alive. How would such a woman act? Strong, I decided. I wouldn’t let them see my fear. I would force them to respect me, as few people had before.

I slowed my horse to a walk and patted his neck. He was beautiful, a fine traveling companion and better quality than any nag we’d had when I was growing up. The woman rode past me while the men remained behind.

The soldiers had been bad, but at least I knew what they wanted. What did I know about these people? Unless I was mistaken, the man with the long, dark hair was a Sorcerer, and I suspected he might be a shape-shifter, though I’d missed seeing it in the confusion of their haphazard rescue scheme.

We’d had magic-users in Arberg. None of them were strong enough to try something like that, but they’d thought themselves superior to everyone and considered their gifts far more important than those of a mere Potioner.

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.