Venom of the Black Lotus: A Legends of Tivara Story (Scions of the Black Lotus) by JC Nelson & JC Kang

Author:JC Nelson & JC Kang [Nelson, JC]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dragonstone Press
Published: 2020-02-28T16:00:00+00:00

Bolin woke bleary, unable to focus. He rolled from the bed to hit the marble floor, then lay there unwinding the cobwebs in his mind. Pain shot up his arm, blossoming across his chest.

He didn’t recall binding his arm like this, but tinges of rust red clung to his chest, betraying where he’d bled. A single copper bell pealed out across the Garden, echoing through the stone halls.

Across from the cot sat a scribe’s desk with light baubles; draped across it was a simple student’s robe, frayed and worn. Bolin slipped it on and stepped out into the morning sun.

Narrow canoes slid silently across the lake, their workers hunched over as they tended the rice. To his left lay a tall stone temple with three levels, and past it, two more vast houses. To his right, a stone house gave birth to a village of huts—perhaps a dozen—and beyond those, fields that nestled right up to the crater wall. Thin strips of land stretched far around the edge, thick with vegetation, and in the morning light, the limestone cliff he’d descended reminded Bolin of a deadfall trap more than anything.

“Ren Bolin?”

From the stone house next door, a short bald man with skin as tan as it was yellow bowed. “I am Chan. Zu and I have decided that you should start with heart poisons. Come.”

A wide swath of lawn separated the two stone houses, and Bolin let the warm grass brush his feet as he crossed. He fought the urge to bow. Mai had said he was not a student, but the instinct was ingrained. “Where is Qiu?”

“Zhu tests her this morning. She is not your concern.” Chan turned and waved to the arch behind him. “Come; a friend will bring food, and we can study together.”

Engraved on the inside of the arch was the character for heart, one Bolin knew. “May I ask a question?”

“Only one?”

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