Read Online A Call to Arms: Book One of the Chronicles of Arden by Shiriluna Nott, SaJa H - Free Book Online Page A

smiling victoriously. He tensed, prepared for a blow of some sort, but none fell. Indeed, they continued on their way and never looked back.
    Taking a deep breath, Gib straightened his hair and willed his nerves to calm. Overall, that had gone better than he’d planned. Every single one of them could have hung Gib by his feet but none had. They hadn’t even offered. In hindsight, it felt odd that they should let him off the hook so easily.
    The boy who was being bullied made his way over to Gib. “Thank you.”
    Taller than Gib—nearly everyone here was—the boy’s highborn status seemed confirmed. If Tarquin Aldino’s garments had been pleasant to behold, this boy’s were pristine. The embroidered embellishments running up either sleeve were of red thread and stood out on his crisp white tunic. The sleeves were meant to resemble wings but seemed such a waste of time and money, something these highborn children of Silver City apparently had to spare.
    Soft, dark locks gave way to large, expressive eyes. He wore a coat of arms, stitched into the front of his tunic and held in place by golden thread. Gib didn’t recognize the seal but remembered many of the wealthy families in Arden had such symbols so they could easily be identified. This boy must be the son of some rich lord, Gib guessed. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the other students in the class observing their interaction.
    The young lord offered one of his hands and Gib took it, startling when he felt callouses on those long fingers.
    “I mean it,” the boy continued in a soft voice. “I’ve never seen one as young as we stand up to my brothers like that.”
    Gib stiffened. “Those were your brothers? All of them?”
    The boy blinked as if confused before responding, “No. Not all of them—Tell me, where do you hail from? What is your name?”
    “Gibben Nemesio of Willowdale.” Gib released the hand hoping to hide how badly he was still shaking. “Pleasure to meet you—”
    When Gib deliberately left off in search of a name, the boy smiled. “My name is Didier. Please, call my Diddy.”
    “All right, Diddy.” Gib glanced around once more. “Do you have any idea why everyone is staring at us?”
    Diddy’s smile was genuine, even charming. “I suspect they’ve never seen such blind bravery.”
    “I doubt that. My knees are knocking so bad that I can hardly stand.”
    Diddy opened his mouth as if to say more but before he could reply, a horn was blown and everyone around them jumped to attention. Gib followed behind the other boys as they made their way toward the middle of the field where the entire class was gathering.
    A man’s voice boomed over them all. “Line up. Face north.”
    After some confusion about which way was north, the crowd of sentinel trainees did as was told. Gib realized he couldn’t see even one person that he knew and felt lost. He was surrounded by people taller than himself, so he could barely make out the silhouettes of two grown men standing at the front of the group.
    “First years move to the front. Second years in the back, you know how this works. Help out the younger ones!”
    In the shuffle of taller versus shorter bodies, Gib decided he was going to have to be in the front line if he was going to be able to see anything at all. The other boys were sluggish and no one wanted to get out of his way, but he refused to settle for a spot where he would be blind to what was going on around him.
    “Gibben Nemesio. Come stand in front of me.”
    Gib huffed a sigh when he recognized the voice of Nage’s pampered roommate. It could be worse. Standing in front of Tarquin meant not having to look at him. Lack of eye contact would hopefully mean no forced conversation. When a pale hand was offered, Gib took it and allowed himself to be pulled through to the front line.
    “Thanks,” he muttered, choosing not to look the highborn in the eye.
    An elbow knocked off Gib’s and he turned to see Diddy. Beyond the