Read Online Arissa's Fate (Redemption Trilogy) by Amanda Daul - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Amanda Daul
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treat Cayl.
Arissa was left alone in the room, only the flickering lamplight left to accompany her. She suddenly felt numb and useless. She just stood, gripping the back of the chair he had been sitting on. It felt as if all of her muscles were suddenly giving out on her at once.
She sat slowly in the chair, staring off into the darkness, unresponsive. For the second time that day, for the second time in years, tears freely began to pour from her overwhelmed eyes.
Chapter Fourteen
“How are you holding up?” Landon asked, quiet and solemn as he handed Arissa a mug of steaming liquid. They were the only two in the room and an eerie sort of quiet tension had settled over them.
Arissa felt cold and more exhausted than she ever had before. She didn’t even question what was in the mug, but the moment she started drinking, her stomach began to burn and twist in hunger. Her eyes remained fixated into the darkness.
She didn’t answer with words, simply glancing up to meet his eyes and he immediately understood. He nodded, remaining quiet for a solid length of time after that, sitting beside her in silence.
At least several hours had passed since Yasmine had disappeared into the other room of the ramshackle house with Cayl. Since then Arissa had sat through the sound of Cayl’s heart wrenching cries, which she could only imagine were from the pain of Yasmine removing the bullet. Even after it became quiet again, she lacked the energy or will to even move from the wobbly chair she sat on. It was as if she had become permanently frozen, unable to react in any way.
She had almost forgotten that Landon was sitting directly in front of her until he spoke, his voice unusually soft. “Arissa, what happened?”
In the same moment she heard his words, it was as if she suddenly relived through everything that had happened in the past months, seeing flashbacks of the terrible things. She knew he wasn’t just asking about her sudden stage of silence or how Cayl had been shot. He was asking about everything. What happened that had made her run in the first place, and why Cayl had been kidnapped.
Arissa remembered the last time she had seen Landon, when he had helped her get into Vailwood to meet with Karson. It had been the first time seeing him in a while, especially since she had been on the run. She recalled the difficulty she had had getting him to believe that she was innocent. Obviously he believed her now.
No one besides herself actually knew what had happened that night. Nobody. Not even Cayl or the General. Even the Captain had been clueless. She had never had the chance to explain, not that anyone bothered to ask. It was easy for everyone to let the blame fall on her. Now that she finally had the chance to explain herself, she felt choked up. It had taken everything in her power to do her best to forget what had happened, what she had been forced to leave behind so that she could fix it, and now she felt totally weakened by letting herself feel it once again.
It was time somebody knew. It was time that Arissa could allow herself to feel human again. She took a deep, ragged breath, avoiding Landon’s eyes.
“They came in the night,” her voice spoke softly, sounding groggy and tired. “It was late and I left to go to the other room. A moment later I heard this noise, the sound of shattering glass. I ran back to see what had happened. The window of our bedroom had been shattered. There was glass everywhere. I was suddenly really cold from the wind and I didn’t understand what had happened at first.”
“That’s when they took him?” Landon guessed, trying to help
Arissa was left alone in the room, only the flickering lamplight left to accompany her. She suddenly felt numb and useless. She just stood, gripping the back of the chair he had been sitting on. It felt as if all of her muscles were suddenly giving out on her at once.
She sat slowly in the chair, staring off into the darkness, unresponsive. For the second time that day, for the second time in years, tears freely began to pour from her overwhelmed eyes.
Chapter Fourteen
“How are you holding up?” Landon asked, quiet and solemn as he handed Arissa a mug of steaming liquid. They were the only two in the room and an eerie sort of quiet tension had settled over them.
Arissa felt cold and more exhausted than she ever had before. She didn’t even question what was in the mug, but the moment she started drinking, her stomach began to burn and twist in hunger. Her eyes remained fixated into the darkness.
She didn’t answer with words, simply glancing up to meet his eyes and he immediately understood. He nodded, remaining quiet for a solid length of time after that, sitting beside her in silence.
At least several hours had passed since Yasmine had disappeared into the other room of the ramshackle house with Cayl. Since then Arissa had sat through the sound of Cayl’s heart wrenching cries, which she could only imagine were from the pain of Yasmine removing the bullet. Even after it became quiet again, she lacked the energy or will to even move from the wobbly chair she sat on. It was as if she had become permanently frozen, unable to react in any way.
She had almost forgotten that Landon was sitting directly in front of her until he spoke, his voice unusually soft. “Arissa, what happened?”
In the same moment she heard his words, it was as if she suddenly relived through everything that had happened in the past months, seeing flashbacks of the terrible things. She knew he wasn’t just asking about her sudden stage of silence or how Cayl had been shot. He was asking about everything. What happened that had made her run in the first place, and why Cayl had been kidnapped.
Arissa remembered the last time she had seen Landon, when he had helped her get into Vailwood to meet with Karson. It had been the first time seeing him in a while, especially since she had been on the run. She recalled the difficulty she had had getting him to believe that she was innocent. Obviously he believed her now.
No one besides herself actually knew what had happened that night. Nobody. Not even Cayl or the General. Even the Captain had been clueless. She had never had the chance to explain, not that anyone bothered to ask. It was easy for everyone to let the blame fall on her. Now that she finally had the chance to explain herself, she felt choked up. It had taken everything in her power to do her best to forget what had happened, what she had been forced to leave behind so that she could fix it, and now she felt totally weakened by letting herself feel it once again.
It was time somebody knew. It was time that Arissa could allow herself to feel human again. She took a deep, ragged breath, avoiding Landon’s eyes.
“They came in the night,” her voice spoke softly, sounding groggy and tired. “It was late and I left to go to the other room. A moment later I heard this noise, the sound of shattering glass. I ran back to see what had happened. The window of our bedroom had been shattered. There was glass everywhere. I was suddenly really cold from the wind and I didn’t understand what had happened at first.”
“That’s when they took him?” Landon guessed, trying to help
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