Read Online Blades of the Old Empire by Anna Kashina - Free Book Online Page A

sitting, deep in conversation. Mai had his back to her, his eyes fixed on the shadows.
    “Mother Keeper is waiting,” Odara said.
    “For what?”
    “To begin your training. Come.”
    Intrigued, Ellah followed Odara to the side of the camp. Mother Keeper was sitting on the corner of a blanket, her back straight, legs crossed with the knees flat on the ground, in a pose that Ellah was sure she could never manage.
    “Come, sit,” Mother Keeper beckoned.
    Ellah approached and lowered onto the opposite corner of the blanket. “I can’t sit like you.”
    Mother Keeper smiled. “Just make yourself comfortable.”
    Ellah relaxed, trying to find a comfortable position on the blanket. After a day’s ride it wasn’t an easy task. She glanced toward the center of the camp. She knew she shouldn’t be visible to the people sitting in the bright circle of the fire, but she could swear Mai, from the far side of it, was looking her way.
    “It’s essential for our lesson that you are able to concentrate,” Mother Keeper said, following the direction of Ellah’s gaze. “Do you think you can?”
    Ellah tore her eyes away from the distant group and looked at the woman. She was blushing again, but she hoped it wasn’t too noticeable in the darkness.
    “Yes,” she said.
    “Good,” Mother Keeper said. “Now, tell me what happened on the road today.”
    “I’m not sure. I just– suddenly I knew this man was lying.”
    “You did fine,” Mother Keeper assured her. “I was the one who was slow to react. It is fortunate for all of us that King Evan has such formidable guards.”
    Ellah couldn’t help stealing another look at Mai, but he was now sitting sideways, engaged in a conversation with Evan. She relaxed.
    “I did feel this way before,” she said, “but usually no one believed me. And then it always seemed to me later that I was wrong. But this time…” She paused.
    Mother Keeper nodded. “This time we believed you, and you were right. I can teach you how to control it, so that you could always tell. Now, listen.” She moved closer and put her hands over Ellah’s. Her touch was warm. “Close your eyes. Make yourself very comfortable. Lie down, if you want. And listen to my voice. Try to distinguish if I am telling the truth.”
    “But how?”
    “There is a method to it. You should think past my words. You should try to separate my voice into tones and undertones, so that you could tell whether I am thinking in harmony with what I say.”
    “Past the words? I don’t understand.”
    “When you listen to people and recognize that they are lying,” Mother Keeper said, “it’s not the words that you recognize, it’s the feeling behind the words. Every time you hear a lie, there’s something you can detect in the speaker’s feelings that other people can’t. The purpose of our lessons is to try to identify this something, to separate it from the rest, so that you can sense it every time. Try.”
    Ellah leaned back and lay down on the blanket, facing upward to the clear night sky. It felt good after the hard day. She closed her eyes, listening to Mother Keeper’s voice.
    “When a king of Tallan Dar dies without an heir, succession must be decided by the majority vote at the High Council, with House Dorn holding the principal claim against the other royal houses,” Mother Keeper said.
    “True.” Ellah hesitated. “But I don’t think I need my gift to tell. This is how King Evan won the crown.”
    “Try another one. If the Royal House Dorn has no eligible heirs, the next in line to rule is the head of the Royal House Illitand.”
    “It’s the truth.” Ellah’s eyes widened. “Really? But that would make the Duke of Illitand eligible to contest –” she clasped her hand over her mouth. The information put a new spin on their current trip. If King Evan was the last in his line, wouldn’t he be in danger right now, riding in disguise straight into Illitand’s stronghold? Relax , she told