Read Online Breaking Stars (Book 2) by Jenna Van Vleet - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jenna Van Vleet
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Gabriel in a truly dangerous situation.
The binds were cut, and Gabriel managed to remain on his feet a full second before exhaustion made him swoon. A man behind caught him and lowered him to the planks.
“Get that rope off him,” Balien said in a disgusted tone. The crowd dispersed grudgingly behind them.
“Easy, lad,” the Captain said behind him. “Would you have us take him to a healer?”
Balien looked down and met Gabriel’s eyes, gritting his square jaw tightly. “Put him in a room under the theater—gently.”
“Prince, wait,” Gabriel said and reached a hand out. Balien took it up and crouched down, his gold cloak covering their connection. “She’s been injured. Badly . Please send my parents on the road to Jaden to catch up.”
“She was here?” Balien whispered. “I will tell them immediately.” He released Gabriel’s hand and stood.
“Thank you—for what you did.”
Balien skewed his lips as he looked down at his friend who should have risen so high yet lay in his own blood on a pillory. He strode away quickly without a reply; his gold cloak billowed behind him in heavy waves.
The Officers helped Gabriel onto his feet and supported his arms as he walked slowly down the platform. His face grew cold as the blood drained from it, and he closed his eyes, letting the Officers guide him. Soldiers still about moved from his path, and someone asked if he had truly broken the star in the sky, but Gabriel made no reply.
Gabriel’s mind wandered as he prodded on with his eyes shut, wondering what kind of horrors lay under the theater. He found his strength as they walked, trying to steel his will to withstand whatever Nolen could bring next.
They turned down a hall, and he saw rooms nothing more than storage spaces. They were a closer walk than the dungeons, and Gabriel felt chilled as he saw dust on the latches of the doors. This was not a place people came often. ‘Would he leave me here to suffer, using my power from afar?’
The young Lieutenant unlatched a door to see what was inside. He tried two more before finding a room mostly cleared of stage props and costumes. A chaise and a few chairs stacked on one wall, and a couple tables stood before the door covered in protective white cloth. The room was stale and dusty, but blessedly quiet. For all the cheers and japes he heard that night, the silence was welcome.
The Lieutenant fetched a simple chair and the Captain eased Gabriel into it in the middle of the room. One of them pulled the flaps of his shirt off his back and draped them carefully over his shoulders. There was a moment of awkward silence, and both men left him in the dark, locking the door behind them. One set of boots walked down the hall while one of them remained outside.
His back burned and bled with every breath. Dried blood crackled with his movement. He could do nothing but sit hunched over, his arms on a table and his head resting between them. It was close to the position he had been in during the flogging, and the whip marks returned to their original cut state. Lowering his arms meant changing the direction of the marks, and the pain was something he dared not tempt.
Since healing him from Nolen’s dungeon, the Mages had not been able to restore feeling to most of his back, though he would never voice it. There were patches he could feel, but most was a mystery. Mages of their Class could never mend nerves, and Gabriel knew he would never retain feeling. However, the new marks cut deep enough for him to feel every sensation.
He sat there for what felt like hours in the dark, trying to drift off but in too much pain and mental torment . ‘Robyn is injured or dead, father’s life is forfeit, Nolen will return with some new horror, and I have been publically humiliated. I don’t know how much more I can take.’
Bootfalls on the hall woke him from whatever middle ground of slumber he had fallen into. Several people came from down the hall, and Nolen’s
The binds were cut, and Gabriel managed to remain on his feet a full second before exhaustion made him swoon. A man behind caught him and lowered him to the planks.
“Get that rope off him,” Balien said in a disgusted tone. The crowd dispersed grudgingly behind them.
“Easy, lad,” the Captain said behind him. “Would you have us take him to a healer?”
Balien looked down and met Gabriel’s eyes, gritting his square jaw tightly. “Put him in a room under the theater—gently.”
“Prince, wait,” Gabriel said and reached a hand out. Balien took it up and crouched down, his gold cloak covering their connection. “She’s been injured. Badly . Please send my parents on the road to Jaden to catch up.”
“She was here?” Balien whispered. “I will tell them immediately.” He released Gabriel’s hand and stood.
“Thank you—for what you did.”
Balien skewed his lips as he looked down at his friend who should have risen so high yet lay in his own blood on a pillory. He strode away quickly without a reply; his gold cloak billowed behind him in heavy waves.
The Officers helped Gabriel onto his feet and supported his arms as he walked slowly down the platform. His face grew cold as the blood drained from it, and he closed his eyes, letting the Officers guide him. Soldiers still about moved from his path, and someone asked if he had truly broken the star in the sky, but Gabriel made no reply.
Gabriel’s mind wandered as he prodded on with his eyes shut, wondering what kind of horrors lay under the theater. He found his strength as they walked, trying to steel his will to withstand whatever Nolen could bring next.
They turned down a hall, and he saw rooms nothing more than storage spaces. They were a closer walk than the dungeons, and Gabriel felt chilled as he saw dust on the latches of the doors. This was not a place people came often. ‘Would he leave me here to suffer, using my power from afar?’
The young Lieutenant unlatched a door to see what was inside. He tried two more before finding a room mostly cleared of stage props and costumes. A chaise and a few chairs stacked on one wall, and a couple tables stood before the door covered in protective white cloth. The room was stale and dusty, but blessedly quiet. For all the cheers and japes he heard that night, the silence was welcome.
The Lieutenant fetched a simple chair and the Captain eased Gabriel into it in the middle of the room. One of them pulled the flaps of his shirt off his back and draped them carefully over his shoulders. There was a moment of awkward silence, and both men left him in the dark, locking the door behind them. One set of boots walked down the hall while one of them remained outside.
His back burned and bled with every breath. Dried blood crackled with his movement. He could do nothing but sit hunched over, his arms on a table and his head resting between them. It was close to the position he had been in during the flogging, and the whip marks returned to their original cut state. Lowering his arms meant changing the direction of the marks, and the pain was something he dared not tempt.
Since healing him from Nolen’s dungeon, the Mages had not been able to restore feeling to most of his back, though he would never voice it. There were patches he could feel, but most was a mystery. Mages of their Class could never mend nerves, and Gabriel knew he would never retain feeling. However, the new marks cut deep enough for him to feel every sensation.
He sat there for what felt like hours in the dark, trying to drift off but in too much pain and mental torment . ‘Robyn is injured or dead, father’s life is forfeit, Nolen will return with some new horror, and I have been publically humiliated. I don’t know how much more I can take.’
Bootfalls on the hall woke him from whatever middle ground of slumber he had fallen into. Several people came from down the hall, and Nolen’s
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