Read Online Chosen (9781742844657) by Shayla Morgansen - Free Book Online Page A

though the children of witches almost invariably showed the same promise as their parents, anomalies would appear and throw things into the air. Half-mortals, for example, tended to have powers at one extreme or the other – most were almost devoid of magical energy, while others, like these twins, were so powerful that they well and truly outshone even their witch parent.
    Lady Miranda sighed as she stopped beside Lord Gawain and stared out the window with him.
    â€˜Twins,’ she commented, as Glen touched one girl’s temple to telepathically search her mind while Susannah questioned her sister. ‘Qasim thought he’d made a mistake when he scried them – thought he was seeing a double image.’
    Lord Gawain smiled at the thought, but Renatus remained expressionless, his violet eyes surveying the grounds of his inherited estate. Morrissey House was named for the family whose surname he had abandoned, and had been in the family for centuries, passed from eldest to eldest along with the family fortune, and, apparently, Renatus’s hereditary power. As far as Lord Gawain was aware – and he’d met a lot of people in his sixty-seven years – no person alive had power like he did.
    Four storeys below, Emmanuelle and Tian walked together from the manor towards the gates. The twin girls said their lengthy goodbyes to their mother and father, and then followed the French witch back to the building. Tian stayed with Glen and Susannah, awaiting the next group.
    â€˜Have the classes been decided yet?’ Lady Miranda asked suddenly. Lord Gawain turned to Renatus for his response. Lord Gawain and Lady Miranda had many responsibilities, as well as mortal jobs and, in Lord Gawain’s case, a family, so neither of them could be at the school on a permanent basis. Since it was his house, he was the highest authority in the council after the Lord and Lady, he didn’t have a public face and was incredibly powerful, the White Elm had reluctantly but unanimously voted Renatus as the school’s headmaster.
    â€˜Glen and Susannah will be organising the classes tonight,’ Renatus answered, nodding past them at the distant gates. ‘While they’re poking about in the students’ heads, they’re also examining their strengths and weaknesses so that we can categorise them easier.’
    Lord Gawain nodded and turned back to the window, watching as two families arrived at the same time.
    â€˜Would either of you like something to drink?’ Renatus asked, surprising both of his guests. He wasn’t usually the type to play host.
    â€˜Seeing as we have time,’ Lord Gawain agreed, looking to Lady Miranda. She hesitated, and then nodded quickly.
    â€˜Tea?’
    The two White Elm leaders nodded. Perhaps Lady Miranda expected Renatus to leave to make the drinks, but instead he blinked and turned back to the window. An Asian father and daughter had just displaced together outside the gate.
    â€˜This one will be Elijah’s favourite student,’ Lord Gawain commented.
    â€˜Her father probably displaced her,’ Lady Miranda answered, but Renatus seemed interested.
    â€˜Do you suppose that any of the students would be able to displace or scry yet?’ he asked.
    â€˜It’s possible,’ Lord Gawain offered. He smiled. ‘I know Qasim was hoping to find an apprentice from this cohort, but only one is a natural-born scrier.’
    Renatus half-smiled back, but it was a polite smile, without warmth or genuineness, used to cover his keen interest.
    â€˜I doubt Qasim was pleased,’ he said. ‘What’s the student’s name?’
    â€˜Aristea,’ Lord Gawain answered, pretending not to notice Renatus’s unusual curiosity. How ironic that he should ask about her , of all the fifty youths they’d investigated. ‘Most of her family was killed in a storm, much like the one that struck here seven years ago. Apparently it was