Read Online Demon Retribution (Shadow Quest Book 3) by Kiersten Fay - Free Book Online Page A

Mud crumbled off his
boots as he dropped them to the floor. She had to remind herself
that the carpet was ruined anyway.
    “ First of all, how much do
you know about what happened to your planet?”
    “ Not much. We were under
attack, I know that. Mine was the first escape-shuttle to be
launched. I, uh, thought the others would be behind me
but…”
    “ So you don’t know what
your father had planned?”
    She shook her head. “Is he alive?”
    “ That I don’t know. The
pirate, I mean, Ethanule believes so.”
    “ Ethanule’s alive?” It
shocked her to hear a familiar name. The relief was nearly
overwhelming.
    “ And your sister,
Anya.”
    “ Anya?”
    “ Yeah, er, Analia. We call
her Anya.”
    The breath rushed out of her and she sat
forward. “Who else?”
     
    Cale scraped a hand down the back of his
neck, wishing he had more names to give. “That’s it.”
    Immediately after he said it, he cursed his
choice of words. Her hands flew to her mouth in horror.
    “ No, wait. That’s all we
know of. I didn’t mean that everyone else is dead. Anya and
Ethanule are on our ship.” He thought it wise to leave out the part
about Anya’s condition when he’d left. It would only cause Kyra
pain to hear it, and it was possible she’d made a full
recovery.
    “ Our ship?”
    “ My family’s ship, Marada ,” he
clarified.
    Along with everything he was omitting, he
decided not to add they’d stolen it from a Kayadon noble. So far,
she was taking everything pretty well, but he didn’t want to dump
too much on her this first night, and that revelation would only
lead her questions in a direction he’d rather avoid for now.
    Her initial assumption that he was a
dragonshifter had been convenient at the time, but he couldn’t keep
his horns covered forever, and if he were to retain her trust he’d
have to come clean. Maybe in the morning. Right now he wanted to
feel her out to determine how she might react to the news of him
being a demon.
    “ Tell me something about
you. How has it been living on Earth?”
    “ At first, it was terrible.
Well, let me rephrase that—it was worse in the beginning.” She
pulled her hair aside to show her ear. “If it wasn’t for these, it
would have been easier. Humans would take one look at them and
declare me an evil creature from hell.”
    Cale couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly at
that, and she gave him a questioning look. “Uh, that just reminded
me of some of the myths these humans have come up with. They seem
pretty farfetched, don’t you think?”
    “ Actually, I’ve been
surprised by the accuracy of some of them. Nearly every ‘myth’
seems to contain a shred of truth.”
    “ Is that so?”
    She gestured in his direction. “Like the
dragons. They didn’t get the shifting thing, but they got the
breathing fire thing, and you have to agree some of the images are
uncanny.”
    “ Right,” he dragged the
word out.
    “ It’s almost as if every
race I’ve ever known, and probably some that I don’t know, have
been here at some point and left their mark on this
world.”
    “ I’ve been thinking the
same thing.”
    She smiled at him. He wished she’d stop
doing that. “Fascinating, isn’t it? Do your people have any
recorded history of Earth?”
    He was relieved by her phrasing. “No, they
don’t.”
    “ Hmm.” There was a short
pause. “So, tell me about the Kayadon. Why do they want
me?”
    “ We’re not sure, exactly.
It could have something to do with your royal status.”
    “ In the alley, I remember
the first one called me princess.”
    “ Aye, I heard that. From
what we know, they are still occupying your home world. We believe
your father is being used to keep the people in line.”
    A flash of anger crossed her face which
quickly transformed into concern. “Is he well?”
    “ I cannot say. I’ve never
met him.”
    She waited solemnly for him to
elaborate.
    “ Like you, your father sent
your sisters off-planet to hide. Anya found us