Read Online Drakonika (Book 1) by Andrea Závodská - Free Book Online

was already too late.
    Maren folded the map in half and shot him another annoyed glance. “Look, I could have left you out there with the monsters, but I didn't. I couldn't take you home, understand? My mum hates everyone who has anything to do with the mages, and you had a magickal talking backpack,” she said and suddenly seemed to accept the story about the talking backpack, but her voice suggested she didn't really believe it and it was just an excuse. “Moreover, you're going to the Mages Guild, aren't you?” She said with great interest rising in her voice at the end of the sentence. Clearly, she thought Magnus was about to join the mages.
    “Not quite,” said Magnus calmly. “I'm just going to get my permission for staying in Ragna.”
    Hearing these words, Maren jumped up in terror. “What!? So by saying that you mean that... that... your presence here in Ragna isn't... legal?” she whispered in a horrified tone. She felt they could be arrested any second. “That's madness!”
    “Not if I can get the permission today,” Magnus said evenly. “By the way, how come your mother doesn't cast you out of the house if you endorse the mages so warmly?”
    There was a long silence. As they walked wordlessly, Magnus understood it was probably not the best choice of a question.
    Maren buried her nose in the map in such a way it looked as though she was hiding behind it. When she thought Magnus was not looking, she kept casting him covert glances. Could she entrust him with such a huge secret? Her quick thinking came to the conclusion that she could. After all, he revealed his secret to her as well; and it wasn't something he would tell just anyone.
    “ She doesn't know,” Maren spit out finally.
    That was exactly what Magnus expected. “And what will you do if she finds out?” he asked in the tone of false ignorance.
    “She won't. Unless you tell her,” Maren said flatly and fixed her gaze on Magnus walking beside her, as though she expected some kind of a great vow from him.
    “ But of course not! How could I when I entrusted you with my big secret?” Magnus said lightly.
    Maren took a deep breath and with a broad smile on her face, she looked at the blue sky above. “When I live alone, I'm going to become a famous and powerful sorceress. And until then I'll practice in secrecy,” she announced in an ecstatic tone.
    Magnus didn't think this was a good idea, but he decided to not make any comments about it. The rest of their journey went silently. Maren focused on the map and Magnus looked around the unknown Ragnan streets. Neither of them spoke until they finally reached the other side of the town – the majestic and famous (at least in Maren's eyes) Guild of Mages.
    Maren had seen the Mages Guild countless times, but Magnus thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Now he understood why Maren wanted to become a mage more than anything else.
    “I didn't think it would be that big,” said Magnus with a shallow breath, when he looked up to the towers of the beautiful castle. He couldn't believe he would be walking within them shortly.
    Maren was clearly proud of the Ragnan Mages Guild; she raised her head up as she looked at the majestic building as though she was looking at her future home. “I've never been inside. It must be wonderful,” she said. The two of them exchanged understanding looks. They both knew what the other one was thinking of; in seconds, they bolted to the fallen draw-bridge, which led them to the small courtyard of the Mages Guild. Apparently, the courtyard wasn't considered too important in the society of intensely studying and working mages.
    “I'm First!” Magnus shrieked joyfully, but then he bashed into something soft. When he looked up and realised what he had bumped into, his smile vanished as suddenly as he announced his victory. As soon as they heard a grumpy voice yelling at them, they knew the fun was over.
    “ Go play elsewhere, kids! This is a Mages Guild, not a