Read Online Empires of Moth (The Moth Saga, Book 2) by Daniel Arenson - Free Book Online

tearing the shard from his flesh, and saw Ferius with a
bloody dagger.
    The blade thrust again. The
dagger drove into Ceranor's neck.
    He coughed blood. He couldn't
breathe, couldn't scream. With his last strength, he drew his sword.
Before he could swing the blade down, the dagger thrust a third time,
entering his eye and driving deep, cold darkness into him.
    But
I promised her a nap, was his last thought. I
promised Linee that . . .
    He hit the ground, saw pools of
blood, and heard laughter fading into silence.

    * * * * *

    Linee stood at the doorway, the
plate of cake in her hands, staring with wide eyes.
    I
. . . I only came to bring you cake. I . . .
    She watched as the monk Ferius
twisted the blade. She watched as her husband fell into a puddle of
his own blood. So much blood, red everywhere, flowing across the
tiled floor toward her, and the scent of death, and her sweet Cery on
the floor . . .
    She wanted to scream. She wanted
to cry for him. She opened her mouth and then froze.
    Don't
make a sound, she told herself. You
have to run. You have to escape!
    His back toward her, Ferius
leaned over the body and laughed.
    "For so long, you ruled
over me with brute force," the monk said to the corpse. He spat
upon the dead king. "Yet I am a being of light; I will always be
victorious. Your kingdom is now mine. All that is yours belongs to
me, from your castle to your armies to that pathetic little wife of
yours. Oh yes, Ceranor. She will be mine too."
    At the doorway, Linee gave a
small whimper, barely audible.
    Inside the chamber, Ferius
stiffened.
    The monk began to turn toward
the doorway.
    Linee leaped away and hid
against the wall.
    Run! spoke the voice inside her. Run
or he'll kill you too, or he'll force you to marry him, or he'll
torture you, or—
    She shook her head mightily. If
she ran, he would hear her footfalls. Breath held, her back to the
wall, she inched along the hallway. She reached another door, grabbed
the handle, and twisted. She glimpsed Ferius's yellow robes enter the
hallway, but before he could see her, she stepped backward into this
new chamber.
    She glanced around and nearly
fainted. Soldiers of Arden lay here, clad in the raven armor, their
necks slit. Blood stained Linee's slippers. She gasped and nearly
squeaked, then saw a shadow in the hall.
    Ferius.
    She gulped, fear pounding
through her. The monk had killed his king; he would kill his queen
just as readily. She didn't know where to go. But she knew she had to
flee.
    Silent as a cat, Linee ducked
behind a bed as Ferius entered the room. The oil lamps in the hallway
cast orange light, framing the monk's squat form.
    "Does a shadow lurk in this
darkness?" he said, his voice like a snake's hiss.
    Linee had to bite her lip to
stop herself from crying. She wished she had a weapon. She wished she
could disappear. She wished Ceranor were still alive and that she'd
never come to this place, and—
    Wishes
are worth pebbles and earth. Her
grandmother's voice filled Linee's mind; the old woman was fond of
the saying. Actions
bring you gold.
    "Come out of your hiding,
friend!" Ferius said, stepping deeper into the chamber. He still
held his bloodied dagger. "Come and let us speak."
    He came walking around the bed
toward her.
    Biting her lip so hard she
tasted blood, Linee crept under the bed into the dusty darkness.
    She could see Ferius's boots
circling the bed. Somewhere outside, she heard men sing a song and
laugh, and it seemed so strange to her that folk could find joy while
her husband lay dead.
    "Where are you, friend?"
Ferius said. "Speak to me and you will not be harmed." His
boots moved several paces away. She heard hinges creak. "Are you
in the closet? No . . . Are you behind the table?"
    Linee gritted her teeth and
crawled.
    Stay
alive. Just stay silent and stay alive.
    The voice rose behind her. "Are
you . . . under the bed?"
    His robes rustled.
    Linee scurried out the other
side of the bed, leaped toward the open door, and