Read Online Reign of Shadows by Deborah Chester - Free Book Online

expressions blank within severance. White-faced and nervous, the
serfs clustered at the rear. The proctors moved back and forth among the
assembly until not a sound could be heard, not a rustle, not a throat being
cleared in the crowd. Only the soft sigh of the falling snow and the low peals
of the bell broke the silence.
    The
masters, robed and cloaked in white, walked the ramparts, stopping at each
corner of the walls to sprinkle cleansing herbs of rue, hyssop, borage, and
camphor. Then they came down and took their places on the dais before the
assembly. Pale figures in the falling snow, their faces might have been carved
from stone. Their eyes held only severance.
    Crushed
in among other bodies, with someone’s elbow in his ribs and another student
almost standing on his heels, Agel sought the calming refuge of severance within himself. But his
heart was beating too fast and his breath came short.
    For
the first time in months, he could not find his concentration, now when he
needed it most of all.
    The
bell rang like a dirge. He wanted to weep with anger and humiliation. How could
Caelan have done such a risky, foolhardy thing? How could he have let his
stupid temper get the better of his good sense? Agel could not forgive him for
it. He felt betrayed by his cousin, betrayed and bereft. Agel had thought they
would spend their lifetime together, working for a common good, sharing the
same occupation and interests, but now there would be no more friendship, no
more companionship.
    Caelan
had thrown his opportunities away. Whispered rumors said he had refused the
Elder’s generous offer of forgiveness.
    The
fool. Agel’s hands clenched into fists inside his wide sleeves. What would
become of Caelan now? No one had been disrobed at Rieschelhold for at least two
decades. And now, for it to be the son of Beva E’non was incredible,
unbelievable.
    Agel’s
throat stung with embarrassment.
    He
saved you from a demerit, a small voice reminded him, but Agel brushed it
angrily away. So he still had his perfect record thanks to Caelan. Did that
excuse Caelan’s own behavior?
    A
stir made everyone crane to look. Agel saw his cousin coming, flanked by an
escort of six hooded proctors walking three on each side. The proctors in front
and the proctors at the rear held their staffs crossed, thus creating a cage
around Caelan.
    The
boy walked tall, with his shoulders straight and his chin high. He was a
strapping lad, taller than nearly anyone else, still growing out of his
clothes. His hair blew back from his forehead like ripe wheat tossed by the wind.
There was no shame in his face, no regret. His blue eyes were eagle-keen,
almost happy.
    Agel
felt his eyes sting, and he could have kicked Caelan then and there.
    Didn’t
the idiot understand what disrobing meant? Once expelled by the masters, there
was no coming back.
    Agel
watched his cousin stride through the parted center of the assembly, the bell
tolling over him as though he had died in the ditch. Maybe it would have been
better if he had. He had apparently learned nothing from his near fatal
adventure.
    Agel’s
vision blurred, and he struggled to hold back tears. It was not manly to weep,
nor was it in accordance with severance. Besides, Agel knew the proctors were watching him.
They would always watch him now, seeking any evidence of the taint that Caelan
had shown, nay, flung in their faces. The masters would drive Agel harder, for
he was now the sole heir to Beva E’non’s great legacy.
    Secret
pride touched Agel, and unconsciously he straightened his own slim shoulders.
As upset as he was over Caelan’s failure, Agel could not help but see this as
his chance to shine. The masters’ attention would now center on him. And Agel
wanted that challenge. He wanted to excel, to show everyone how good he could
be.
    Caelan
was past Agel now, his gaze straight ahead, looking neither left nor right
across the faces that stared at him. Agel swallowed hard. He did not think