Read Online Spirit Binder by Meghan Ciana Doidge - Free Book Online

ripped through and seemingly shredded their very spirit … all because she’d gone wandering. An extreme reaction — protective, not only of her daughter, but also of her nation — though not unexpected. No, it was she, not her mother, who was to blame. She should have acted on the cliff. She should have given the men a little nudge, perhaps back to their lives before the mysterious Preacher had enthralled them, but she’d been scared. Too scared to do anything more than just wander about the estate. Scared of being incomplete, of being only half herself. And Hugh, having somehow been alerted to her absence from the castle, had been forced to step in.
    Theo had come to understand, while desperately trying to block out the magical backlash of her mother’s interrogation, that she was missing more than just ten years of memories. She was missing some other vital part of her spirit.  
    “Are they dead, then?”
    “They tried to kill you, Theodora.”
    “They didn’t get very far with it.”
    Another world-weary sigh. Theo didn’t think she’d ever heard so much emotion from her mother; ever. She decided to change the subject. She could discover the fate of the men on her own, later …
    “And why do you need Hugh to track me? And how is it that he can, if you can’t. Is it some part of his magic?”
    Her mother shifted, more than just uncomfortable from the stone seat. “I suppose we should talk about Hugh as well.” But then Rhea fell silent, long enough that Theo considered trying to get a peek into her thoughts. Not that she was stupid enough to think that any attempted invasion of her mother’s mind wouldn’t be a terribly painful idea.
    Finally, her mother spoke, and, oddly, she momentarily missed the silence that had stretched between them in this peaceful place where the jasmine was still blooming and everything didn’t seem quite so out of her control.
    “I wouldn’t have chosen marriage for you.”
    “You would have me be a pristine figurehead for the Worship of Spirit.”
    “Snorting is not terribly ladylike, Theodora, but yes, I believe you would be more powerful, more devoted to Spirit, unencumbered.”
    “As you have been.”
    “I have you. Just as destiny shaped my life, it will shape yours. One cannot argue with prophecy.”
    “Read by Hugh’s father.”
    “Verified, as you already know, by a number of outside sources. I don’t take my responsibly lightly.”
    True, her mother never did anything lightly. She was more doggedly focused.
    “But they are different,” Theo said. “Hugh’s and my prophecies. And no one has ever bothered to tell me the exact wording of his.”
    “Not only do you already know there is no such thing as exact wording when it comes to prophecies, but it is also not yet your place to know anything of Hugh’s reading.”
    “Is it so childish of me to want to understand a destiny that is being forced upon me?”
    “No, darling, though it pains me to hear you phrase it that way. I can tell you that Hugh’s prophecy never changes. Every reader arrived at the same conclusions. Perhaps it was unkind of me … but … I even had him read when you went missing … and yesterday.”
    “Yesterday!”
    “Yes, darling. I am just trying to protect you.”
    “But prophecies never change. Why would you force him to be read so many times? You know how invasive it is!”
    Rhea turned to look at her, and Theo was startled to see so much of herself reflected in her mother’s face; she’d always thought she looked more like a female version of her father, who’d been killed when she was very young.
    “Prophecy can come in layers.”
    “Layers?”
    “Yes, as you age, as you experience life.”
    “Are you saying my prophecy has changed?”
    “No, darling. It was Hugh’s that … concerned me. It is his prophecy that ties him to you.”
    “But not mine to him?”
    “They are … it seems the Chancellor believes that one cannot exist without the other,