Read Online Spirit Binder by Meghan Ciana Doidge - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Meghan Ciana Doidge
Ads: Link
drunken tales overheard in a public house when I didn’t even know where you were? How was I to protect you then? Some days I feared … I feared I’d lost you, that you may even be dead, though I felt like I would have known.”
“I’m sorry.”
“None of this is anything you need to be sorry or worried about. I will take care of it all. I have already tasked Jamin such.”
Her mother turned away and she let her go, though she did wonder why she hadn’t chosen to use the assassin’s tracking device, rather than Hugh, to find her this evening.
“It was spelled to the user,” her mother answered. “It doesn’t work for me. Yet.” So much for respecting each other’s thoughts. “Plus it is always better to keep Hugh where I can see him, as I am certain you will discover.”
Hmmm, that wasn’t annoyingly intriguing at all …
“And darling, If you don’t want me eavesdropping then don’t project so loudly.”
“Goodnight, Mom.”
“Goodnight, Theodora.”
∞
Theo snuck down to the dungeons. Yes, she’d been heading to bed, but she’d taken a wrong turn or two, deliberately, and found herself in the hallway leading to the prisoner cells. The carpet followed her, and she could almost feel the chastising energy radiating off of it; though perhaps she was projecting. What did she hope to accomplish — other than scaring herself further — by seeing her two would-be assassins?
The guards allowed her to pass without commenting, or even looking at her too closely but, honestly, that was kind of the deal around here; the not-looking-directly-at-her. Familiarity doesn’t beget worship, according to her mother. The guards did have a bit of an issue with the carpet. It wasn’t as sly as it thought.
She wasn’t sure what she’d find. Gibbering messes of humanity perhaps, but certainly not two men, sleeping what seemed to be peaceful, dreamless slumbers.
Their cells weren’t even locked.
She hovered in the hall between the two cells for a moment, unsure why she’d even come and then she settled and opened her mind, just a little bit.
Hugh immediately registered, as he had from the moment he’d entered the castle, but it seemed he’d retreated to the stables. Theo was careful not to think of or touch on him too long in case he felt her presence in his mind. He’d made it very clear he considered her an obligation, and why wouldn’t he?
She shifted her focus to the two men sleeping in front of her, but didn’t glean much from them other than their names; Sammy, a confirmation of what she already knew, and the traitor-marked was Ambrose. What she could clearly see was the damage her mother had inflicted. It appeared as dark slashes across veins of light that ran throughout each man’s very being. It was mostly concentrated in the area of their brains. Though some of these mental scars looked older, more ridged than others, so perhaps her mother wasn’t the only mage who’d ravaged the men’s minds.
Looking at Sammy and Ambrose’s energy made Theo wonder if her own brain was slashed up with dark ridges impeding the light ones. Then she wondered if she could somehow show such things to Peony and help the healer to fade those scars as well.
Ambrose shifted in his sleep, but if he was dreaming, or even capable of dreaming anymore, she couldn’t see.
She left the men before she gave in to the urge to wake them to judge the ramifications of the damage, and returned to the guards.
“Were the prisoners on their feet when they were brought in?”
“My lady?” The shorter of the two, whose thoughts indicated his name was Davin, spat at her in his surprise at being spoken to. Thankfully, he raised a hand to his mouth to catch the bulk of the spit before it rained on her.
The second guard, the one she should have addressed, as she could now see by his stripes that he ranked higher, smacked the now choking Davin on the shoulder. “Eyes front!” Davin had indeed been staring at her,
“I’m sorry.”
“None of this is anything you need to be sorry or worried about. I will take care of it all. I have already tasked Jamin such.”
Her mother turned away and she let her go, though she did wonder why she hadn’t chosen to use the assassin’s tracking device, rather than Hugh, to find her this evening.
“It was spelled to the user,” her mother answered. “It doesn’t work for me. Yet.” So much for respecting each other’s thoughts. “Plus it is always better to keep Hugh where I can see him, as I am certain you will discover.”
Hmmm, that wasn’t annoyingly intriguing at all …
“And darling, If you don’t want me eavesdropping then don’t project so loudly.”
“Goodnight, Mom.”
“Goodnight, Theodora.”
∞
Theo snuck down to the dungeons. Yes, she’d been heading to bed, but she’d taken a wrong turn or two, deliberately, and found herself in the hallway leading to the prisoner cells. The carpet followed her, and she could almost feel the chastising energy radiating off of it; though perhaps she was projecting. What did she hope to accomplish — other than scaring herself further — by seeing her two would-be assassins?
The guards allowed her to pass without commenting, or even looking at her too closely but, honestly, that was kind of the deal around here; the not-looking-directly-at-her. Familiarity doesn’t beget worship, according to her mother. The guards did have a bit of an issue with the carpet. It wasn’t as sly as it thought.
She wasn’t sure what she’d find. Gibbering messes of humanity perhaps, but certainly not two men, sleeping what seemed to be peaceful, dreamless slumbers.
Their cells weren’t even locked.
She hovered in the hall between the two cells for a moment, unsure why she’d even come and then she settled and opened her mind, just a little bit.
Hugh immediately registered, as he had from the moment he’d entered the castle, but it seemed he’d retreated to the stables. Theo was careful not to think of or touch on him too long in case he felt her presence in his mind. He’d made it very clear he considered her an obligation, and why wouldn’t he?
She shifted her focus to the two men sleeping in front of her, but didn’t glean much from them other than their names; Sammy, a confirmation of what she already knew, and the traitor-marked was Ambrose. What she could clearly see was the damage her mother had inflicted. It appeared as dark slashes across veins of light that ran throughout each man’s very being. It was mostly concentrated in the area of their brains. Though some of these mental scars looked older, more ridged than others, so perhaps her mother wasn’t the only mage who’d ravaged the men’s minds.
Looking at Sammy and Ambrose’s energy made Theo wonder if her own brain was slashed up with dark ridges impeding the light ones. Then she wondered if she could somehow show such things to Peony and help the healer to fade those scars as well.
Ambrose shifted in his sleep, but if he was dreaming, or even capable of dreaming anymore, she couldn’t see.
She left the men before she gave in to the urge to wake them to judge the ramifications of the damage, and returned to the guards.
“Were the prisoners on their feet when they were brought in?”
“My lady?” The shorter of the two, whose thoughts indicated his name was Davin, spat at her in his surprise at being spoken to. Thankfully, he raised a hand to his mouth to catch the bulk of the spit before it rained on her.
The second guard, the one she should have addressed, as she could now see by his stripes that he ranked higher, smacked the now choking Davin on the shoulder. “Eyes front!” Davin had indeed been staring at her,
Similar Books
