Read Online The Chosen by K. J. Nessly - Free Book Online

of hesitancy and curiosity. Wondering which would win, he held out his hand for the bird. “May I?”
    With Arianna’s persuasion she slowly surrendered the bird and waited.
    Jasse held the small bundle of feathers with care and made sure she could clearly see what he was doing, only to become confused. “I think this is a baby eagle, did you know that?” He held out his hand to indicate she could move closer.
    The little girl shook her head, briefly skittering backwards out of his reach, but returned to her previous position almost immediately. He wasn’t naïve enough to believe that her terror was gone. She merely didn’t want to leave her bird in his clutches.
    Terrified is a kind term to her reaction to people . If I ever meet this Lord and Lady Blackwood they’re likely never to see another sunris e , he thought darkly. Jasse continued cautiously, careful to keep his emotions concealed from her. “It looks like it’s about two weeks old, and it’s a she.” When he looked back at Kathryn he could tell he had more of her attention. “In about two months she’ll be able to fly, but it will take a lot of care before she can get to that stage. Do you know how to care for her?”
    Kathryn shook her head.
    “Would you like me to show you?”
    She hesitated for a long moment, and then nodded. Jasse smiled at her, which only appeared to close her down even more.
    “Why don’t we go to the waterfall and Lord Jasse can begin telling you how to care for your friend?” Arianna suggested gently.
    A brief light flickered in Kathryn’s eyes but she extinguished it quickly, as if she was afraid that, seeing her excitement, they would decide not to go. Jasse glanced at Arianna, whose sorrowful gaze told him she had seen it as well.
    Together the three moved towards Jasmine’s waterfall. As they reached the falls, Jasse watched some of the tension ease from Kathryn’s shoulders.
    Jasmine had been right. Kathryn definitely had the gift of water.
    Arianna sat down on the soft grass next to the pool and motioned for Kathryn to sit next to her. Jasse positioned himself next to Arianna so that Kathryn wouldn’t feel threatened. For the next several radians Jasse told Kathryn and Arianna everything he knew about birds, eagles in particular.

     
    Up on the balcony, Jasmine watched as the three moved off toward the waterfall. She had mentioned Kathryn’s attachment to water to Arianna late that first night, and was pleased to see the servant maneuver the little girl into a location where she could find some peace.
    Later that night she asked Kathryn. “Do you like Lord Jasse?”
    Kathryn didn’t say anything, but she did look down at her bird and gently stroked the top of its head.
    Every morning Jasse would take Arianna and Kathryn out in the gardens and they would spend time caring for the little eagle. The little girl was a quick learner and, despite her skittishness, always eager to learn new things.
     
     
    The next three months were the most difficult times Jasse had ever dealt with. In his years as a Guardian he had thought he had seen it all. Death. Torture. Abuse. Sickness. Hunger. Anger. Spite. Jasmine hadn’t been the only one to rely on his dry wit and always ready jokes to keep from being overwhelmed by the things they had dealt with. They had been his coping mechanism as well.
    He had thought he had seen everything people could and would do to each other. But Kathryn’s case hit him like an unexpected blow to the midriff. She flinched at everything, refused to look anyone in the eye, and acted like she expected everyone to stop playing this cruel joke and send her back to the Blackwoods.
    It took those three months for Jasse to convince Kathryn to use her gift in front of him, and when she did it was the smallest possible act she could get away with, but during those three months he noticed something else. Kathryn not only had a gift for working with water, but also a strong potential for working with