Read Online The Lady of the Storm - 2 by Kathryne Kennedy - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kathryne Kennedy
Tags: Fiction, General, Romance, Historical, Fantasy, Epic, Man-Woman Relationships, supernatural, Paranormal Romance Stories, Elves, Bodyguards, Blacksmiths
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sun overhead, but from the feel of her gaze upon his back. He slowed Apollo so that he rode by her side, which kept her scrutiny firmly directed away from him.
His body ceased to burn.
Giles stayed on a path that paralleled the channel, knowing Cecily would feel more comfortable if they kept close to the ocean, but eventually they would have to head inland…
“How many days will it take to reach London?”
It seemed her thoughts ran similarly to his own. “Five or six days, depending.”
“On what?”
Giles glanced over and down at her on the smaller horse. “You weren’t born in the village. Do you have no memory of how you came there?”
She smoothed the hair away from her face, the ocean breeze having loosened black tendrils from the plaiting. “I have worked very hard to forget everything that happened before Thomas rescued me and my mother.”
“I see.” Giles knew that when Thomas had rescued her from the Imperial Lord of Firehame, Cecily had called down a storm that had destroyed their pursuers. And that she could not forgive herself for killing so many. Yet it seemed a simple matter to Giles. They would have brought her back to Firehame to die a horrible death, so why should she feel remorse that she had stopped them?
“Tell me what our journey will be like,” she asked. “For I would feel better knowing what to expect.”
“I’m not sure if we shall reach Dorset today, but when we do, we will have to head inland. It will dry out as we leave Dewhame and enter the sovereignty of Firehame, but until then we avoid the lowlands, for Breden of Dewhame’s water magic has turned them into marshes. Most of Dewhame is littered with streams and fountains similar to the land about our village. It is said the land was quite different before the arrival of the elven lords, but that their magic has changed it… surely you know of the seven sovereignties and the elven lords who rule each of them?”
She glanced at him with a look of annoyance. “Firehame in south central England ruled by the black scepter of Mor’ded. Verdanthame to the east ruled by the green scepter of Mi’cal. Terrahame to the northeast with the brown of Annanor; Bladehame next to that, then Stonehame, Dreamhame… yes, Giles, I know my geography and the powers that have shaped each land. I am not ignorant of the outside world. My question referred to the actual court of Firehame. Thomas had hinted of changes there.”
And if Thomas hadn’t seen fit to reveal all of the Rebellion’s secrets to his daughter, Giles most assuredly would not. “You needn’t worry about it. We shan’t be going to the palace, but to Sir Robert’s townhouse, and I haven’t been past the front entry, so I couldn’t tell you what to expect. It’s a grand home though, almost as large as our village.”
She raised a brow at that, but he ignored it. She would soon see for herself. “Perhaps if you allow yourself to remember, the memories of your earlier life will return.”
Her head shook emphatically. “I was imprisoned in a rickety old tower the entire time I was in Firehame, and before that…” Cecily frowned, watching the gulls and cormorants gliding above the ocean waves. “I recall only running and hiding, dark places and whispered conversations.”
The path they rode upon curved away from the ocean again, but they had been steadily climbing and so this time the poplar trees did not block their view, and they had a fine prospect of the land of Dewhame.
A wild moor spread out below them, heather blooming in a lavender blanket that rippled in the breeze and made a sort of shushing sound. A river sparkled on the far horizon, small streams flowing from it to weave through the heather like some giant spider web. Fountains of water erupted from several of the streams, glittering in the sunshine and overlaying the land with a sheen of mist. Giles resisted the urge to spread out his arms as the open land filled him with a feeling of freedom.
But
His body ceased to burn.
Giles stayed on a path that paralleled the channel, knowing Cecily would feel more comfortable if they kept close to the ocean, but eventually they would have to head inland…
“How many days will it take to reach London?”
It seemed her thoughts ran similarly to his own. “Five or six days, depending.”
“On what?”
Giles glanced over and down at her on the smaller horse. “You weren’t born in the village. Do you have no memory of how you came there?”
She smoothed the hair away from her face, the ocean breeze having loosened black tendrils from the plaiting. “I have worked very hard to forget everything that happened before Thomas rescued me and my mother.”
“I see.” Giles knew that when Thomas had rescued her from the Imperial Lord of Firehame, Cecily had called down a storm that had destroyed their pursuers. And that she could not forgive herself for killing so many. Yet it seemed a simple matter to Giles. They would have brought her back to Firehame to die a horrible death, so why should she feel remorse that she had stopped them?
“Tell me what our journey will be like,” she asked. “For I would feel better knowing what to expect.”
“I’m not sure if we shall reach Dorset today, but when we do, we will have to head inland. It will dry out as we leave Dewhame and enter the sovereignty of Firehame, but until then we avoid the lowlands, for Breden of Dewhame’s water magic has turned them into marshes. Most of Dewhame is littered with streams and fountains similar to the land about our village. It is said the land was quite different before the arrival of the elven lords, but that their magic has changed it… surely you know of the seven sovereignties and the elven lords who rule each of them?”
She glanced at him with a look of annoyance. “Firehame in south central England ruled by the black scepter of Mor’ded. Verdanthame to the east ruled by the green scepter of Mi’cal. Terrahame to the northeast with the brown of Annanor; Bladehame next to that, then Stonehame, Dreamhame… yes, Giles, I know my geography and the powers that have shaped each land. I am not ignorant of the outside world. My question referred to the actual court of Firehame. Thomas had hinted of changes there.”
And if Thomas hadn’t seen fit to reveal all of the Rebellion’s secrets to his daughter, Giles most assuredly would not. “You needn’t worry about it. We shan’t be going to the palace, but to Sir Robert’s townhouse, and I haven’t been past the front entry, so I couldn’t tell you what to expect. It’s a grand home though, almost as large as our village.”
She raised a brow at that, but he ignored it. She would soon see for herself. “Perhaps if you allow yourself to remember, the memories of your earlier life will return.”
Her head shook emphatically. “I was imprisoned in a rickety old tower the entire time I was in Firehame, and before that…” Cecily frowned, watching the gulls and cormorants gliding above the ocean waves. “I recall only running and hiding, dark places and whispered conversations.”
The path they rode upon curved away from the ocean again, but they had been steadily climbing and so this time the poplar trees did not block their view, and they had a fine prospect of the land of Dewhame.
A wild moor spread out below them, heather blooming in a lavender blanket that rippled in the breeze and made a sort of shushing sound. A river sparkled on the far horizon, small streams flowing from it to weave through the heather like some giant spider web. Fountains of water erupted from several of the streams, glittering in the sunshine and overlaying the land with a sheen of mist. Giles resisted the urge to spread out his arms as the open land filled him with a feeling of freedom.
But
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