Read Online The Shattered Dark by Sandy Williams - Free Book Online
Authors: Sandy Williams
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Aren gently pulls it free before setting the cuirass
aside, then he lets my loose ponytail slide from his hand. When he does, his fingertips
graze my neck. It’s a brief, accidental contact,but my
edarratae
react instantly. By the way Aren’s gazing down at me, it’s obvious he felt the lightning’s
heat, too.
“Jorreb,”
someone says, surprisingly close to us. Fae have better hearing than humans, but
Aren stiffens just enough to indicate that the nearness of the fae startles him, too.
He takes a step away from me as he turns toward Jacia.
Her silver eyes move briefly to me before settling back on Aren.
“Lena wishes for the shadow-reader to speak to Naito.
”
A muscle in Aren’s cheek twitches.
“It’s only been two weeks.
”
Two weeks since Naito’s lover, Kelia, died. My throat tightens. Kelia was the rebel
fae who taught me to speak their language. She was almost a friend, and I envied her
relationship with Naito, a human shadow-reader. Despite some bumpy times, they were
happy together—they were
good
together—but Naito’s father, a hateful man determined to eradicate the fae, killed
Kelia the day we took the palace. Naito hasn’t been the same since.
“Lena needs him in the watch rotation,”
Jacia says.
“And she needs him to read the shadows.”
“I’ll talk to him,” I say, even though I agree it’s too soon. But I haven’t seen Naito
in several days. I want to see how he’s doing.
Aren looks at me. I think he wants to protest. Instead, he says, “I need to help secure
the
veligh
. I don’t know when I’ll see you again.”
This
is the problem with starting a relationship in the middle of a war. Including today,
I’ve seen him only three times since I ended my relationship with Kyol. For us to
work out, I need time to get to know him. The thing is, it’s very possible we won’t
have that time. Despite the way Aren acts sometimes, he’s not invincible. I’m certainly
not, either.
My gaze goes to Jacia. I don’t know her at all. I don’t know her view on human and
fae relationships or if she would rat us out to a high noble if I wrapped my arms
around Aren. That’s what I want to do. I want to forget our responsibilities and run
away to somewhere remote and quiet, someplace where we can be normal and sit and talk
and…do other things.
Aren must know the direction my thoughts are heading. The half smile he gives me is
both an apology and a promise. “I’ll find you as soon as I can.”
After he leaves with Jacia, I have to assure myself a dozen times that he’s going
to be okay and that I
will
see him again. Then I start looking for Naito. Surprisingly, he’s difficult to find.
A human with lightning-covered skin kind of sticks out in this world, but I check
his room, do a quick walk-through of the sculpture garden, and search a few other
locations where he’s likely to be, all without any success. I finally start asking
the English-speaking fae—we decided it’s best that the high nobles don’t know I’ve
learned their language—if they’ve seen him. After half a dozen negative responses,
someone tells me Naito’s in the royal archives. I clarify that with the fae more than
once, though, thinking he must have misunderstood me. Humans aren’t allowed in the
archives. At least, they weren’t under Atroth’s reign. Eventually, though, I head
in that direction because I don’t know where else to look.
“McKenzie.” Kavok smiles when he opens the door. I can’t help but smile in return.
I’ve always liked the archivist. He’s dedicated to his job. So dedicated he didn’t
leave the palace when Lena gave the Court fae the opportunity, and when I worked for
the king, he was one of the few fae who was always willing to talk to me. That’s mainly
because he’s so curious about humans. Whenever he had the chance, he questioned me
about my life and my world, and sometimes, he told me a few
aside, then he lets my loose ponytail slide from his hand. When he does, his fingertips
graze my neck. It’s a brief, accidental contact,but my
edarratae
react instantly. By the way Aren’s gazing down at me, it’s obvious he felt the lightning’s
heat, too.
“Jorreb,”
someone says, surprisingly close to us. Fae have better hearing than humans, but
Aren stiffens just enough to indicate that the nearness of the fae startles him, too.
He takes a step away from me as he turns toward Jacia.
Her silver eyes move briefly to me before settling back on Aren.
“Lena wishes for the shadow-reader to speak to Naito.
”
A muscle in Aren’s cheek twitches.
“It’s only been two weeks.
”
Two weeks since Naito’s lover, Kelia, died. My throat tightens. Kelia was the rebel
fae who taught me to speak their language. She was almost a friend, and I envied her
relationship with Naito, a human shadow-reader. Despite some bumpy times, they were
happy together—they were
good
together—but Naito’s father, a hateful man determined to eradicate the fae, killed
Kelia the day we took the palace. Naito hasn’t been the same since.
“Lena needs him in the watch rotation,”
Jacia says.
“And she needs him to read the shadows.”
“I’ll talk to him,” I say, even though I agree it’s too soon. But I haven’t seen Naito
in several days. I want to see how he’s doing.
Aren looks at me. I think he wants to protest. Instead, he says, “I need to help secure
the
veligh
. I don’t know when I’ll see you again.”
This
is the problem with starting a relationship in the middle of a war. Including today,
I’ve seen him only three times since I ended my relationship with Kyol. For us to
work out, I need time to get to know him. The thing is, it’s very possible we won’t
have that time. Despite the way Aren acts sometimes, he’s not invincible. I’m certainly
not, either.
My gaze goes to Jacia. I don’t know her at all. I don’t know her view on human and
fae relationships or if she would rat us out to a high noble if I wrapped my arms
around Aren. That’s what I want to do. I want to forget our responsibilities and run
away to somewhere remote and quiet, someplace where we can be normal and sit and talk
and…do other things.
Aren must know the direction my thoughts are heading. The half smile he gives me is
both an apology and a promise. “I’ll find you as soon as I can.”
After he leaves with Jacia, I have to assure myself a dozen times that he’s going
to be okay and that I
will
see him again. Then I start looking for Naito. Surprisingly, he’s difficult to find.
A human with lightning-covered skin kind of sticks out in this world, but I check
his room, do a quick walk-through of the sculpture garden, and search a few other
locations where he’s likely to be, all without any success. I finally start asking
the English-speaking fae—we decided it’s best that the high nobles don’t know I’ve
learned their language—if they’ve seen him. After half a dozen negative responses,
someone tells me Naito’s in the royal archives. I clarify that with the fae more than
once, though, thinking he must have misunderstood me. Humans aren’t allowed in the
archives. At least, they weren’t under Atroth’s reign. Eventually, though, I head
in that direction because I don’t know where else to look.
“McKenzie.” Kavok smiles when he opens the door. I can’t help but smile in return.
I’ve always liked the archivist. He’s dedicated to his job. So dedicated he didn’t
leave the palace when Lena gave the Court fae the opportunity, and when I worked for
the king, he was one of the few fae who was always willing to talk to me. That’s mainly
because he’s so curious about humans. Whenever he had the chance, he questioned me
about my life and my world, and sometimes, he told me a few
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