Read Online The Wizard's Heir by Devri Walls - Free Book Online Page A

We’ve been looking for Alistair for eight years without so much as a sniff, and now you just happen to know where he is.”
    “Information reached me and I listened. I didn’t interrupt to complain about how long it took.”
    “Why should I believe you?”
    “Because you’ve known me from the day you arrived at those cursed castle gates, and my information has always been reliable.”
    “You’ll have to forgive my questioning, Gamel, but when you show up at the Festival play spouting off accusations of treason, I get nervous.” Gamel’s eyes were unwavering and focused on him—clear, intelligent…different. “All right,” Tybolt relented. “Let’s say you do know where he is. How much do you want?”
    “I’ll be paid in time. Meet me in the forest and we’ll talk.”
    His eyes narrowed. “Why can’t you tell me here?”
    “Day after tomorrow, meet me in the forest…where you camped with the last wizard you brought in.”
    “Wait, what? How would you know where we camped?”
    “All sorts of news reaches me, boy, how do you think I know what I know? You shouldn’t be surprised that I know something about you.”
    Tybolt bit down his questions, knowing he’d only waltz in circles if he continued to push. He turned for the door.
    “One other thing—who do you think they’ll hang tomorrow?”
    Tybolt turned with his hand still on the door. “Why do you ask?”
    “I simply find it interesting that out of all the wizards in the Hold, wizards he despises so thoroughly, King Rowan always decides to hang the one accused who is not.”
    His words shot through Tybolt like ice.
    “Sam.”
    “Interesting, don’t you think?”
     

 
     

     
     
    Tybolt waited until the changing of the guard. Once the two had turned their backs, he slipped around the side of the castle gates and waited in the shadows until the new guards took their positions. He crept silently around the perimeter, passing underneath the branches of an especially large oak tree that had cracked into three sections during the Fracture—the middle had died, but the two sides grew out as tall and strong as ever.
    A whisper came from above. “Where do you go at nights?”
    Tybolt froze, then peered up into the branches. He saw a familiar figure sitting there—Auriella. His heart beat faster. “Depends on the night.”
    When she didn’t respond, he climbed the tree and sat next to her. “How do you know I go out at night?”
    “Malachi asked Sarah if you spent the nights with me, which means you must go out a lot. The real question is—why would he think you were with me?”
    Tybolt grinned and looked out through the branches at the small section of sky he could see. “Malachi trips on his own feet. It’s difficult to say what he’s thinking. Although…it is possible that he found me mooning over a drawing of you.”
    “What?”
    Tybolt feigned a jerk of surprise. “What?”
    “Do you have a drawing of me?” she demanded.
    He tapped his chin. “You know…I don’t recall.”
    “Tybolt—”
    He laughed. “Relax, I’m a terrible artist.”
    “Liar,” she grumbled.
    “What are you doing up here?” he said, steering the conversation in a new direction. ”Waiting for me?” He winked. Auriella rolled her eyes.
    “I happen to like sitting in trees.”
    “Ha!” Tybolt said. “Now who’s the liar? You climb to hunt, scope, and maybe if something was trying to eat you. Other than that you avoid it, because you hate how the bark cuts into your palms.”
    “I climb anytime I find it advantageous, and I happen to like sitting in trees when I need to think.”
    He kept his face neutral, though he wanted to grin like a fool and dance a jig to go with it. She was opening up, bit by bit. He nudged her gently with his shoulder. “Thinking about what?”
    Auriella’s face darkened, and she looked away. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
    He waited a moment, but he knew he would get no further in that line of questioning.