Read Online Treason: Book Two of the Grimoire Saga (a Young Adult Fantasy series) by S.M. Boyce - Free Book Online
Authors: S.M. Boyce
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all the guards in the trees.
He ran his hands through the crowded weeds, trying to shrivel them to let the more vivid flowers bloom so that the garden would look presentable. He laughed—he’d gone crazy. Here he was, a prince living a lie, gardening to impress a woman. He’d lost his mind.
Instead of giving the flowers more room to bloom, though, the weeds thickened at his touch and the lilacs wilted. He cursed under his breath. Not only was he terrible with animals, but he apparently couldn’t garden to save his life.
Kara would have been able to do it without even trying.
He glanced around, abandoning the flowerbed. Night crept in around him. A wall protected the garden from the sheer drop beyond, and the moon shone full and low on a purple horizon. The stars glimmered in the blanket of darkness above him, and as he watched, a comet blinked across the sky. The forests swayed in a breeze.
Braeden reached into his pocket and pulled out the talisman. He turned the Stelian coat of arms over and over in his hands, examining every detail. Adele had nearly punched him when he told her he still had it. She’d even made him dig it up. She wanted to see him destroy it, but he never got the chance. Not long after he’d dug it up, Adele’s amulet told her Kara was in danger.
In training, Braeden had thought of Kara more than he cared to admit. At first, the anger of what he was had been enough to make him stand after taking a hit from Adele. When the anger faded, he relied on the hope that he could somehow overcome his blood loyalty to Carden without the help of the Grimoire. When that hope faded, he’d had nothing but memories.
He focused first on memories of his mother, hoping the anger would reignite at seeing the pain Carden caused her. That didn’t last long. No memory did—until he recalled his hands around Kara’s neck and how the life in her eyes had flickered as she gasped his name.
The rage smoldered in his chest again, but he quelled it.
The memory had given him enough fire to continue. Carden had controlled him, forced him to nearly kill Kara, and his guilt at obeying his father never faded, even when everything else had. He built upon the anger with more memories. At first, he had focused on how clear Kara’s gray eyes were. How her hair always turned a little red in the sun. How, when she laughed, her face lit up and glowed with the sound.
She was the only person who knew what he was and didn’t care.
He stood. The garden would work as a meeting spot. He stuck his head through the door that led to the ladder, glancing around to make sure no one walked along the corridor below. After a few silent minutes of listening for footsteps that never came, Braeden climbed down and shut the door on his way.
He landed on the stone floor with a thud and turned back the way he’d come. He would go to his room and try to sleep, but he knew he wouldn’t have much luck. All he could think of was Kara nestling against him as they camped in the forest, or the warmth of her body curled against his in the Vagabond’s study.
It terrified Braeden that one person could bring him such peace—he couldn’t imagine what would happen if anyone took that from him.
Chapter 3: The Garden
Chapter 3
The Garden
Kara sat against her bed’s headboard, feet propped on a pillow as Twin lay on her stomach.
Twin shrugged. “I’m just saying, you should consider the fact that Braeden is head over heels for you.”
Kara’s stomach tensed at the thought, but she managed to keep her face expressionless. Leaning her head back and pretending to relax seemed to help.
She shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous. We just ran into each other on the way here. Either that, or he found me because he was keeping an eye on me for Gavin’s sake.”
Kara hated lying to Twin—just hated it. But there was no way around it, not so long as Twin had the blood loyalty to Gavin. The girl could be controlled at any time or forced to tell
He ran his hands through the crowded weeds, trying to shrivel them to let the more vivid flowers bloom so that the garden would look presentable. He laughed—he’d gone crazy. Here he was, a prince living a lie, gardening to impress a woman. He’d lost his mind.
Instead of giving the flowers more room to bloom, though, the weeds thickened at his touch and the lilacs wilted. He cursed under his breath. Not only was he terrible with animals, but he apparently couldn’t garden to save his life.
Kara would have been able to do it without even trying.
He glanced around, abandoning the flowerbed. Night crept in around him. A wall protected the garden from the sheer drop beyond, and the moon shone full and low on a purple horizon. The stars glimmered in the blanket of darkness above him, and as he watched, a comet blinked across the sky. The forests swayed in a breeze.
Braeden reached into his pocket and pulled out the talisman. He turned the Stelian coat of arms over and over in his hands, examining every detail. Adele had nearly punched him when he told her he still had it. She’d even made him dig it up. She wanted to see him destroy it, but he never got the chance. Not long after he’d dug it up, Adele’s amulet told her Kara was in danger.
In training, Braeden had thought of Kara more than he cared to admit. At first, the anger of what he was had been enough to make him stand after taking a hit from Adele. When the anger faded, he relied on the hope that he could somehow overcome his blood loyalty to Carden without the help of the Grimoire. When that hope faded, he’d had nothing but memories.
He focused first on memories of his mother, hoping the anger would reignite at seeing the pain Carden caused her. That didn’t last long. No memory did—until he recalled his hands around Kara’s neck and how the life in her eyes had flickered as she gasped his name.
The rage smoldered in his chest again, but he quelled it.
The memory had given him enough fire to continue. Carden had controlled him, forced him to nearly kill Kara, and his guilt at obeying his father never faded, even when everything else had. He built upon the anger with more memories. At first, he had focused on how clear Kara’s gray eyes were. How her hair always turned a little red in the sun. How, when she laughed, her face lit up and glowed with the sound.
She was the only person who knew what he was and didn’t care.
He stood. The garden would work as a meeting spot. He stuck his head through the door that led to the ladder, glancing around to make sure no one walked along the corridor below. After a few silent minutes of listening for footsteps that never came, Braeden climbed down and shut the door on his way.
He landed on the stone floor with a thud and turned back the way he’d come. He would go to his room and try to sleep, but he knew he wouldn’t have much luck. All he could think of was Kara nestling against him as they camped in the forest, or the warmth of her body curled against his in the Vagabond’s study.
It terrified Braeden that one person could bring him such peace—he couldn’t imagine what would happen if anyone took that from him.
Chapter 3: The Garden
Chapter 3
The Garden
Kara sat against her bed’s headboard, feet propped on a pillow as Twin lay on her stomach.
Twin shrugged. “I’m just saying, you should consider the fact that Braeden is head over heels for you.”
Kara’s stomach tensed at the thought, but she managed to keep her face expressionless. Leaning her head back and pretending to relax seemed to help.
She shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous. We just ran into each other on the way here. Either that, or he found me because he was keeping an eye on me for Gavin’s sake.”
Kara hated lying to Twin—just hated it. But there was no way around it, not so long as Twin had the blood loyalty to Gavin. The girl could be controlled at any time or forced to tell
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