Season of Sacrifice (Blood of Azure Book 1) Jonathan Michael (red novels .txt) 📖

“Coloss! That was uncalled for!” Zoie’s voice rings out.

My lungs won’t take in air. I lie wide-eyed on my back, trying to breathe, the world around me a blur. In the moment, the world feels like it’s ending, but I regain my bearing and my breath in a short moment. I look to see what I’m gripping in my fist, and I’ve managed to hold onto the hind quarter. I drop it to the ground when Zoie rushes to my aid and helps me back to my feet.

The youthful ape, unaware the situation has escalated, points its attention toward the hind quarter yet again. The toddler comes at me in a full sprint and playfully knocks into me. I make no attempt to dodge the unexpected blow and consequently get pushed closer to the ravine. Instinctively, I reach for anything I can, but the only thing I find is a hairy appendage of the toddler. The force of my weight combined with the blow I received is too much for the ape to stand its ground, and both of us tumble over the edge.

I grab onto the edge of the cliff with one hand. My grip limited. The ape doesn’t have quite the same luck. I rip the arachniwhip from my belt and snap it downward. With the help of my talents, I crack the whip far enough to ring the ape, but the weight is too much. My fingers, on the dry, gritty cliff edge, don’t have enough strength for the two of us. They slip, and we’re falling yet again.

The next thing I know, I am being lifted into the air. Coloss raises me to eye level and snarls before tossing me away from the edge with the ape in tow.

Coloss hunches over the young ape and tears my arachniwhip from it, leaving it in pieces. He raises the ape to his chest. Its body is limp. I have a hunch this won’t end well for me. Rather than fleeing the situation, I move closer, ignoring my instincts. Coloss senses my approach and lets the body fall to the ground. He stands tall.

Is it fear amplifying his size, or is he really that tall?

His arms reach for the sky and pound on his chest as he bellows a roar louder than anything I have ever heard. So loud that I am physically shaking. I fearfully look to Zoie for guidance, but she is wide-eyed, obviously concerned about my safety. I sought my youthful knowledge. I ignored my instincts. I didn’t listen. My talents have only proven to be limited, and today is the day…that I die.

To this point, it has been my own temptations I could not resist. But I have uncovered a secret Azure has been hiding. The people have an interaction with the life around them that is more significant than any of us could have ever imagined. We are the cause of the crimson shadows. I understand the importance of my actions now and why my success is so critical. The people of this land must continue. It is not solely for man.

37 Stone

“H

ow’s the Taoiseach treating you?” Astor sits across from me where my texts are strewn about the table. She closes those I’m not currently referencing, ensuring the book ribbons mark the pages they were open to. Then, she stacks them properly and nudges them to the edge of the table.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve become more comfortable with her vexations. If I leave a text out, she finds a shelf for it. If I kick my boots off under the table, she tucks them in a cubby by the entrance. If I try to leave without combing my hair, she runs her fingers through it and straightens my tunic. There’s never a spot of clutter about this place or my attire when I walk out the door. Quite the opposite of what I witnessed at her own place in Greenport. Maybe it’s part of the etiquette the Taoiseach has been trying to teach me. Treat others’ belongings better than your own, or something along those lines. It could be she feels obligated to Master Sephyre to maintain this place to perfection.

“He’s evil. He’s cruel. He’s arrogant. He’s insufferable. But the Taoiseach treats me the same as all others. And as he expects to be treated. I have no suspicion he knows who I am. If that’s what you’re getting at.”

“Blending in. That’s good. I hate to admit this, but the Taoiseach’s chamber is one place you shouldn’t excel. Not you. You don’t want to stand out. But that also means you can’t fall short either. So, let’s get to it, shall we?” She pushes the text How to Avoid the Taboo in front of me before rising from her seat to pull the shades off the thunder lanterns. Her routine for ensuring we don’t have an excuse to break later to give ourselves more light.

I can’t take my eyes off her. Watching her stretch for the higher lanterns, her curves well in view. It’s no different than admiring the petals of a rose or the rolling hills of the Supple Valley. The contours so full of motion yet the fluidity frozen in time to create elegance and beauty. I understand why I’m here now. I’m here for my sister. To see she no longer has to run and hide in a world so full of splendor. Astor has certainly helped me see that. And to be housing in the same quarters as her. That is a mere bonus. She gives me a sense of comfort while I venture about the terrain of the enemy.

“Before we carry on to new matter, let’s recap our previous session.” She pulls the cloth off a thunder lantern and it illuminates her figure.