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

and ponders my question. Shit! What did I say? It shouldn’t have required thought. What did I say?

“Yes. I do. Have you seen her?” she interrogates.

Her answers are short. She knows not to give me too much information. Me, on the other hand, I can’t stop my tongue from moving. My heart is pounding. My skin is dripping with sweat. My breaths are short. And my tongue is going to betray me. If we continue discussing this matter, she’s bound to put two and two together, realizing I’m linked to the one she’s after. What do I do? I have to take this conversation in another direction. And why is she solely after Jaymes anyhow?

“Well, I don’t get visitors, and I rarely head into town. I’m self-sufficient out here, but to answer your question, no. And sorry about Helios’s lack of manners, by the way. He tends to feel threatened even by the littlest squirrels parading about outside.”

She steps past me to look around the yurt, inspecting our sleeping quarters. My heart beats violently. Of course she’s unconvinced. Why a young man would be living deep in the wood all alone is beyond me, unless he has something to hide, especially in the infamous Broken Forest.

“You say you’re the only one who lives here? Then why are there three bed mats?” she asks with obvious distrust.

She knows I’m lying, but she’s disciplined enough to keep her composure until she gathers more facts. Charming charisma is the best way out of this. And charisma is just below tree-climbing on my meager list of skills.

“My mother and father…” I take a long pause. “There was an accident almost a season ago.” I fight the tears. I haven’t spoken much about them since the accident, so the pain is genuine and it’s working to my benefit. “I assume you know what lurks in this forest?”

“Why do you lie?” She turns and hurries for the door. She knows they’ve fled. I always have been a terrible liar.

“Wait.” I want nothing more than for this woman to leave, but I have to keep her here longer. I cannot be selfish.

She pauses at the door.

“I’m not hiding anything. You already know of the other two that reside with me. That is clear. I protect them. That is all.”

“Protecting them from what? Why do they need protecting?”

She knows who I am. I’m bewildered why she continues to play along if she’s only after Jaymes.

“From visitors like you. We recently encountered two Lost Souls, or Cryptids as you probably know them. When I saw a large shadow wisp by, we sort of… well… we panicked. It’s not something we wanted to experience again.”

“So why lie?”

“With no intentions of offending you in any way, you are a terrifying woman.” The confession lets me breathe easier. Lying doesn’t suit me well. “And you’re armed not only with a small blade and fukiya in hand, but with a claymore strapped to your back. And beyond that, if it isn’t enough, I was threatened by your forceful entrance and your lack of concern for Helios. What other reasons do you need? My sister is not the one you seek." I take a deep breath to restrain the fear in my voice. “And the story of my parents was the truth. My sister and I had naught but the gutters after our parents died, so we fled the capital to avoid the malice taking place in those gutters. We feel safer out here. It was the logical thing to do. So, how about breakfast?” I attempt to change the subject.

“What?” Her lips press flat.

“Breakfast? My brother and sister have fled to town, but I would much rather have a meal before meeting up with them.” What did I just say? Damn my fear-filled tongue.

“Heading into town, you say? I assume you mean Greenport, being it is the only town for leagues. Maybe I will stay for breakfast. My stomach hasn’t had a meal in over a day.”

Great. And that meal was doubtless a young man like me. “Wonderful.” I reply with as much false cheer as I can amp up. “Helios and I would appreciate the company.”

What have I done? She wasn’t supposed to say yes. I was just trying to keep her here long enough for Goose and Jaymes to get a good head start. This woman is my enemy, and now I’m breaking bread with her.

There’s something about her though, something that both fascinates and terrifies me. Much more of the latter. Her beauty is stunning and her scent inviting, yet I fear she’ll bite my head off with the slightest misstep. I know her from somewhere.

An unspoken war has begun. All the races segregate into smaller groups, not limited to race against race. Lahyf murder Lahyf. Dihkai murder Dihkai. Bodies are piling. There is nowhere to escape. A new era awaits us.

8 Ellia

T o kill him would be no different than killing his sister. Her talent would never join the Taoiseach’s cause. Now that I’ve motioned the idea of her being an ally, I have to bring her back alive. To kill him would be failure. To kill him would be suicide. I’ll keep him alive. Get a meal out of him, maybe some information. Maybe lure him back to the capital where the Taoiseach can decide what to do with him.

What does he do behind that partition? Stone, or Elder as he wishes to call himself, struts out in a light-blue simple tunic with frayed hems, a small tear, and a handful of stains. A small improvement to what he was wearing, but a rag to most. He wears it with dignity. There’s an ingenuous charm about him. My first impression: he’s not like most men. Though, the men I encounter are targeted with a certain intent because of who