Hunted Sorcery (Jon Oklar Book 2) B.T. Narro (book reader for pc .TXT) 📖

stamina like I did before my punishment had begun. It wasn’t as if I’d caught up on any missed sleep last night, either. I couldn’t imagine spending another night here in the forest. My time in the castle had softened me. I was used to hearty meals and soft beds. I figured my peers felt the same. It should be easy to convince them to return for supper rather than stay here another night.

Kataleya soon took a break. I was a little surprised when she came over to sit on the same tree stump with me. There wasn’t much space for her, our shoulders touching, but she didn’t seem to mind, and neither did I.

“I wanted to thank you for the things you said yesterday,” she began. “That whole conversation went much more smoothly because of your help.”

She looked into my eyes from quite close. I glanced over at Remi, who was staring until she saw me look, then quickly returned to her casting.

“I’m glad you stopped us to have that talk,” I said. “It was needed.”

“It was.” She held my gaze and looked as if she wanted to say something else, but it took her a few moments to get the words out. “Do you still think I did it?”

“No. And I’m sure even the king knows that there’s a good chance someone set you up.”

She smiled as she looked ahead and had a breath. But then she lost her smile. “I think whoever it is might become desperate now that we’re all suspicious, especially if Cason is relying on them for something.” She looked into my eyes again. “I’ve always felt that I could be honest with you.”

“I’ve always appreciated your honesty.”

“Yeah, I figured. You seem like the type who doesn’t like to hide things.”

“It’s not that I dislike hiding things, it’s that I’m incapable.”

She gave a laugh. “I also thought that might be the case.”

It made me a little flustered to speak from so close, my heart rate climbing as I thought about how she could have this conversation without sitting on the same stump, rubbing shoulders with me.

“It seems that we’ve both been targeted by the traitor,” she said. “Will you look out for me if I do the same for you?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.” She put her hand over mine and squeezed as she stood up. Then she walked ten yards away and returned to her training.

I grew more flustered as I was filled with various emotions, but my suspicion was getting the better of them all. Had she just used her charm to make me trust her even more? Was she the traitor after all?

It was either that or she really trusted me and seemed to have an attraction toward me. I liked to think it was the latter, but picking out the bad in someone was not my specialty.

I had spent a considerable amount of time—most of it with our clothes off—with a girl named Joanne in my hometown of Bhode. She was the only girl with whom I had any romantic involvement, but our relationship didn’t last long. We were never friends when we were growing up near each other, but that didn’t seem to matter much to her. She was a year older and made her romantic intentions quite clear soon after I turned seventeen.

We didn’t spend much time talking, even after she started inviting me into her bed. She didn’t seem interested in building a trusting emotional relationship, which confused me at first, though I didn’t complain. I tended to go along with the pace she set. I was attracted to her, and everything we did was new and exciting. It was only after my father became sick that I realized how little she actually cared about me. I was no longer interested in any passion when my father was bedridden.

She was short with me, irritated, completely not understanding. I stopped trying to reach out to her for emotional support because she just made me feel worse whenever I did. It was my father who usually helped me through tough times, and he still did, even while he was sick. He constantly reassured me he would be fine, but we both could plainly see he was getting worse. It was only near the end that he changed his tone and started preparing me to be alone.

After he passed away, the news spread quickly around the small town, so I was certain Joanne had heard it from someone. I expected her to show up and apologize for her behavior, but she never did. We never resumed our physical relationship.

It was a year after his passing, when I’d made the decision to leave permanently, that I thought to inform her of my decision. I was completely shocked when she responded with anger. She even threw a fork at my head while I was standing in her kitchen. She must’ve expected us to get married because there was no one else close to either of us in age.

I thought through all of this as I sat on my stump. I felt bad about how everything turned out. Both of us should’ve been clearer from the start. But as difficult as that year was for me, I’d still had it much better than Remi had. Like me, she had been paired with someone only because her options were limited. But her partner was so much worse than mine turned out to be.

It wasn’t long after my confusing interaction with Kataleya that the hunting group returned with a few large sacks that seemed to contain various animal parts. Eden spoke for the group.

“Jon, we’ve decided we’re going back. We know you probably want to stay here another day to get the most out of your practice, but—”

“No, I want to return for supper.”

“Oh good.”

Everyone started to gather their belongings.

Michael seemed concerned as he approached me. “Are you all right?” he asked.

“Just tired,” I admitted. “I still have many hours to go before I can cast anything