Daughter of Moth (The Moth Saga, Book 4) by Daniel Arenson Read Free Book Online

Arden, from the
cold arctic isle of Orida, from the jungles of Naya . . ." As
the headmistress named every sunlit nation, its applications cheered.
The old woman continued. "I see students from the swamps of
Daenor, from the desert of Eseer, from the savannah of Sania."
She cleared her throat and fixed the round glasses that perched atop
her nose. "And, for the very first time in Teel University
history, I am proud to see that Elorians—children from the dark half
of Moth—have chosen to cross into the sunlight to join our quest for
knowledge."
    At those last words, the crowd
fell silent. Madori cringed. The headmistress had spoken with good
intentions, but looking around, Madori saw that the applicants
weren't as pleased with the prospect. Some students glanced at one
another; others gaped openly at the group of Elorians who stood
clustered not far from Madori, hidden inside their silken robes.
    One applicant, a golden-haired
girl who stood not far from Madori, snickered. "What's next,
letting pigs apply?" she said—too softly for the professors on
the stage to hear, but loud enough for Madori to turn red.
    A few of the girl's friends
stifled laughs.
    "Truly, Lari, you think
Elorians are pigs?" said a boy, addressing the girl. He grinned.
"Pigs smell better."
    Lari tossed back her golden
tresses. "Rotten pig carcasses smell better than Elorians. My
father says they're lower than maggots."
    Again the friends laughed.
    The headmistress was speaking
again, but Madori was paying no attention. She glared at the group of
snickering youths. There were several of them—Magerians by the looks
of them, all tall, golden of hair, and blue of eyes. They wore fine
clothing of rich, embroidered cotton, and golden jewelry adorned
their wrists and necks. They all wore the Radian sigil upon their
lapels—a sun eclipsing the moon.
    Madori ground her teeth.
"Radians," she muttered.
    The lead girl—Lari—seemed to
hear her. She turned toward Madori, tilted her head, and narrowed her
eyes.
    "And what have we here?"
she asked.
    Madori clenched her fists. Lari
was everything Madori was not. She had perfect clothes, perfect hair,
a perfectly beautiful face—the kind to make boys trip over their own
tongues. She was taller than Madori, obviously better bred, and about
a thousand times wealthier. If Madori were a plucky little mutt, here
was a prize racehorse.
    "Somebody who'll punch your
perfect little teeth out of your perfect little mouth," Madori
said, raising a fist. "So I suggest you shut that mouth if you
don't want this fist shattering it."
    Lari laughed—a beautiful,
trilling sound like rain upon leaves. "Oh my. Oh dear. This
isn't an Elorian, my friends. This is . . ." She gasped and
covered her mouth, feigning surprise. "A mongrel ."
    Her friends grimaced. A few made
gagging noises.
    Madori leaped forward. She
barely stood taller than Lari's shoulders, but she didn't care. "A
mongrel who'll bash your—"
    " Applicants! "
    The voice boomed across the
crowd, louder than thunder. Madori froze, her fist inches away from
Lari's face. She spun to see Headmistress Egeria glaring from the
stage. The elderly woman was pointing at Madori. Around the
headmistress, the professors stared at Madori, eyes boring into her.
    "Is there a problem,
applicants?" the headmistress said.
    Madori forced herself to lower
her fists, though she still fumed. Grinding her teeth, she stared
back at Egeria and shook her head.
    At her side, Lari pouted, a
picture of innocence. The girl leaned closer to Madori and whispered,
"Oh sweetness, such temper . . . truly you mongrels are rabid
beasts. Someday we Radians will put you all down."
    The headmistress was still
staring at them; so were thousands of curious applicants. Madori
forced herself to take several steps away from Lari and her friends.
    We'll
settle this later, Lari, she thought, her cheeks hot. You
might be a perfect little lady, but I'm a farm girl, grown up
wrestling boys in the fields, and I can bash