A Reign of Steel by Morgan Rice Read Free Book Online Page B

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answer.
    “Yes,”
he replied.
    She
stood there, her heart pounding, craving more.
    “Can
you tell me nothing more?”
    He
turned and looked at her, sadness in his eyes.
    “Remember
the choice you made. Not every love is meant to last forever.”
    High
above, Gwen heard a falcon screech, and she looked to the sky, wondering.
    She
turned to look back at Argon, but he was already gone.
    She
clutched Guwayne tight and looked out at her kingdom, taking one long last
look, wanting to remember it like this, when it was still vibrant, alive.
Before it all turned to ash. She wondered with dread what danger so great could
be lurking beyond that veneer of beauty. She shuddered, as she knew, without a
doubt, that it would find them all very soon.
     

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
     
    Stara
yelled as she plummeted through the air, flailing, Reece beside her, Matus and
Srog beside him, the four of them falling from the castle wall in the blinding
wind and rain, plunging toward the ground. She braced herself as she saw the
large bushes come up at her quickly, and she realized the only reason she might
survive this fall was because of them.
    A
moment later, Stara felt as if every bone in her body was breaking as she
smashed into the bush—which barely broke her fall—and continued on until she
hit the ground. She felt the wind knocked out of her, and was sure she bruised
a rib. Yet at the same time, she sank several inches and realized the ground was
softer, muddier than she thought, and cushioned her fall.
    The
others hit, too, beside her, and all of them began to tumble as the mud gave
way. Stara hadn’t anticipated they would land on a steep slope, and before she
could stop herself, she was sliding with the others, rushing downhill, all of
them caught up in a mudslide.
    They
rolled and slid, and soon the gushing waters carried them, sliding down the
mountain at full speed. As she slid, Stara looked back over her shoulder and
saw her father’s castle quickly fading from view, and realized that at least it
was taking them away, far from their attackers.
    Stara
looked back down and dodged as she narrowly avoided rocks in her path, going so
fast she could hardly catch her breath. The mud was unbelievably slick, and the
rain came down harder, her world spinning at lightning speed. She tried to slow,
grasping at the mud, but it was impossible.
    Just
as Stara wondered if this would ever end, she was flooded with panic as she
remembered where this slope led: right off the side of a cliff. If they didn’t
stop themselves soon, she realized, they would all be dead.
    Stara
saw that none of the others could stop the slide either, all of them flailing,
groaning, trying their hardest but helpless. Stara looked out and saw, with
dread, the drop-off fast approaching. With no way to stop themselves, they were
about to go right over the edge.
    Suddenly
Stara saw Srog and Matus veer to the left, to a small cave perched at the edge
of the precipice. They somehow managed to smash into the rocks feet first,
coming to a standstill just before they went over the edge.
    Stara
tried to dig her heels into the mud, but nothing was working; she merely spun
and tumbled, and seeing the precipice coming up on her, she yelled, knowing she’d
be over the edge in a second.
    Suddenly,
Stara felt a rough hand grabbing the back of her shirt, slowing her speed, then
stopping her. She looked up to see Reece. He clung to a flimsy tree, one arm
wrapped around it, at the edge of the precipice, his other hand reaching out and
holding her as water and mud gushed, pulling her away. She was losing ground,
nearly dangling over the edge. He had stopped her fall, but she was losing
ground.
    Reece
could not continue to hold her, and she knew that if he didn’t let go, soon
they would both go over together. They would both die.
    “Let
me go!” she yelled up at him.
    But
he shook his head adamantly.
    “Never!”
he yelled back, his face dripping with water, over the