A Sea of Shields (Book #10 in the Sorcerer's Ring) by Morgan Rice Read Free Book Online

village.
    “They’re coming!” screamed Steffen’s father.
    Steffen’s entire family rushed out, running past Steffen, standing there, lining up, gaping at the wagons, at the royal guard.
    The royal guard all turned and looked to Steffen.
    “My lord,” one of them said, “shall we distribute here or shall we carry on?”
    Steffen stood there, hands on his hips, and stared back at his family.
    As one, his entire family turned and, shocked beyond words, stared at Steffen. They kept looking back and forth between Steffen and the royal guard, completely flabbergasted, as if unable to comprehend what they were seeing.
    Steffen walked slowly, mounted his royal horse, and sat before all the others, sitting in his gold and silver saddle, looking down on his family
    “ My lord ?” his father echoed. “Is this some sort of sick joke? You? The royal commander?”
    Steffen merely sat there, looking down his father, and shook his head.
    “That is right, Father,” Steffen replied. “I am the royal commander.”
    “It can’t be,” his father said. “It can’t be. How could a beast be chosen to the Queen’s guard?”
    Suddenly, two royal guardsmen dismounted, drew their swords, and rushed for his father. They held the tips of their swords at his throat firmly, pressing hard enough that his father opened his eyes wide in fear.
    “To insult the Queen’s man is to insult the Queen herself,” one of the men snarled at Steffen’s father.
    His father gulped, terrified.
    “My lord, shall we have this man imprisoned?” the other asked Steffen.
    Steffen surveyed his family, saw the shock in all their faces, and debated.
    “Steffen!” His mom came rushing forward, clasping his legs, pleading. “Please! Do not imprison your father! And please—give us provisions. We need them!”
    “You owe us!” his father snapped. “For all that I gave you, your whole life. You owe us.”
    “Please!” his mom pleaded. “We had no idea. We had no idea who you had become! Please don’t harm your father!”
    She dropped to her knees and started to weep.
    Steffen merely shook his head down at these lying, deceitful, honorless people, people who had been nothing but cruel to him his entire life. Now that they realized he was somebody, they wanted something from him.
    Steffen decided they did not even deserve a response from him.
    He realized something else, too: his whole life he had held his family up on a pedestal. As if they were the great ones, they were the perfect ones, the successful ones, the ones he wanted to become. But now he realized the opposite was true. It had all, his entire upbringing, been a grand delusion. These were just pathetic people. Despite his shape, he was above them all. For the first time, he realized that.
    He looked down at his father, at sword-point, and a part of him wanted to hurt him. But another part of him realized one final thing: they did not deserve his vengeance, either. They would have to be somebody to deserve that. And they were nobody.
    He turned to his men.
    “I think this village will do just fine on their own,” he said.
    He kicked his horse, and in a great cloud of dust they all rode out of town, Steffen determined to never return to this place again.

CHAPTER EIGHT
     
     
    The attendants threw open the ancient oak doors, and Reece hurried out of the nasty weather, wet from the driving wind and rain of the Upper Isles, and into the dry refuge of Srog’s fort. He was immediately relieved to be dry as the doors slammed behind him, wiping water from his hair and face, and he looked up to see Srog hurrying over to give him a hug.
    Reece embraced him back. He had always had a warm spot for this great warrior and leader, this man who had led Silesia so well, who had been loyal to Reece’s father, and even more loyal to his sister. Seeing Srog, with his stiff beard, broad shoulders, and friendly smile, brought back memories of his father, of the old guard.
    Srog leaned back and clasped a