Azurite (Daughter of the Mountain Book 1) by Megan Dent Nagle Read Free Book Online

yesterday.  For weeks Evangeline had been receiving these peculiar letters expressing interest in purchasing the azurite crystal, yet this most recent communication was the one that had convinced her to make the trip to Sugarpine Pass and listen first hand to what the emissary had to say.  The trip would take all day. 
    Vincent, who looked more than displeased about being up before the crack of dawn, joined her as an escort. The early spring morning held a hint of chill, and a wet fog clung to the air all around them, including the sky, which was overcast with clouds.  Before they set out, Evangeline opened the dark piece of parchment one more time and held it up to the radiating heat of her hearth.  Its contents had somehow changed and now revealed a detailed map of the Anion Mountains and instructions on where to meet the emissary. 
    Evangeline couldn’t dismiss the perturbing feeling that she was getting mixed up in some sort of ancient sorcery, if such a thing truly existed.  The idea of an invisible, omnipotent evil roaming the edges of the earth chilled her spine and made the normally dauntless Queen shudder in fear.  The legends of a race that could control Mother Nature with a flick of a hand and possess another person’s mind by the slightest of touch were still told by traveling bards to scare young children. 
    Legend also said the races were divided at the beginning of time for a reason.  It was split between what the Creator made good in this world and what had become wicked in order to keep the Slythos , the slang term for sorcerer, from destroying the earth through their hate and violence.  In her Queendom, and across the Realm, even mentioning the idea of sorcery would land you in the gallows for the remainder of your living years.  But Evangeline could remember her father telling her as a child not to discredit legends, for their content was based on some truth, and learning the tales of old could only benefit the future.  Knowledge was everything.
                  It took several hours on horseback to reach Sugarpine Pass, and their route wound its way through the steep, looming mountains before leveling out into a glen.  Once they reached the road leading southeast out of Samaria and passed the two outpost towers stationed on each side, Evangeline turned towards her consort.
                  “Vincent, I’m going to ask that you stay here and allow me to move forward without you.”  Immediately, her companion began to protest.
                  “My Queen, it could be dangerous,” Vincent argued.  “You don’t know who this person is or who they are working for!  They could be a spy for Olger Guttensen sent here to slit your throat for all we know.”  Evangeline held up her hand to silence him.
                  “This is a time where you must trust your Queen’s judgment.”  Without another word, she dismounted her horse and handed the reigns to the Guard.  Evangeline glanced around, noting the dismal sunlight that was barely making its way through the clouds of mist overhead. 
                  “I don’t know how long I will be,” she began, sounding unsure.  “But I will return.” 
    With an imprint of the hand drawn map burned in her mind, Evangeline turned to her right and began ascending the side of the steep mountain via small rock footings and hand grips that lead into the pine forest surrounding them.  Once she’d scaled the wall of rock that was about six feet high, Evangeline was able to pull herself up and over to where the land was more level.  Breathing hard, she looked before her and saw a trail slithering its way vertically up the mountainside, jumping through the trees and sometimes disappearing all together.  That was the path the Queen needed to take.
    Evangeline lost track of how long and how far she wandered the trail, but she did notice the air begin to get colder and thinner, causing her