Broken Enchantment (Unbreakable Force Book 3) by Kara Jaynes Read Free Book Online

expression turned disgusted. “I was distracted by the fool officer delivering his news. I was aware of your magic the moment you spoke. You took off like a hare before I could react.”
    I frowned, thinking about it. I did my best to squash the feeling of jealousy that stirred inside me. I’d never heard of that ability before.
    One of the guards stirred behind me, snapping me back to the present. “Come with me,” I whispered, “and be quiet.”
    “Why?”
    “Because you’re going to be enslaved by Sirius Archer if you don’t,” I snapped, patience gone. “Move!”
    Matias stood and, after stretching his stiff muscles, walked over to join me. “You have it. The sky jewel.” He studied me with narrowed eyes. He loomed over me, and I took a step backward before catching myself. I drew on the sky jewel’s power, flooding myself with the magic. “Don’t try anything,” I warned. “I’ll leave you here if you try to take it.”
    He smiled, showing too many teeth. “I wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing.”
    Still holding as much magic as I could manage, I pulled at the shadows again, wrapping them around us. I led him through the palace and out into the city. Stalking through the city, I marveled how no one even glanced our way. I could see Matias, and I knew he could see me. It was a lucky thing Bran wasn’t there. I suspected he wouldn’t be happy to learn I’d rescued the brigand-king.
    The gates leading out of Sen Altare were shut tight until dawn, so I led him up onto the city walls. I kept an eye on Matias, a little worried he might turn against me. He didn’t, but I watched him suspiciously just the same. Just because I didn’t agree with Sirius didn’t make Matias any less threatening.
    Standing on the walls, I dropped the shadows away from us. We looked out on the wilderness beyond the city for a moment. “I don’t know if what I’ve done is right,” I said at last, “but I don’t care. They were going to enslave you.” I didn’t look at his face, worried he’d see the bleak expression on mine, remembering the feel of the collar around my neck. “I don’t want you to think I freed you because I feel anything for you. I don’t. I hate you. But no one deserves slavery.” I sighed, an ache in my heart. “Is our kind accepted anywhere?”
    I coughed, wishing I’d kept the question to myself. It felt personal. Matias was watching me intently. I slipped my rucksack off my back and handed it to him. “There’s some rope and a hook for you to climb down from here. I’ve put some provisions in there as well. You’ll need them.”
    Matias smiled at me, tilting his head a little. “Thank you, Adaryn. Perhaps I misjudged you. Perhaps.”
    He knelt and rummaged through the pack, pulling out the coil of rope. He looked as if to secure it but paused, turning to gaze at the slumbering city of Sen Altare. A brief look of longing passed over his face, but then it was gone. “I may not have been the best king to the people of Sen Altare, but I was their rightful king. Farewell, sand cat.” He smiled at me, his eyes deep blue. “We will meet again.”
    I didn’t wait to see if he’d make it safely down the wall, but turned and snuck quietly back to my rooms, only stopping to quietly slip the sky jewel back under Aaric’s pillow.

15
Aaric
     
    “ I ’m glad to be back on the road,” Adaryn said happily to Aaric, riding next to him. She beamed at him, sighing in contentment. “The open sky, the dirt road, the smell of grass. Being outdoors is for me.”
    Aaric nodded in agreement, but he wasn’t really listening, his mind dwelling on the city they’d just left. Somehow Matias escaped his prison. Sirius Archer had been furious to discover that, and nearly turned Sen Altare on its head trying to find him, but the once-king had completely disappeared. The collar the Guild members had been working on was destroyed as well. Sirius didn’t make it a secret that he strongly suspected