Buried Above Ground by Leah Cypess Read Free Book Online Page A

clear.”
    An overhead branch snagged her hair, and she reached up with one hand to wrench it away. The pain in her scalp was welcome; it felt deserved. “Because I love my sister more than I love our father’s ambitions. Unforgivable.”
    Varis’s fingers tightened on the reins. “There is nothing more important than maintaining our security. Don’t you remember what it was like when we were the weakest of the tribes, when anyone could hurt us at will?”
    He knew she did. Neither of them would ever forget the night their mother was kidnapped and killed, the night their two older brothers had died trying to protect her. Callie had been just a baby, wailing for her mother without understanding that she was gone forever. It had been Varis who had wept with Darri, and held her, for night after night as their father prepared for war. And then left her behind to go to war with him.
    She didn’t want to remember that, or to think about how much he had changed when he came back. How she had closed her eyes to the changes in him, followed his lead, wanted exactly what he wanted . . . until the night she finally realized how far he would go.
    Varis drew in a breath, let it out, and—in the moment it took his horse to step over a fallen log—became cool and remote again. “But now you care about nothing but Callie. So you should be happy that the two of you will be together again.”
    Darri lost control of the reins for a moment, and her horse hit his hind leg on the log and stumbled. She regained her balance and turned in the saddle, this time ignoring the branches that caught at her hair. “Callie will go back with you ! Once I marry Prince Kestin—”
    â€œShe can help you settle in.” Varis spurred his horse forward, leaving her with a view of his rigid back and his horse’s swishing tail. “Her experience will be valuable to you as you learn the ways of the court.”
    Darri watched openmouthed as his horse’s tail flicked against her stallion’s face, making her mount snort and shake his head. That was so like Varis—to assume that Callie would still be loyal, would still devote herself to the Raellian conquest, even after her life had been traded away.
    Let him assume it, she thought as she let her horse fall back. Let him assume whatever he wanted. It would make her task easier.
    Because regardless of her father’s true reasons for sending them to Ghostland, Darri was here for one purpose only: to get Callie out. And not Varis or her father or all the dead men in Ghostland were going to stop her.
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    Prince Kestin, Callie noted, was brooding. He had been gloomy for several nights now, and it made him look exceptionally handsome—he had the sort of long, intense face that seemed made for deep thought, and always looked a bit incongruous when he laughed. For most of the banquet, Callie had thought that was the reason for the brooding. But now he had taken to drinking, which was a bad sign.
    â€œThey’ll be here before daybreak,” Jano said, materializing in the empty chair next to hers. As Callie turned to look at him, Jano went solid. “I just heard from one of the scouts.”
    Callie smiled, knowing it wouldn’t fool him, and looked down at her plate. So her siblings were riding at night. Day and night were reversed in Ghostland to accommodate the dead, but she wouldn’t have thought Darri and Varis would follow that custom until they had to. On the other hand, it was smart that they had given themselves a few days to adjust before reaching the castle. Varis’s idea, probably.
    Jano followed her gaze. “You’ve barely eaten a bite all night. Aren’t you excited to see your sister?”
    She ignored him. He might look like a ten-year-old child, but in truth he was hundreds of years old. Far too old to get away with this type of rudeness.
    â€œThe scout said she’s not as ugly as we had