Chosen Sister by Ardyth DeBruyn Read Free Book Online Page A

branches of the neighboring tree with a crunch. Reina cringed. But he yelled out not in fear or pain, but in triumph. “I’ve got you now.”
    The bear turned. Reina couldn’t see what his elation was about. Wouldn’t it just climb down and follow him to the next tree? If he’d shut up and hide, the bear would forget about him, just like it had them. But the Gold Wizard again began working magic, moving his hands and muttering. The tree holding the bear exploded.
    Reina pushed Austyn’s face down and buried her own in the dirt as well; pieces of wood and leaves showered the bush above them. The air smelled of ash, and the bear roared loudly before they heard a massive whump and all went quiet. Reina lifted her head a little and took in some deep breaths. Smashed bits of wood had scattered everywhere, and leaves still floated down. Where the tree had stood was a mess of fragmented branches and the now quiet body of the bear. The Gold Wizard jumped down from his tree, his face beaming with self-satisfaction. Reina, however, was far from impressed. She clambered out from under the bush.
    “You idiot! You could have gotten us all killed. If you’d just left it alone, it would have left us alone! Now you go and make a huge noise and mess, so the snakewolves or harpies, or something else hunting us are bound to find us!”
    The Gold Wizard’s expression fell, and he looked a little ashamed of himself, but quickly changed it for a superior-looking one. “Now, now, little girl, they won’t have noticed, we’ve lost them by now. We’re perfectly safe.”
    “Oh, they won’t have noticed an exploding tree, huh?” Reina waved a finger in his face. “You think they’re all as stupid as you? The whole forest heard that!”
    Austyn tugged at her sleeve. “Reina, please….”
    Reina ignored him. If the Gold Wizard wanted to put himself in danger by doing stupid stunts, that was one thing—but now he’d put them in harm’s way as well, and she wouldn’t put up with it. “There was no need to do something that dumb, when you could have just hid,” she raged. “You’re a showoff! And irresponsible! You shouldn’t use magic to look impressive, but when you need it—and you didn’t need it!”
    The Gold Wizard gave her a sour look and turned away. “You sound just like my father. Well, quit yelling about it, it’s done now. We have to get moving.”
    Austyn pulled at her sleeve again. “Reina, quiet down, please. You aren’t helping.”
    She looked at his pale and worried face and swallowed the rest of her angry words. Following the Gold Wizard, though, she couldn’t help mumbling, “Well, maybe your father had a lot more sense than you do.”
    They walked in silence for a few minutes, the ache in Reina’s leg hurting worse than ever. Then the Gold Wizard turned back to them, a smile plastered on his face, although the expression looked more sheepish than reassuring. “We’re almost there. We’ll all feel better after a little rest.”
    Reina decided she might as well forgive him and nodded. All she wanted was to lie down. Austyn looked exhausted, his curls plastered to his face with sweat and his eyes a bit dull. The bushes ahead grew dense, until the deer track they followed disappeared completely. Reina stared at the thick wall of vegetation, wondering where they were going next, but the Gold Wizard seemed extremely pleased. He bowed dramatically.
    “May I present my humble abode, the Clearing of Whispering Secrets.” He whirled his staff in the air, and the bushes parted to reveal a small clearing with a cottage in the center of it. Reina blinked in the unexpected sunlight pouring in and then gasped.
    Harpies perched on the roof, cackling at them, while more fluttered down from the sky. The entire floor of the clearing was covered with snakewolves. At the sound of the parting bushes the snakewolves turned, their gleaming red eyes fixing on the three of them. They hissed, tongues flickering out, and