Clash (The Arinthian Line Book 4) by Sever Bronny Read Free Book Online

purposefully hidden nearby.
    “Un vun deo.” Almost immediately, he found the stone buried under a branch. He brought it back to Leera, who gave a brief nod before standing apart from him. They were so practiced with their training regimen they hardly needed to speak.
    Augum stood across from her, mentally readying for the Push spell. He shoved at the air before him. “Baka!”
    She summoned her shield but was still knocked backwards a few paces.
    Leera gave an almost imperceptible nod. “Now Slam.”
    Augum made to throw at the ground. “GRAU!” The sound of thunder ripped through the air, scattering birds from trees. Bridget, Haylee and Leera were so used to it they barely flinched. But the spell was more powerful during battle anyway, which they theorized happened from the excitement, giving spells that extra nudge.
    Augum felt a minor throb begin in his brain—the side effects of depleting his arcane reserves. Grueling hours of training tended to do that, though these days it wasn’t as big of a problem as it was at the beginning.
    Leera strolled over and picked up the rock, tossing it to Augum’s feet. “Object Alarm.”
    He dropped to his knees, gripping the rock with both hands. “Concutio del alarmo,” and let go, closing his eyes. He heard Leera walk over. The moment a bell tolled in his mind, indicating someone touched his enchanted object, he raised his arm.
    She gave a nod. “Good. Object Track.”
    Augum splayed out his hands over the stone. “Vestigio itemo discovaro,” and once again closed his eyes while Leera took the rock and walked off to hide in the woods. He soon got up and followed the subtle arcane pull, finding her hiding behind a large spruce, where she immediately yanked him close and kissed him, sending a thrill through his spine.
    “Cut it out, you two!” Bridget eventually called from the cabin. “We’ve got training to do.”
    Leera rolled her eyes and tugged on Augum’s sleeve, dragging him back. “And you two could have made yourself useful and started a fire,” she said to Bridget and Haylee. “It’s getting cold.” Dusk was quickly dimming to night.
    “Grau!” Haylee yelled, but the noise generated was nothing more than that of a snow bank crumbling slightly. She flung her cane at the fire pit. “Use that damn thing for kindling.”
    Bridget sighed, recovered the cane and handed it back to her. “You’re too hard on yourself. You’re letting your emotions get in the way of concentration.”
    “Stop trying to be my big sister.” Haylee’s shoulders dropped. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. I’ll try harder.”
    Bridget gave a proud nod, then smiled at Augum and Leera holding hands. “I’m amazed you’re getting away with it so long. Just tell her.”
    “I don’t want to add to Nana’s worries,” Augum said, though the truth was he was also scared of Mrs. Stone forbidding him and Leera from liking each other. Absurdly, he even feared her sending Leera away. She’d say it was for their safety, or whatever. “Everyone pretty much knows anyway.” He grudgingly let go of Leera’s hand and began scouring for dry branches.
    “Everyone except your mentors.”
    Leera gave Bridget a sardonic look. “Harvus doesn’t matter, nor is it any of his business.”
    “He is your mentor whether you like it or not.”
    “Mrs. Stone is our mentor.” Leera shrugged. “And we’ll tell her. Eventually. When we’re ready.”
    “When we’re ready,” Augum agreed, thinking the best time would be when he turned sixteen and became a man in the eyes of the world. Could he hide their relationship for another year? He almost scoffed aloud—not a chance in Sithesia.
    Haylee glanced behind her at the cabin. “Better keep your voice down if you don’t want Mrs. Stone to hear.”
    Leera gestured dismissively. “I wrapped the orb in a couple blankets. She won’t hear a thing.”
    Bridget frowned. “And what if we got into trouble? What if the Legion comes? How