Fearless by Marianne Curley Read Free Book Online Page A

‘I tried.’
    â€˜And failed? You fail her all the time.’
    He glances at the ground.
    â€˜Can anyone open them?’
    Michael says, ‘We’re not sure. That’s one of the things we have to find out.’
    Gabriel runs out of the portal with a bunch of soldiers. He assesses the scene in a flash but says nothing. He nods at me. At the same time the soldiers who passed through earlier, along with a dozen Brothers from the monastery arrive with open-backed trucks loaded with rattling cages that could fit elephants inside them. My eyes boggle as I wonder what they need them for. Inside the first cage are heavy chains, iron poles and hundreds of cuffs, similar to the ones in the cave that gave me my scars. The sight makes my stomach drop. ‘W-what’s all this for?’
    Uriel, Sami and a host of other angels in armour burst through the portal followed by an army of enemy soldiers, some so big they gotta be those Thrones that Thane mentioned were crucial to Luca’s plan to steal Ebony.
    Gabe’s soldiers and the Brothers herd the prisoners into the cages, ten in a row, ten rows per cage, with each prisoner cuffed and a pole driven through their chains and attached to both the top and bottom of the cage.
    The whole process takes a while, but eventually they’re on their way to the monastery.
    Isaac and Michael tag on at the end of the convoy and cast a glance at Thane, who doesn’t appear to want to move yet. ‘I’ll be there soon,’ he tells them, and watches the last ofthe prisoners leave before he turns to me.
    He runs his fingers through his tangled matted hair, shoving it off his face. Standing in front of me, he lifts my hands and studies my weeping blistered wrists. ‘What happened, Jordan?’
    â€˜Luca had me chained to a wall in the cave where he was holding Ebony. You won’t believe how close to your place and the monastery it was.’
    Shifting his hands to the burns, he attempts to initiate healing, but I break away. ‘I don’t want your help.’ I take a step backwards. ‘Haven’t you damaged my life enough already?’
    What I don’t tell him is that I need to feel this pain. This pain I can handle. But without it I would get the full brunt of the other pain, the pain of missing Ebony, and I’m not ready for that yet.
    â€˜Where are you going?’ he asks as I step into the forest.
    I keep my back to him. ‘To find Amber. In case you didn’t notice, she was shattered by your news.’
    He’s quiet for so long I think he has nothing more, but when I start walking he says, ‘There’s a meeting at the monastery in ninety minutes.’
    Without turning, I ask, ‘What for?’
    â€˜To plan how we’re going to get Ebony back.’
    I take this in for a moment. A small spark of hope ignites inside me. ‘Don’t start without me.’

7
    Ebony
    I wake in a strange bed, disoriented, not sure if it’s morning or night, or even what day it is. But it doesn’t take long for reality to sink in, for me to realise that Prince Luca kidnapping me didn’t happen in a dream.
    Last night I didn’t notice how cold it is in Skade. I didn’t notice much at all. My brain was full to capacity and couldn’t take in any more. But now my heart is thudding in my chest, pounding against the palm of my hand as I look up at an unfamiliar ceiling inhaling frosty air.
    Mela comes to my door and I instantly feel my heart rate slowing down. She has a sympathetic smile and a compassionate look in her eyes that resemble Jordan’s so much that I know I’m right – Mela is Jordan’s mother. But what is she doing here, in this palace, with him ?
    â€˜Good morning, Ebony. Did you sleep well?’
    â€˜Like the dead,’ I murmur, then gasp, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, Mela, how tactless of me to say that when you’re surrounded by death