Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes Read Free Book Online

know I can help you.”
    Lucia’s eyes shone icy blue beneath her raised brows. “Do you honestly believe
you
can help
me
?”
    Oh, no.
A short separation was all it had taken for Lucia to raise up her walls against anyone who might potentially be untrustworthy. Cleo would have to work very hard to break them down, stone by stone.
    â€œI know what I saw,” Cleo said gently. “And I helped you. Just my presence was enough to help you contain your magic.”
    Lucia wouldn’t look her in the eye. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You saw me with a dead rabbit, that’s all. It means nothing.”
    A dead rabbit frozen in the middle of a warm room by deadly water magic. That certainly meant
something
to Cleo. In fact, it meant
everything
to her.
    The pursuit of magic and the power it promised had become the central purpose of her life.
    â€œI said I wouldn’t tell anyone and I haven’t. We’re sisters now, Lucia.”
    â€œSisters.”
Finally Lucia turned to face Cleo, her eyes flashing. “Why? Because you’re married to Magnus? You can barely look at each other. You loathe him and he you—I don’t care what you would have others believe.”
    Venom rose in Cleo’s throat at these poisonous words, no matter how true they were. She wanted to strike back with her own poison, repeat the rumors she’d heard of Lucia and Magnus’s incestuous feelings for each other.
    But she swallowed it all down instead.
    She put on a mask of deep concern. “Is your magic troubling you again today?”
    An edge of desperation flitted across Lucia’s eyes.
    â€œI feel . . .” Lucia’s voice broke and she turned toward the rosebush. “I hate this. I hate being here. I hate these flowers and these trees and all I want is to go home to Limeros.”
    But she wouldn’t be of any use at all to Cleo in Limeros.
    â€œBecause you felt more under control there?” she asked.
    â€œHardly. But it—it’s home.” Lucia let out a nervous laugh that sounded more like a hiccup. But the lightness vanished as soon as it arrived, and she once again looked harshly at Cleo, a frown creasing her brow. “What do you want from me?”
    â€œI want to be your friend.”
    â€œWhy?”
    Because
I need your magic to destroy your father
, she thought.
    â€œBecause in you I see someone who understands my world,” she said. “You’re the daughter of a king. Like me, you’ve had responsibilities and expectations thrust upon you your entire life. Very few understand how that feels. You do. And the other day I knew you needed me as much as I need you.”
    â€œYou need to forget what you saw,” Lucia whispered. “It’s too dangerous.”
    A shiver coursed down Cleo’s spine. This sounded much more like a pained warning than a threat. “Dangerous for you? Or for me?”
    â€œFor both of us.” Something beyond Cleo caught Lucia’s gaze, and her expression soured.
    Cleo turned to see Princess Amara approaching along the winding cobblestone pathway as two Kraeshian guards in dark green uniforms hung back near the castle entrance.
    Cleo couldn’t be more annoyed. This uninvited guest was interrupting her precious private moment with Lucia. She’d only met Amara briefly at the banquet, but the girl hadn’t made a good impression. She was too eager, too familiar in her greeting, and Cleo had instinctively recoiled from the girl.
    Her brother Ashur had made a similar first impression on Cleo. Were they friends or foes?
    â€œI’ve been looking everywhere for you two,” Amara said brightly. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were avoiding me.”
    â€œCertainly not,” Lucia replied. The faint uncertainty in her tone had been replaced by a confident crispness. “It’s a pleasure to see you again. Where is your