Ghosts Of Alfhaven (Book 2) by Logan Petty Read Free Book Online Page B

green eyes narrowed on him and her thin lips tightened, “You're all talk. I've seen your scores, and I'm not impressed. Also, my father is harder on me than anyone else.”
    She turned and walked down the spiraling stair. Sawain heard Banthan spouting off a stream of complaints, but did not register them. He felt the heat in his cheeks from the girl being so close. He willed his legs to move again, tucking the scroll into his belt. He was forced to walk behind the girl who defended him against Banthan.
    She had black hair that fell over her shoulder blades. She was wearing a brown tunic and trousers held together with a brown leather belt. He could not help noticing how well in shape she was. He tried to keep from staring as he followed the flow of the crowd into the courtyard and into the lower chamber where they had dinner the night before.
    Tobi sidled up beside Sawain in the line for breakfast as Sawain was receiving a ladle full of oatmeal in his wooden bowl, “Morning, Sawain!”
    Sawain returned the smile Tobi gave him, “Are you sure it's morning? I can't tell in this place.”
    Tobi chuckled, “Sure, look at the glowstools.”
    Sawain arched an eyebrow, “The what?”
    “ Glowstools. You know, the glowing mushrooms on the walls and ceiling. They change color depending on the time of day. They fade from the cooler colors at night to warmer colors in the daytime. If you're good with color recognition, you can track time to the minute, depending on where the glowstools are in the spectrum.”
    Sawain nodded slowly, trying to comprehend. He glanced at the walls and noticed that the glowstools were glowing a color somewhere between green and yellow.
    This is going to take getting used to, but I think warmer colors are like fire colors. So it must be early still since it's still mostly green.
    Sawain asked Tobi, “Do you think I could get one of those in my room so I can see what I'm doing in the morning?”
    Tobi looked as if he was in thought for a moment, “I'm sure you could if you asked Lady Tirinele.”
    Sawain shuddered visibly at the thought of having to talk to the director again. He dropped the issue and took his breakfast to his new usual seat.
    The two friends sat in their corner of the room, talking during breakfast. Tobi noticed the scroll in Sawain's belt.
    “ Oh, you got your orders! What team are you on?”
    Sawain frowned with a mouthful of oatmeal, “Captain Nerelis' team.”
    Tobi's eyes brightened and a large grin spread across his face, “Really? That's great! I'm on Mirehawk too!”
    Sawain was relieved to already know someone on this mysterious team. He grinned and rolled up the scroll.
    “ Oh, good. We can suffer Nerelis' wrath together.”
    Tobi shuddered, “Nerelis is a mean one, but he's the least of your worries. Mirehawk is packed with talent and ambition. I have no idea how I got on the team. I guess they lost a bet.”
    Sawain looked at his half eaten breakfast as his nerves stirred again, “What can you tell me about them?”
    Tobi scratched his chin, “Well, there's Loraleth, she's an expert with knives. She can hit every target's bull's eye on the range ring while running the obstacle course beside it. Very impressive, even to the instructors. Then there's Mariten and her Pankin companion, Timbrel. There's something enchanting about the way they play their music. Captain Nerelis calls it Bardic Power. Then there's Loraleth's twin brother, Banthan. He thinks he's the best. He's good with a sword, but a bit of a coward.”
    Sawain recognized the name, Banthan. It was the name of the boy who antagonized him earlier. He tried to keep his hatred from showing while Tobi continued.
    “ Finally, there's Naralei. She's the best all around on our team. Her scores are some of the highest in the academy. She gets a lot of unfair accusations of getting inflated scores because Nerelis is her father, but I don't believe it. I've seen her train. She's as good as she is beautiful.”
    Tobi