Haven 3 Shadow Magic (Haven Series 3) by B. V. Larson Read Free Book Online Page A

the River?” the elf asked her.
    “Indeed I do,” said Teyln, sighing the words. “I think, in fact, I like it overmuch.”
    “Good,” said the elf. He walked closer until he stood a dozen steps from her. He smiled and tilted his head. “How is it I’ve been so fortunate this evening?”
    “Fortunate? How so?”
    “Why, to find a girl like you here in this lonely place.”
    Telyn eyed him warily. “I search for another.”
    “Indeed?” said the elf, stepping three paces closer. “Is he more fair than I?”
    Telyn paused, but she forced herself to nod. “Yes. He is to me.”
    The elf stepped backward, as if injured by her words. “But he is not here, is he? He has perhaps, forsaken you for another? Will you not follow me, maiden? I will lead you to a place of—”
    “No,” she said, and she reached into her tunic and pulled out her ward, which was a river stone worn through naturally and looped with a thong. “This stone is not drilled. It is powerful enough to keep your kind at bay.”
    The elf’s upper lip twitched. Was that a sneer? He recovered quickly, and turned the twitch into a fresh smile.
    “Why would I need to be kept at bay?” he asked, and his voice was as smooth and soothing as his music. “Can we not just talk? You have nothing to fear from me while wearing your ward.”
    Telyn blinked at him. “I would know your name, elf.”
    “I will tell you, if you would only agree to walk with me. I’m so lonely this night. It is quiet here, and all the others have gone to play around mounds that do not reek of death.”
    Telyn’s heart pounded at his words. What did this being know? Did he speak of Brand?
    “I will walk with you,” she said.
    He turned, and offered her the crook of his elbow. It was a courtly gesture. Telyn took his arm without thinking and together they walked beside the mound.
    “Now, tell me your name,” she said.
    “My,” he chuckled, “you are a strong one. Most would have forgotten to insist. Wouldn’t you like to know of other things? Such as what has become of your beloved?”
    Telyn’s worries resurfaced, but she regained her composure quickly. “One thing at a time. Tell me your name, elf. You have promised.”
    The elf gave a shuddering sigh. “I have promised,” he echoed. “I am known as Puck.”
    Telyn almost ripped her arm from his, but controlled herself. She knew something of the lore of elves. This one was high indeed in their lineage. “Are you then…the son of Oberon?”
    “The same,” he said. “Would you like to dance? I sense you are an excellent dancer. And I am an excellent judge in these matters!”
    Telyn, to her surprise, found she did wanted to dance with him. She imagined herself twirling and kicking while he smiled and both their eyes shone with shared moonlight. The strumming…but how could she be hearing his lute now, when he was no longer playing it?
    She shook her head. “Not now,” she said. “Let’s just talk for a time.”
    Puck pouted. “Always is this the way of the maiden,” he said. “They claim we influence them, but in truth, we males are always the ones that are manipulated! How many hours have I spent wooing softly for so few moments of bliss? The ledger is harshly in your kind’s favor, I assure you.”
    Telyn laughed. Puck looked at her, and laughed with her. The two stepped along their way more lightly now. They were as two schoolchildren skipping down a road.
    She smiled broadly and felt herself slightly drunk. Her feet were light beneath her, and they carried her effortlessly forward on the path. Looking down, she noted that there was a path beneath her feet. A shining path of silver grasses. She halted, swallowing a giggle that tried to burst from her throat.
    “You’ve tricked me!”
    Puck looked at her in mock horror. “How so?”
    “This path! We walk beside the mound!” she said, ripping her arm loose from his. “How many times have we made the circuit? If I step from the silver grasses,