Hunters (Spirit Blade Part 1) by M. A. Nilles Read Free Book Online Page B

you return.
    I always wanted to say how sorry I was about the loss of Je'Rol. He was a very inspiring man. I was jealous that he had traveled around the world, seeing magnificent sights and living free, while I was forbidden from leaving Mount Serako. But Je'Rol told me how dangerous it was.
    Still, I fear more for my father than myself in his absence. He has done much to upset the other demonlords by killing Je'Rekun. He is a good man. You must know that, and I know you are a good person. I trust that you will stay with him. He doesn't think he needs protection, but he is one man with many enemies. Please look after him so he returns to me.
    Thank you, Nadia, for all you have done.
     
    Jes
     
    Nadia stared at the note and the flowing script of the girl's handwriting. The words did little to ease the burden on her mind of what she had done.
    "It was my choice," a soft voice said. "I wanted a reason to keep her behind. In that, I used you."
    Nadia looked up at him riding close beside her.
    "I should be asking your forgiveness."
    "Why?" It would have been a part of Je'Surana's training, a teaching moment, anyway.
    He huffed in an almost laugh. "You deserve more respect than I have shown."
    "You're protecting her. There's nothing to forgive. You're right. She's too young and inexperienced." But if Je'Surana continued training, she would at least have a chance of surviving in the harshness of the real world, if she ever had reason to leave the security of Acropa Je'Gri. Although Nadia would like to see the day the half-blood girl could beat her, a restlessness grew in Nadia to stop the other Adepts from riling the demonlords. Finishing her training to Nadia's satisfaction might not be feasible if Je'Surana hoped to stop the sects from carrying out their revolution.
    Lord Je'Kaoron's face relaxed in a clear sign of relief. "Thank you, my lady. Now, forgive yourself."
    So, that was it. She should have known Lord Je'Kaoron would use it as a teaching moment on her.
    There was a time when he had scolded her for attacking Je'Rol. She had seen Je'Kaoron's anger, but realized later that he had only been angry that she would kill half-bloods. Since meeting Je'Surana, she understood why. It hadn't been about Je'Rol for him, but what that represented to him. She understood now, and it changed how she saw things.
    "I will…in time," she said, the burden already lifting from her mind.
    She folded the note and tucked it into a pocket of her leggings.
    They rode on in quiet through the day, Acropa Je'Gri disappearing as they passed the mountain and the catacomb exit where Je'Rol had escaped Je'Rekun with the help of a guard that the then high lord had asked her to torture for his betrayal. In the quiet of the ride, Nadia thought back to that crucial moment…
     
    She felt it in the back of her mind, a shadow whispering conspiracies and seducing her with its promised power, but she had let go of her anger. She pressed the knife to the tiger's skull, the spell whispering from her lips making the blade glow with the power to take away life.
    Je'Sikar, the orange tiger guard that had aided Je'Rol's escape, whimpered and mewed softly, his eyes pleading for mercy. They had shackled him with enchanted manacles in the round chamber with the high walls, weakening him to the point that her dagger could affect him. She had seen it already, as had High Lord Je'Rekun.
    The tiger let out a mournful "urmf" that stayed her hand, but he dared not move. She had to finish the task. Je'Rekun observed closely. But if she killed Je'Sikar, the demonlords would learn as she would that she could kill their kind under the right circumstances. It would confirm the potential danger of the Adepts to their power.
    Nadia gazed into the amber eyes of the tiger and licked her lips.
    "It is in my interests. I assure you." Je'Rekun's soft voice vibrated with a purr of satisfaction.
    His interests in punishing Je'Sikar's betrayal, or his interests in testing her