Regret (Lady of Toryn Trilogy) by Charity Santiago Read Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Charity Santiago
Michico. Ashlyn had no idea where Drake’s bullet had
struck the younger Toryn, but it had clearly been well-aimed enough to have
knocked Kou off the steep cliff and into the roiling ocean below. Kou must have
some experience with healing magic. Unless he’d been desperate enough to fake a
gunshot wound and take his chances in the water, of course. That seemed a
little extreme, even for a man who had falsely professed to be Ashlyn’s younger
brother without a trace of shame or conscience.
She set her jaw at the memory.
Kou’s claim that Lord Li was his father had rocked her world to the core. In a
fit of rage, she had used a sanding stone to remove the tattoo over her left
ankle that signified the Li bloodline and its purity. But after the recent
revelations involving Kou and the man he claimed was his- and her- younger
brother, Tag, Ashlyn realized that she might have been too hasty.
And what about her father? What
if he hadn’t been unfaithful to her mother? Had he truly been driven mad by shift? Ashlyn felt no particular ill
effects after having used the magic twice. If she was unaffected, then why was
Lord Li leading an army against his own kingdom? She supposed that the presence
of FLD had discouraged him from coming back to reclaim the city of Toryn, but
there were so many frustratingly unanswered questions lingering in her
thoughts- and that was on top of the total mess of her love life, which up
until two weeks ago had been virtually non-existent. See, this was why I steered clear of social circles for the last three
years, she told herself bitterly. I
seem to attract drama wherever I go.
Chapter 4
Twist
Ashlyn’s eyelids were
drooping, but she was reciting the ninety-one Drago proverbs in her head
repeatedly, doing her best to stay awake in the lulling twilight. Her horse
seemed content to follow Skye’s, plodding along without prompting.
It seemed
anti-climactic, really. All that running and fighting and death-defying earlier,
and now here she was, tagging along after Skye and trying not to nod off. Her
father’s army was on the move, and once they had found the trampled path
telltale of marching soldiers, Ashlyn had put away the reveal stane and allowed Skye to take over. Her tracking skills
were good,but Skye’s were exceptional.
Skye turned then,
twisting in the saddle to look back at her, and Ashlyn bolted upright, trying
really hard to look alert and vigilant. I
wasn’t sleeping, she almost said, but thought better of it. “What?” she
asked instead, keeping her voice low.
“I think we’re
close,” Skye said. He halted his horse, turning the animal so that he could
face Ashlyn more easily. “I think it might be best if Drake takes the horses
and keeps some distance away, while you and I see what we can find.” At her
dubious look, he added, “The horses will be too easy to spot. You and I can get
much closer without them.”
In no way did Ashlyn
feel comfortable with giving up her horse, especially after the narrow escape
she and Drake had managed back at the cave, but…she supposed that Skye was
right. “Fine,” she said grudgingly. Skye dismounted, and she followed suit,
meekly following the blond man as he led his horse towards Drake.
“This is so lousy,” she muttered as she handed
the reins to the vampire, keeping her eyes averted. She had already experienced
a plethora of emotions over Drake in the last two days and she didn’t feel like
encouraging any errant feelings now.
Skye nodded at her as
he reached up to ensure that his sword was secure in its sheath on his back.
Ashlyn untied the hira shuriken and her sword from the back of her saddle and
strapped them into the makeshift harness she’d made, feeling the reassuring
solidity of the weapons against her fingers. She allowed herself a brief moment
to wonder what had ever become of her favorite bo shuriken, the one that she’d
lost in Storim so many years ago. Supposedly her father had it. If that was
true, she
struck the younger Toryn, but it had clearly been well-aimed enough to have
knocked Kou off the steep cliff and into the roiling ocean below. Kou must have
some experience with healing magic. Unless he’d been desperate enough to fake a
gunshot wound and take his chances in the water, of course. That seemed a
little extreme, even for a man who had falsely professed to be Ashlyn’s younger
brother without a trace of shame or conscience.
She set her jaw at the memory.
Kou’s claim that Lord Li was his father had rocked her world to the core. In a
fit of rage, she had used a sanding stone to remove the tattoo over her left
ankle that signified the Li bloodline and its purity. But after the recent
revelations involving Kou and the man he claimed was his- and her- younger
brother, Tag, Ashlyn realized that she might have been too hasty.
And what about her father? What
if he hadn’t been unfaithful to her mother? Had he truly been driven mad by shift? Ashlyn felt no particular ill
effects after having used the magic twice. If she was unaffected, then why was
Lord Li leading an army against his own kingdom? She supposed that the presence
of FLD had discouraged him from coming back to reclaim the city of Toryn, but
there were so many frustratingly unanswered questions lingering in her
thoughts- and that was on top of the total mess of her love life, which up
until two weeks ago had been virtually non-existent. See, this was why I steered clear of social circles for the last three
years, she told herself bitterly. I
seem to attract drama wherever I go.
Chapter 4
Twist
Ashlyn’s eyelids were
drooping, but she was reciting the ninety-one Drago proverbs in her head
repeatedly, doing her best to stay awake in the lulling twilight. Her horse
seemed content to follow Skye’s, plodding along without prompting.
It seemed
anti-climactic, really. All that running and fighting and death-defying earlier,
and now here she was, tagging along after Skye and trying not to nod off. Her
father’s army was on the move, and once they had found the trampled path
telltale of marching soldiers, Ashlyn had put away the reveal stane and allowed Skye to take over. Her tracking skills
were good,but Skye’s were exceptional.
Skye turned then,
twisting in the saddle to look back at her, and Ashlyn bolted upright, trying
really hard to look alert and vigilant. I
wasn’t sleeping, she almost said, but thought better of it. “What?” she
asked instead, keeping her voice low.
“I think we’re
close,” Skye said. He halted his horse, turning the animal so that he could
face Ashlyn more easily. “I think it might be best if Drake takes the horses
and keeps some distance away, while you and I see what we can find.” At her
dubious look, he added, “The horses will be too easy to spot. You and I can get
much closer without them.”
In no way did Ashlyn
feel comfortable with giving up her horse, especially after the narrow escape
she and Drake had managed back at the cave, but…she supposed that Skye was
right. “Fine,” she said grudgingly. Skye dismounted, and she followed suit,
meekly following the blond man as he led his horse towards Drake.
“This is so lousy,” she muttered as she handed
the reins to the vampire, keeping her eyes averted. She had already experienced
a plethora of emotions over Drake in the last two days and she didn’t feel like
encouraging any errant feelings now.
Skye nodded at her as
he reached up to ensure that his sword was secure in its sheath on his back.
Ashlyn untied the hira shuriken and her sword from the back of her saddle and
strapped them into the makeshift harness she’d made, feeling the reassuring
solidity of the weapons against her fingers. She allowed herself a brief moment
to wonder what had ever become of her favorite bo shuriken, the one that she’d
lost in Storim so many years ago. Supposedly her father had it. If that was
true, she