Return (Lady of Toryn trilogy) by Charity Santiago Read Free Book Online

Jackson was most worried about becoming the next Lord Angelo," Restlyn said, shaking her head. "So he contacted me and Aik to form some kind of . . . I don't know . . . "
     
    "War committee?" Ashlyn joked.
     
    "Yeah, something like that. It seems strange to think of Aik as the mayor of Cosmea, but I guess he does kind of have a say in things now."
     
    "Yeah, total weirdness. It‘s hard to get used to a talking wolf, especially since he‘s the only one of his kind," Ashlyn commented. "But he loves the town. I bet he's a great mayor."
     
    "I wouldn't know," Restlyn said absently. "At any rate, they contacted Aaron to use the airship, and . . . well . . . the rest is history. After we were together, it seemed natural that they try to contact Skye. I've been running the bar in Storim, and Skye is still, you know, running around, taking up mercenary work. We don't see each other much, but he keeps in touch."
     
    Restlyn looked down at her hands, folded neatly on top of the book, and Ashlyn felt a tug on her heart. Darn Skye. "And the monster man? He doesn't exactly seem like the type to get all worked up about vanishing trade routes." Ashlyn glowered at a lonely potato sitting on the counter.
     
    "You mean Drake?" Ashlyn smiled. "He owns the weapon shop next to my bar, believe it or not. He's changed, Ash. You'd hardly know him now. You need to give him a chance."
     
    "Yeah, right. I'm sure he's changed a whole heck of a lot since he got with Trace. That is so gross. But you know what, I tried to talk to him this morning," Ashlyn said defensively, "and I found out that he hadn't even named his horse. How can I trust a man who doesn't even name his own horse? I mean, come on , there's anti-social, there's enigmatic and then there's just plain stupid."
     
    She shook her head in disgust. "Anyway, now that I'm clear on how everyone ended up in Storim except for me, when did this whole war start? And how did you guys manage to keep the Toryn army contained on the island before they did any damage? Did they send you a memo or something?"
     
    "No . . . they actually did some significant damage before we could stop them," Restlyn answered slowly, meeting Ashlyn's gaze. "They attacked January Harbor, but luckily Jackson's soldiers managed to hold them off. I don't . . . um, I don't know if any Toryn survived, but after that Jackson sent an ambassador to Toryn to ascertain their intentions. He returned in a box. That was when the war started - Toryn never officially declared it, but . . . " She trailed off.
     
    "At that point I guess you were reasonably sure that they weren't out to steal cotton candy," Ashlyn said glumly. "Gods, I can't believe this is happening."
     
    "Me neither. I can't believe I'm a part of it," Restlyn said. “I never thought I’d have anything to do with Toryn again.”
     
    “Mm.” Ashlyn had never agreed with her father Scorning Restlyn. The older girl had fought against the conversion of the sacred city into a tourist attraction, and Lord Li - Ashlyn’s father - hadn’t been in the mood for any kind of dissention from a half-breed commoner, even a commoner who was good friends with his own daughter.
     
    "When we saved the world from Lord Angelo and destroyed his regime - or at least reconfigured it so Jackson could take over - I figured that was it,” Restlyn continued. “I thought I could go back and try to make some sort of normal life for myself." She shook her head, sighing. "I should have figured that it wouldn't happen. Some people aren't meant to lead normal lives."
     
    "Oh, come on. If you led a normal life then you would never have seen me again after Dad flipped out on you," Ashlyn said with a grin.
     
    "Yes, that thought inspires such gratitude," Restlyn said dryly.
     
    A loud crash startled them out of their conversation, and Ashlyn half-turned to see a pile of tin plates scattered across the floor behind them. There was a shuffling sound behind the other counter, and a tin cup