Souls of Aredyrah 2 - The Search for the Unnamed One by Tracy A. Akers Read Free Book Online Page B

brew. They
dragged Reiv over to the table, propped him on the bench, and
thrust a mug of Nannaven’s concoction under his nose.
    “Drink up,” Torin ordered. “It will make you
feel better.”
    “I will feel better when you are out of my
sight!” Reiv said, shoving the mug away.
    Brina crossed over to her nephew and leaned
down to him, her hands on her hips. “Reiv, enough of your
foolishness. Now, drink.”
    Reiv looked up and squinted in an effort to
make her out. A pitiful smile replaced his sour expression.
“Brina…my Brina…where have you been? I thought you did not want me
anymore, but you came back…”
    “Yes…yes…now drink this up and let us see if
we can get some sense into you,” she said.
    He drank it down, then doubled over and threw
it right back up. But Nannaven had placed a bucket in front of him,
fully prepared for what was to come. Jensa knelt beside him with a
wet cloth and wiped his face, while Brina refilled the mug and told
him to drink it down again. He complied, for he hadn’t the strength
to argue about it.
    After a few more mugs, Reiv began to feel
better, though his eyes were still glazed and his words somewhat
slow in coming. He pushed up from the bench and swayed for a
moment. “I need to lie down,” he said, and attempted to walk to the
corner near the hearth.
    Brina hooked her arm through his and led him
to a mat that Nannaven had hastily spread out for him. “Reiv, we
need to talk and I cannot stay much longer. There are new dangers
in Pobu. That is one of the things I came to discuss with you.”
    Reiv lowered himself down and curled onto his
side. “Not now, Brina,” he said, closing his eyes. But the spinning
in his head forced them back open immediately.
    Brina knelt beside him and stroked his hair.
“Reiv, I must tell you something, even though you may be too
muddled to comprehend it. Please try to listen. You are in danger
here.”
    “What else is new?” he muttered.
    “Reiv, hear me. Much has happened in Tearia
this past month. Do you remember the old prophecy about the Unnamed
One?”
    “A children’s story.”
    “Perhaps. But ever since you were unnamed a
year ago, quiet talk has been making the rounds about it.”
    “What does that have to do with me?” he
said.
    “Some believe you are the Unnamed One the
Prophecy speaks of. Even the Priestess has her suspicions.”
    Reiv grimaced. “Ridiculous.”
    “Perhaps, but you are at risk here. You
cannot go wandering about like you did tonight.”
    “If she thinks I am this…this person…then why
did she not do something about it before?”
    “Whyn came to your defense.”
    “I doubt it,” Reiv mumbled. His eyes drifted
closed.
    “Why do you say such things? You know Whyn
loves you. He has tried to make amends, to do what he can for you.
Why do you continue to rebuke him?”
    “Because of what he said.”
    “What do you mean? What did he say?”
    Reiv forced his eyes open and turned them up
to her. “He said what happened to me was for the best. That he
should have been king-heir all along. Then…” Reiv paused, distress
washing over him. “He--he said Cinnia was glad to be rid of
me.”
    Brina was taken aback. “When did he say that?
No, Whyn would never…”
    “He said it, Brina. I heard him.” Reiv spoke
the words with effort through his stupor, but he knew what he was
saying and had every intention of saying it. “The night of the
fire…you stepped out to speak with the healer. Whyn stayed in the
room. A priest came and…they talked. They thought I could not hear
them. But I could.”
    “What did you hear, Reiv? What did they
say?”
    Reiv drew some saliva into his pasty mouth.
“Whyn said he was glad to take my place. That it could not have
worked out better if he had planned it…that he had no intention of
letting it slip back into my grasp. I know he has always been more
suited, but when I heard him say how glad he was for…for what
happened, and when he said what he did about