Splintered Fate by ylugin Read Free Book Online Page A

you
know…women. Ardin commented about the
Sterling’s.
    Hey!
Rude. Lana shot back at Ardin, trying to
stifle a small smile. Suddenly she became uncomfortably aware of
who sat near her, just on the other side of her
Aorra.
    Kirill was sitting next to them
and she could feel him, his eyes on her. She turned away from
Ardin, trying to avoid eye contact with the monstrous Madonian
sitting next to her Aorra. But she could still feel his gaze
searing into her skin.
    Remain composed.
    Before Lana could turn to Ardin to
see what he meant she felt a hand touch her arm. It was a brief
touch, meant to only get her attention, yet her body recoiled from
it anyway. She turned to Kirill. His blond hair was pulled back and
his steel eyes were focused directly on her. Lana sat there looking
at him, her pulse quickened, she didn’t know what to do.
    Kirill leaned over and gestured
that Lana do the same. They leaned towards one another, behind
Ardin.
    Play nice,
everyone can see. Ardin’s words entered
her mind as she leaned in behind him.
    “ Listen, what I said about your
mother was out of line. I apologize, it was wrong of me. I am not
sure what came over me.” Kirill spoke softly.
    Lana’s eyes slightly widened in
surprise, what was she to do with this? He better not have been
expecting any apology from her in return. Giving Kirill a small
forced smile and a nod of her head, she leaned back into her seat.
She glanced over at her father who was watching her intently out of
the corner of his eye while making small talk with Lionel
Maddox.
    Well that was
unexpected… he probably did it just for show, in front of
everyone. Lana was thinking to herself
more than Ardin, he answered anyway.
    Perhaps, but no one could hear
what was said. For all everyone knows he could have just insulted
you.
    Then why?
    Lana only had a moment to ponder
this before her attention was drawn to the open entrance of the
great room. The sound of approaching heels echoed off of the walls,
as if they were small messages sent out to announce the Sterlings
arrival. Cyra Sterling and her daughter Elysia entered gracefully,
their gowns flowing like silky water in their wake.
    Cyra’s gold gown with black
embroidering flowed behind her, her daughter’s dress was similar to
her own but contrasting in color design, black dress with gold
embroidering. Their gowns were as extravagant as was their castle
and slightly over the top considering the occasion. Cyra’s dark
hair, streaked with grey, was pulled back loosely while Elysia’s
blond hair was left to naturally flow, cascading over her shoulders
in golden waves.
    They walked to their seats but remained
standing as two hawks suddenly flew in through the door, each
finding a perch to the side of the Sterlings.
    After a pause Cyra addressed
everyone, “Elysia and I are happy to welcome all of you to our home
in our great city of Abder for this council meeting. As you all
know, normally when we all gather it is custom to have a ceremony
and grand introductions, I truly apologize for the lack of this
grand gesture. The one who called the meeting asked to be quick and
discrete about it. So without prolonging the introduction” Cyra
turned her gaze to the tall slender dark man sitting to the side of
her “Arkhip Dukran, the floor is yours.” With a smooth liquid
movement, the Sterling’s took their seats.
    Arkhip waited for everyone’s gaze
to turn to him before he stood. “My friends.” He began and paused.
“It saddens me that such unfortunate circumstances bring us
together. It is no secret that the Rami continue to attack our
people and our lands. They paint our streets red, leaving echoes of
dying screams and the stench of burning Madonian flesh in their
wake. So why do we only fight them when they have already begun
cutting our own down? All of us have made a promise to protect our
people, our lands and we have failed. Men, women and even children
who are under our protection are left to be murdered. Why?