The Onyx Vial (Shadows of The Nine Book 1) by Alexis Lampley Read Free Book Online

about it.” But deep, deep down, she thought she might. It terrified her.
    Madame Emory's cold grey eyes held steady in the pause. Time grew syrupy. Ariana's held breath warmed and expanded, clawing her lungs. And then her mother spoke. “I've withdrawn you from Ruekridge.”
    Ariana's exhale solidified on her tongue. The buzz of shock sang through her blood. “What?” she choked, her eyes burning—salty and wet.
    “I've spoken to Bardoc, just before you arrived. I don't know how I missed you on the Pass. Please tell me you didn't take the main road.”
    Ariana stared, unable to respond.
    When it was clear Ariana wasn't going to answer, she continued. “Once your training with Bardoc ends, you will reach your Mastery at home with me. Bardoc will assist with supplemental materials and—”
    A chill washed over her, but she finally found her voice. “No—” she whispered—pleaded.
    “It's already done.”
    “You ca—you can't." The temperature in the landing plummeted. "How could you do this to me?”
    The pity in her mother's eyes did nothing to calm her bewildered rage. “I warned you, Ariana. You left me no choice.”
    A bitter laugh escaped Ariana's trembling lips. But her response was smothered beneath her mother's simple words. There was nothing she could say—nothing she could do to stop this from happening.
    “I know you're upset—”
    “ Upset?! ” Ariana half-shrieked, half-choked.
    Ruekridge. The Orders. Her friends downstairs. All of it was lost forever, blown away on the wind. The entire world of her future, built over years of dreaming, burned up like portal books in one small conversation. Upset? She was devastated.
    “Someday,” her mother was saying, “you will come to see that your worth is more than those books, Ariana. You will be valuable to the Shadows, as we both know you are, but you won't be singled out as the Fyrennians' number one target.”
    Ariana shook her head, the tears spilling from her eyes. “Don't,” she sobbed, feeling her legs start to buckle beneath her. She grabbed the banister to keep herself standing. “Don't try and justify this.”
    Her mother reached for her, but Ariana shoved her away. “I wish it had been you the Fyrenninas caught when I was a baby. I wish it was father here with me now,” she spat, not knowing if she meant it, but knowing it was the only thing she could say to inflict some kind of pain back at her mother. Then she turned, relishing the look of hurt on Madame Emory's face as she climbed the next flight of stairs with as much dignity as she could muster. She reached Tehya's room, slammed the door shut behind her, and collapsed onto the floor in a rush of tears.

Chapter 5
     
    Hunter stood there, feeling awkward as introductions were suspended while everyone eavesdropped. He started fiddling with his bag to combat the urge to listen along, and pulled out the remaining pages of Elder Script. They looked more fragile and ragged and wrinkled than he was comfortable with. He wished they hadn't gotten wet. Actually, if he was wishing for things... a memory flared up. Huntsmen breaking down the door and his grandpa turning away from him to fight them off as he disappeared through the book . No. He wouldn't think of that. He would focus on the pages. They were the smallest bit damp still. He needed to protect them from further damage and maybe, just maybe, flatten them out a bit. So he carefully removed each one and folded it neatly down the middle, then tucked them between the pages of the now useless book, which Tehya had kindly returned to him in the Pass.
    The sound of muffled footsteps preceded the angry slam of a door. Hunter looked up, prepared to see Ariana or her mother descend the steps, but after a tense couple minutes waiting, the tall, tousle-haired intellectual type stood to greet him. “William,” he said, extending a hand.
    Hunter went to shake it, only to falter at the sight of William's fingers, curled as if around the handle