The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams Read Free Book Online Page B

steady and—I hope—defiant.
    “It’s your system of government,” I say, sticking with a universally known fact. Well, universally known in the Realm, at least. “It’s led by King Atroth, a Descendant of the Tar Sidhe , who was elected by the high nobles of the thirteen provinces. The king’s—”
    “The king told you there are thirteen provinces,” Sethan interrupts. It’s not quite a question.
    “He’s shown me maps,” I say, then immediately wish I hadn’t.
    “What kind of maps?”
    “Paper ones,” I snap. I know what he’s fishing for. He wants to know if gates were marked on those maps. That’s what this war is about, after all. Control of the gates means control of the Realm’s commerce. While fae may be able to fissure from whatever point they choose, they can’t drag along wagons full of goods unless they open their fissure at a gate. Anything more than what they can carry will be lost in the In-Between. Several decades ago—long before I first met Kyol—King Atroth’s predecessor began regulating their use, requiring merchants to pay a tax to fissure their wares throughout the Realm. The merchants didn’t like that, of course, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why so many have started searching for an alternative Descendant.
    Sethan remains unperturbed. “How many gates were there?”
    “None,” I lie. There were thirty-one, over a dozen more than are marked on the Realm’s public maps.
    “Then why were you shown the maps?”
    “For the same reason he”—I nod toward Aren—“probably shows maps to his shadow-readers: geography.” I needed to memorize the Realm’s provinces and regions. Without knowing the name of a place, my maps might as well be random scratches on a page. I have to say the name of the region out loud for the magic to lock in, and for the fae I’m with to be able to fissure to the location I mark. It’s the one teensy bit of magic that shadow-readers like me can claim.
    Lena pushes off the wall. “She’s lying. She knows where the Missing Gates are. She’s used them.”
    “I’ve used the Provincial Gates,” I tell Sethan. I’m not sure why I feel like I have to explain myself to this fae. He’s important—of that, I’m certain—but why haven’t I heard his name before?
    “We monitor the Provincial Gates,” Lena says. “We would have abducted you long before now if you used only those to travel.”
    I keep my expression neutral, trying not to give any indication that she’s right. The Realm used to be made up of hundreds of small kingdoms, each with its own gate, but three thousand years ago, almost all of those gates disappeared in the Duin Bregga , a brutal war that translates roughly into “The Dissolution.” According to Kyol, the Missing Gates were said to be destroyed, but there were always rumors that some of them remained, and that the locations had just been wiped from the minds of the fae using a magic that’s extinct today. When one of King Atroth’s aids, with the help of a silverflushed kimki , stumbled upon a gate not marked on any map, those rumors were confirmed. Ever since then, Atroth has been searching for—and finding—other Missing Gates.
    “If you want to extend your life,” Lena says, taking a step toward me, “you’ll give us those gates.”
    “Lena,” Aren cuts in. Then he speaks in their language. She fires something back. Calmly, he speaks again. Whatever he says, she’s obviously not happy about it. Sethan barely has time to move out of the way before she yanks open the front door and storms inside, grumbling a litany of what I’m betting are fae curses under her breath. Most likely, they’re directed at me.
    Whatever. I’m glad to see her go.
    Sethan turns his attention back to me. “I’m truly sorry you’ve been brought into this war. We never wanted to involve humans, but Atroth made it necessary when he began employing your kind against us. His shadow-readers, you in particular,