Vengeance by Amy Miles Read Free Book Online Page A

enough to confirm my suspicions but
now I am sure of it.   This
is the man from my dreams.  This is Bastien.
    The sound of his
name tumbles through my mind like waves crashing against a rocky
shore.  I feel torn and mended countless times in a mere second,
aching and wounded and yet feeling oddly whole.  
    “Illyria?”
 I turn and blink, dazed to find Eamon standing up beside me.
 For a moment I am unsure of where I am.  Slowly the haze
in my mind clears and I can feel Eamon’s hands upon my arm.
 “Are you alright?”
    “Yes, of
course.”  I smile and pat his arm.  I can feel others
watching me, sense their concern but when I glance beyond Eamon to
the space where I saw the man I realize he has vanished.  
    I can tell Eamon is
not convinced as he helps me settle back into my chair.  I press
my palm against my cheeks and realize that I have become flushed.
 “Perhaps I am not feeling well after all.”
    With a snap of his
fingers, Kyan sends three guards sprinting to my side.  I wave
them off, protesting that I am perfectly capable of walking, though
Eamon insists on carrying me.  I cast an apologetic glance over
his shoulder at my friends, scolding myself for ruining their party.
 
    As
the tent fades into darkness behind us I lay my head against Eamon’s
shoulder and allow my eyes to close.   I
know that I saw Bastien. I’m not imagining things.  It
truly is him.  The only question is...who exactly is he?
FOUR

    I rise before dawn,
unwilling to continue tossing and turning.  Eamon stirs beside
me as I slip from the bed and plod into the bathroom, quietly sliding
the door closed behind me.  I lean over the sink and stare at my
reflection in the mirror.  
    My eyes are
decidedly puffy this morning, ringed with lavender and lined at the
corners.  My lips seem paler than normal. My eyes dull.  My
cheeks are a bit flushed and my stomach churns, though I have yet to
be ill.
    “Wow.  What
a way to make a great first impression!”
    Today is going to be
filled with back to back meetings with delegates from the
not-too-distant Raos province.  This city is one of great wealth
due to the mining towns that surround it.  I had been scheduled
to visit this grand city in person but Kyan refused to even consider
letting me leave the palace while he was gone, so he arranged for the
delegates to come here instead.  They should be arriving in only
a few short hours.
    “Not enough
time to turn this mess around,” I grumble and splash cold water
on my face.
    A night of restless
slumber has left me off kilter and cranky.  That doesn’t
bode well for the day I have spread out before me.
    Grabbing a towel
from a shelf beside the basin, I rush through a quick wash and dress
in a light pale blue linen dress.  Gone are the see-through
outfits that Aloysius once subjected me to.  I have settled for
a far more conservative, yet casual style of dress, allowing for the
change in temperatures throughout the day and yet not so rigid as to
feel suffocated by decorum.
    I pull my hair
around to the side of my head and begin methodically braiding, my
thoughts lost to me.  I know that I dreamt last night though I
can’t remember exactly what I saw.  Eamon woke me in the
middle of the night and cradled me like a child as tears streamed
down my cheeks.  An overwhelming sense of loss struck me, though
I can find no reason for it.
    Looping a band about
the ends of my hair, I toss my braid back over my shoulder and slide
my feet into a pair of slippers.  They feel cool against my
feet, molding perfectly to the arch of my foot so that when I step I
can nearly feel the texture of the tile beneath.
    Eamon’s gentle
snores continue as I slip from the room and out into the darkened
hall.  The flickering of candlelight glows in intervals before
me as I walk down the familiar path.  Though much of this palace
still remains a mystery to me, the main halls and meeting rooms are
all too familiar.
    Moonlight spills in
through