Legends of Marithia: Book 3 - Talonsphere Read Free Page B

silver eyes.
    There was a concern in those eyes like he had never seen before. He pursed his lips as he considered the best way to speak his mind. “I’ve heard a lot of useless talk in the last few days. As if I care about the stupid lives of these maggots. What worries me is the talk of a messenger dragon. They’ll send reinforcements. Towns are now under the crown’s protection. It won’t be safe for us tonight, and I fear that unless we leave here soon, we may not make it out.”
    Mestal nodded and wiped a black tear from her eye, understanding that she needed to grieve. It pained him to see her upset, but since he murdered his best friend, sympathy was an alien emotion to him. He was glad that he could still love, even if nobody would understand why he loved her so much. Tusdar ducked under a dimming slither of sunlight, making his way to sit beside her on the rusty bed. It creaked under his weight.
    Rubbing his shoulder, he marvelled at his newly-acquired powers of healing. Their escape from the battle of Greenhaven had resulted in a breakneck dive into the shallow Tr’Arch River. Only a vampire could survive such a fall. It was one of the defining moments that brought him joy for becoming a creature of the night. He brought his hand to his face and watched his fingers blur in and out of focus.
    “We need to feed and have hardly rested in days. This stupid town. I’m sick of being here. Nobody comes out after nightfall except the warriors. We wouldn’t be a match for them like this,” Mestal said, wiping her nose with the musty blanket.
    Tusdar kissed her head and drew her to his chest. He may have lost sympathy, but not for her. She was the only one that mattered to him now, and he understood her pain. She did well to try to hide it, but he knew she grieved for her father. When he watched Vartan dispatch him, and Mestal’s attempt to engage him in battle, he only wanted to save her. He couldn’t lose anyone else, not again.
    “I know what it’s like to lose your parents. Your whole world crashes down around you. You’ve got to fend for yourself. But you’re not alone and I’ll never let that happen to you, okay? You are mine, and I am yours.”
    She dug her face into his chest, wrapping her arms around him. “I know and your words mean much to me, but I miss father. I know he was rough, but he loved me, even if he didn’t show it. That heartless coward took him from me. Why didn’t you let me fight him? I could’ve avenged my family.”
    Tusdar breathed deep and combed his fingers through her hair. He watched as the slivers of light dimmed. Her words reminded him of watching his army burn from the inside, all at the hands of Vartan. Tusdar hoped he wouldn’t have to face Vartan again.
    Tusdar’s voice deepened as he hid the anger within his words. “Don’t try that again. I can’t bear to lose you. You’ve no idea of what he’s capable. Did you see what he did to our people?”
    “Our people?” she said, grinning. “So you’ve truly become one of us.”
     

     
    Power returned to the rising Blood-Red Moon, and the beams of sunlight had transformed to burgundy moonlight, they received a message from Kassina. Her voice strained in their skulls.
    How did this disaster happen? Marithia crawls in the afterglow of their victory. Be careful returning to our lands.
    Tusdar tugged at his shirt and stared at the tattoo of an eye in the centre of a pentagram, on his chest. The etching was foreign, but it linked him to the rulers of the underworld. “I’ll get us home.”
    Darkness gripped the lands. It was now or never. Tusdar grunted as he shifted the block of wood barring the door. Edging it open, they watched for signs of human or elven warriors hunting them. To his surprise, the town appeared calm. He heard the gentle crunches of footsteps and murmuring voices around Crondor.
    Tusdar whispered, “I don’t think they know we’re here. We can make a break for it and head to the forest. It