Shadow Fire Read Free Page A

wide in amazement. A couple tears manage to make it past my futile attempt for control. Once the first few drops escape, it's like a dam burst and more pour out from my burning eyes.
    "Yes," he murmurs, pulling me into his arms and kissing the top of my head before releasing me. "Now get ready for your party. We'll see you at the tavern."
    They both pretend not to see the silent tears coursing down my cheeks in twin rivulets. With one last glance at my parents, I wipe the wet drops from my face before retreating. Returning to the staircase, I ascend slower this time, no longer running from my demons.
    When I reach the door to my room it's standing wide open. I pause in the doorway for a few moments, wondering if I can make a break for it before my sisters notice my presence. They seem wrapped up in their current activity, which involves throwing every garment we own from the small closet. Just as I'm about to run, Celeste notices me in the doorway and grabs my arm to pull me into the room.
    "It's about time you got here!" she says, releasing my arm and glaring at me with her hands on her hips. "Now we only have a few minutes to get you ready for the party! You know how important this is right? This may be your last chan…"
    My mind tunes out her incessant chatter as I cross the room to sit on the edge of my bed. Running my hand over the downy blanket, I realize this may be the last time I ever sit on my bed again. I haven't told anyone yet, but I plan to leave tonight, right after the party.
    There's no way I'm staying for the mayor's ridiculous celebration tomorrow. Not only will Cory be there, but so will the whole town. I've already felt like a freak show the past three weeks. Mr. Markim's two-headed foal didn't even get as much attention as I do. The mayor is not going to put me on display for the whole town to stare at.
    "I'm leaving tonight after the party," I blurt out, ending Celeste's tireless rant.
    "What?" Brinda gasps as her hand tugs at her long brown hair, twirling a strand around several slender fingers. "Mayor Franklin'll be mad."
    Her chocolate brown eyes stare at the floor while she fidgets with the hem of her white dress. Brinda never was one to break any rule imposed by an elder, whether said rule was sensible or not.
    "Cory attacked me in the forest today," I say, my face reddening from a dizzying combination of fury and humiliation. "There's no way I'm going to some asinine celebration tomorrow only to see him again."
    "That yellow-bellied rat!" Celeste all but screams in her outrage. "I hope you put an arrow through him." Her cobalt eyes are sparking in fury as she begins to pace the small room.
    "You know very well I couldn't do that," I say, though I can't help but agree with the sixteen-year-old blonde. "I did fight him, but I was exhausted from hiking through the woods all day."
    Flopping back on my soft bed, I stare up into the faces of my sisters, one spitting mad and the other terrified.
    "I was rescued by a mercenary… the most handsome man I've ever seen in my life." His soulful eyes invade my thoughts, sending a tiny involuntary shiver from my head to my shoulders.
    "Zane?" Celeste asks in a breathy whisper.
    "Yeah, how'd you know?" I ask.
    My heart starts racing and another tiny shiver courses through my body, raising goose bumps on my arms. Whether from reliving the attack or the thought of the gorgeous mercenary, I'm not sure.
    "He came to town a couple days ago with the merchant caravan. He's in Verdane, oh, four to five times a year," Celeste says with a wistful sigh. "Just about every girl in town has hit on him at one time or another. He's never shown the slightest interest in any of us. Even me! It's those dark red eyes of his, so soulful. You just want to wrap your arms around his hunky goodness and kiss away his troubles."
    "How did I manage to miss seeing him before?" I ask, surprised that I never noticed such an attractive man.
    Celeste has never seemed this smitten about anyone.