The Dreamer And The Deceiver (Book 1) Read Free Page A

question echoed to the ends of the table. Despite her attempts, the silence remained strong. Grace, from the other end, looked up as if she had heard something but wasn’t sure.
    “Um, I don’t know. It’s strange that she hadn’t dropped by the past couple of days,” Grace said before looking down to continue picking at her food. “Hope she’s okay.  I tried to get something out of her but she’s been distant lately… nothing but hellos and goodbyes.”
    “We did see her on the way back home , mother. She didn’t say much. Taeo was with her son when Emil and I passed by … barely recognized her.”
    Emil paused to reflect. He remembered the look on Beth’s face when the three of them were walking through town. The lady who ushered her child inside as he walked by. That was her. The look of fear on her face blinded him from noticing her. She usually had her hair down and carried an open expression. Compared to what he had seen today, it was day and night.
    “Poor child, she must be going through something…” Grace said as she shook her head, still eyeing her meal.
    What Serenity failed to mention was that when they saw her, she was cowering away grasping at her child. Her withheld information, however, was for a just cause. Looking over at Emil, she realized that he was still sore from the previous string of conversation. He was no monster. That she knew for certain. But still, there were those who thought otherwise. 
     
     
     
     

Chapter Two: In A Perfect World
     
    A knock on the door. Another knock. The four of them looked at the door as it vibrated in tandem with the string of urgent booming. Emil began to rise from his seat to the door, but Grace insisted that she answer.  As she moved closer, she wondered who would be bothering her at such a time of night. Her hand hovered over the wooden knob as she pressed her ear against the door, waiting for another series of knocks. But there were none.
    “Who is it?” Grace said, still leaning with her ear pressed against the wooden door.
    There was a noticeable pause.
    “It’s Beth.”
    Grace’s shoulders dropped as she exhaled with a sigh of relief, elated at the voice of her long lost friend.
    “Can I come in?” The voice said from the other side.
    “Sure,” Grace responded enthusiastically. “One second.”
    Without hesitation , Grace quickly started to work on the chain lock above the handle of the door to let in her best friend. As she worked against the lock, she smiled to herself eagerly, expectant to hear of what she had been missing as of late. How were her children? Was she seeing anybody new?  Their chat sessions had long since become something that she yearned for in her friend’s recent absence. Without her husband around, it had been awhile since Grace had the luxury of talking to someone her own age.
    After fidgeting with the chain lock for some time she finally managed to open the door , and to her surprise, Beth was not alone. The grin that Grace wore quickly faded as she stared out of the opening in horror. There Beth stood backed by a platoon of heavily armored foot soldiers sent by the king himself. The blood red seal etched into their plated armor struck fear into her heart as she stood there, dumbfounded by the betrayal of her best friend.
    “I’m Sorry.” Beth mouthed as the guards crossed in front of her and presented Grace with a worn piece of paper; a bounty for Emil dead or alive.
    “Have you seen this man?” one of the guards asked abruptly, severing the already fragile ties of the former friends. Grace looked down at the tan piece of paper the guard held and then looked up at Beth, who was partially hidden behind his shoulder. The maroon hood that rested on top her head glowed dully in unison with the flickering torches the other soldiers held.
    Grace studied the picture as if she never laid eyes on the young man on the worn sheet of paper. Her scrunched brows pulsed as she analyzed the bounty. With a confused