Arine's Sanctuary Read Online Free Page B

writing.
                  “It was unavoidable. Some hunters caught up with us. We … had to take a few days to recover.” Arine shifted uncomfortably in her chair.
                  “Was Cavon injured?” The sound of her quill on the paper echoed in the still room.
                  “No, he wasn’t.” Unable to stay still, Arine rose nervously. Crossing the room, she stared out of a window to a small courtyard garden below.
                  The writing stopped. She could feel Mistress Bryn’s green eyes on her as she shifted in her chair.
                  “You were? That does not happen often. The hunters you encountered were well-trained?”
                  Arine nodded silently from her place at the window. Drawing in a deep breath, she replied, “They had access to cargrada. Their blades were laced with it.”
                  Footsteps crossed the carpeted floor. A gentle hand touched hers, urging her to sit on a small couch. Sinking into the soft cushions, Arine struggled to regroup. She looked at the concerned face across from her. Mistress Bryn sat next to her, patiently waiting for Arine to continue.
                  “One of them got lucky. A dagger thrust to my side that was just a shade too fast for me to parry. I woke up a day or so later in a cave. Cavon found it, brought me there.” She paused, unsure of what Mistress Bryn would believe.
                  “They couldn’t have been using cargrada, Arine. You’d be dead if they had.”
                  Arine met her eyes, and Mistress Bryn sat back, her face unreadable. “What else happened, Arine? Even if you are uncertain, I need to know.” Her voice carried a tone of command that Arine knew better than to resist.
                  Drawing in a deep breath, she plunged into retelling her sketchy memories of the cave, of Cavon’s reaction when she woke up. Mistress Bryn listened in silence. Her story complete, Arine raised her face, expecting to be told she imagined it.
                  To her surprise, Mistress Bryn sat still. Small creases in her forehead appeared like they always did when she was deep in thought. “How much do you know of the old tales, Arine?” Her voice remained light, but there was a serious undertone.
                  “The same as everyone else. We’re all taught them as part of our learning . That some men once wielded magic, those who didn’t controlled those who did. How the Great War almost killed both our people and the land. That those who were left, the first Domines, seized power so that the warmongering of men could never happen again. The mages died out. No one was willing to admit to using magic; it was banned as a consideration in a dowry. The lineages of power were broken.” She spoke evenly. The lecture regarding the history of the Great War was one of the more boring things she’d ever sat through, and the scariest. Magic led to death.
                  An almost oppressive silence hung in the room. Mistress Bryn’s uneven breath made Arine’s ears perk up. “And if I told you that Cavon was descended from the lineage of one of the greatest mages, and that magic had saved your life, would it change how you saw him?” The look in Mistress Bryn’s eyes sent a cold shiver down Arine’s spine.
                  She looked away, momentarily stunned. She recited in a sing song voice, “The Law is absolute. Any boy found with the ability to wield magic is to be put to death. The Domines will not allow …” Her voice trailed off. Cavon? A mage? Her hand absently moved to where her wound had been. The skin felt cool beneath her fingers.
                  “Not all magic is evil, Arine. The reason Domine Elsa wants him is to mingle her bloodline with his. She wants mages she can control.” Arine closed her eyes and she