Call of the Colossus: An epic fantasy novel (The Mindstream Chronicles Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

wink.
    Jora smiled at the princess’s unexpected mischievousness. Though she thought to walk a step behind, the princess slowed her pace so that Jora kept up. As if they were equals and not ruler and subject.
    “Which one of them do you think is more livid? Tornal?” Princess Rivva chuckled softly. “Don’t misunderstand. I’m not usually one to kick up the dust, but in this case, I found it quite delicious.”
    Outside, Princess Rivva lifted her ample yellow skirts and descended the wide, stone stairs, appearing to float with her practiced steps. Jora cast a longing look at the Spirit Stone, wishing she could touch it, just once, for just a second. But no, the princess and king were waiting. Their time was more valuable than the longing of a girl to touch a rock. She followed Princess Rivva down the stairs, though her longing only intensified with every step.
    A white carriage trimmed in gold waited on the street, along with a half-dozen saddled horses—one for each of the guardsmen. As she approached, a footman dressed in blue knee breeches and a waist-length, long-sleeved coat appeared from behind it and opened the door. He held one gloved hand out. Princess Rivva placed her hand into his, stepped onto the box below the carriage opening, and climbed in. She settled on the forward-facing seat and arranged her skirts.
    Jora looked about, unsure where she was expected to ride. The guardsmen mounted the horses, leaving none free.
    “Miss?” the footman said, his hand held out for hers.
    I ’ m to ride with the princess? She hesitantly put her hand into his, stepped up and climbed into the carriage.
    “Come, come. There’s plenty of room,” Princess Rivva said, patting the seat beside her. “I get queasy riding backwards. I wouldn’t ask you to do it.”
    Jora sat delicately on the seat next to Princess Rivva, careful not to tromp on the delicate fabric of the princess’s dress. It was all so surreal. She’d never even seen the princess until a few minutes earlier, and now she was invited to sit next to her in her private carriage.
    And it was a beautiful carriage, too, with bleached leather lining the ceiling and walls and covering the seat cushions. She was impressed by the straight seams and hidden stitches and the silky feel of the leather, softer than any she’d felt before. The skinner in Kaild certainly hadn’t tanned leather like that. A lump formed in her throat, and she swallowed it down. It was almost unfair that she would live while the Kailders could not.
    The door closed, and the carriage rocked momentarily as the footman climbed aboard. With a lurch, they were off.
    “I’ll bet my intrusion came as quite a surprise to you,” Princess Rivva said, smiling. She had a comely face with a few freckles across her nose and a birthmark on the apple of her right cheek.
    Jora cleared her throat. “Yes, Your Highness. They found me guilty and were about to sentence me to death.”
    “Yes, I’m sure they were.” Princess Rivva sat a bit straighter and wagged her shoulders. “I feel a bit like the heroine of a child’s fairy tale, swooping in to save the hapless girl.”
    “Eagle Girl,” Jora said mostly to herself, thinking of Boden and his boyhood fantasy of saving the people of Kaild.
    “You’ve read the stories of Eagle Boy?” Princess Rivva asked with brows raised.
    Jora supposed that a leatherworker from a small town in rural Serocia wasn’t expected to be literate, but surely the princess knew about the books that were at the center of Jora’s conflict with the dominee. “No, but a friend of mine did when we were children. Or at least, he knew of Eagle Boy and loved to pretend…” She shook her head. The princess wouldn’t want to hear about Boden’s boyish games.
    Eager to find another topic to talk about, she glanced at the beautiful blue pendant that hung around the princess’s neck on a string of pearlescent white beads. “Your necklace is lovely. Are those pearls?”
    Rivva