Daughter of the Red Dawn (The Lost Kingdom of Fallada) Read Online Free Page B

the girl’s discovery of her powers. Eladria was coming into her own, discovering what she was really capable of. And now, those cursed Fae ries were plotting against her. Oh, she knew about Adrah’s plan to send the scribes Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm into the world of men to retrieve the lost princesses. Adrah continued to underestimate Eranna and did not realize that she had eyes inside of Goldun and knew her every move.
    Eranna would not care about Princess Eladria’s beauty or power, if not for the fact that Adrah meant to bring the girl back to Damu and see her seated on her throne. That , Eranna could not have. Restoration of the princesses to their former thrones would mean disaster for her and the certainty of the demise of her plans.
    “ What do you suggest then?” Ushma asked.
    Eranna lifted her gleaming silver tiara from its place of honor beside her mirror. The intricate design of intertwining branches and leaves was further enhanced by a dusting of crushed diamonds. One large , clear stone dang l ed between her eyebrows.
    “Oh , Ushma, it’s been so long since I’ve left this castle. It i s about time I did , don’t you think?”
    Ushma’s cackling laughter mixed with the musical sound of Eranna’s giggle. Ushma rubbed her hands—gnarled like tree branches—together and moved back toward the door.
    “I will pre pare your chariot , my Queen.”
    “I know that you will Ushma. You are so very faithful.”
    Ushma bowed several times before disappearing through the door. Eranna turned back to the mirror and continued perusing the hypnotic reflection staring back at her.
    Perhaps I will keep the Witches around, she mused as she reached for her favorite diamond choker. They have their uses and at least with them around my beauty is magnified ten-fold.
    ~*~
     
    Titus shivered and pulled the coarse blanket tightly around his shoulders.
    He had been trying to sleep for hours , but couldn’t seem to drift off. His encounter with Selena left him shaken and he couldn’t get her out of his head.
    How was everything going s o hopelessly wrong? His assignment should have been an easy one: track down Eladria of Damu and kill her. One bite of his strong jaw at her throat would have done the job nicely, and yet Titus just couldn’t bring himself to do it.
    He turned onto his side, facing the wall of the small, abandoned cabin he’d been living in since crossing over into the world of men. Titus felt like a fool, a failure, for allowing Eladria’s pretty face to distract him from his mission. His parents and little sister were being held captive by Eranna and all Titus needed to do to free them was end the life of one little girl. It should have been easy.
    But Titus hadn’t been expecting her to be so beautiful and not just in a physical way. The afternoon when he’d first stalked her across the abandoned field, he had every intention of getting the job done then and there. Then she’d started to run. With the wind in her coppery red hair and a genuine smile across her heart-shaped face, Titus saw Eladria as the pure soul that she was.
    He just couldn’t do it.
    Titus sighed and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to tear his thoughts away from Selena. He thought about home instead. He missed Mollac and its endless stretches of pristine white snow. He missed the jagged mountains and snow -dusted pines . He missed stalking dear and hares through the peaceful forests with his pack. Most of all he missed his family.
    T itus could picture them clearly, his father’s beautiful white pelt, his mother’s sleek form and his sister’s kind brown eyes. For them, he had no choice but to do what Eranna commanded. Her reach was growing and soon all of his race would be enslaved. Titus planned to rescue his family and get the hell out of the way. When Eranna had wiped out all who opposed her, Titus did not plan for himself or his family to be among them.
    He shivered again beneath the blanket and frowned as a chill rolled up