Elf Sight Read Online Free Page A

saddlebags. Shadow and Irlan had been given food to put in their saddlebags before they’d ridden out that morning. By the time the sun was setting and the light starting to fade, Shadow could no longer feel her legs. At some stage her backside and then her legs had grown numb. Now that they were stopping she wondered how she’d ever get off her horse. She watched as Irlan staggered to the ground, groaning. When some soldiers turned to watch him, he straightened and led his horse to where the others unsaddled. Shadow started to smile at her brother’s behaviour then remembered she’d probably look worse. She didn’t get to ride anywhere near as much as he did.
    Taking a deep breath, Shadow dragged her leg forward over the saddle. There was no way she’d be able to dismount properly. She tensed, slid off the saddle and grabbed at the stirrup as her knees gave out. A hand grabbed her mid arm and hauled her up before she hit the ground. Looking up, Shadow saw it was Carson. She quickly looked away from his piercing brown eyes and tilted her head forward so the hat hid her face.
    “I’m fine,” she said in as deep a voice as possible, her words little more than a whisper.
    “Thank you.” Irlan appeared at her side. “I’ve got him now.”
    When Irlan took her other arm, Shadow gratefully pulled away from Carson who nodded sharply and then moved off. She watched him cross the clearing.
    “Are you crazy?” Irlan hissed.
    “You didn’t stick around,” Shadow hissed back. “And it wasn’t like I asked for his help. You can let me go now.”
    “I’ll unsaddle your horse,” Irlan offered.
    “I can do it.” Shadow snatched the reins from Irlan.
    “You’re drawing attention. Let me deal with the horse. It’s not like you ride every day like I do.” Irlan tried to pull the reins from her.
    She refused to let them go. “I know even you must feel sore after this amount of riding.”
    “Shut up Shadow, and quit drawing attention to yourself.”
    Shadow breathed out heavily and let go of the reins. Irlan led the horse away and she turned in the opposite direction. Seeing Carson under a tree watching her, she froze. She wondered what he had made of their whispered argument.
    “Hey kid,” a soldier said behind Shadow. She spun quickly and then had to stop a groan at the effort the movement took. “General wants you to collect firewood.”
    Irlan returned to her side the moment the soldier stopped near her. “I’ll help him.”
    The soldier shook his head. “General wants you to groom horses. He said to tell you everyone pulls their weight.”
    When Irlan would have continued to argue, Shadow shook her head and moved away. Collecting firewood was a job even little children could do. The soldiers would wonder if she refused to collect it. Even though she would have preferred to collapse in a heap and not move she forced herself to search the densely treed area for deadfall. It didn’t take her long to collect enough firewood and pile it beside the campfire before she found a quiet place to relax. The tree trunk she leaned against was hidden by bushes and felt as comfortable to her aching body as a feather mattress. Exhausted from the long hours of riding, she fell asleep.
    Low voices woke her. She looked around, trying to see where they came from in the last of the day’s light. She couldn’t see them for the trees, nor could she recognise the voices since she could barely hear them. About to rise to her feet, she froze as the occasional word became clear.
    “No one yet… King… who’d suspect… anything… crown… mages… elf sight… careful.”
    “Dinner!” The word rang out through the camp and cut off the whispered conversation.
    Shadow huddled against the base of the tree she leaned on and stayed deathly still. The words had made no sense, but alarm bells rang in her head at the snippets she had caught. Was Irlan right? Did Carson have a hidden agenda? She didn’t want to know. She wanted to