Exile Read Online Free Page B

giving him a moment to compose himself, she knocked.
    “Come in.”
    She opened the door and stepped into the familiar room, shutting the door behind her before he could ask her to, and seated herself across from him without awaiting the offer. Her gaze skimmed over the narrow, youthful features of the headmaster and came to rest upon the room’s other occupant.
    The individual, standing off to one side feigning interest in a book, was a young, bronze-skinned Caithin man with a strong jaw and well-balanced features. His mid-length hair was a dark, dingy brown color that detracted a little from an otherwise attractive countenance. His dark eyes, when he glanced her way, held a keen alertness that belied his casual stance.
    She drew on ascard, masking her ability as she probed deeper into the stranger. His ascard connection was strong, but not extraordinary. Still, his eyes, when they flickered over to her again, were familiar somehow. For now, she gave up her uninvited exploration and faced the headmaster.
    “You wished to see me, Lord Serivar,” she stated, indicating with her tone that she hadn’t forgotten her upset with him. Time hadn’t diluted the distress caused by his lies and she wouldn’t let its passage soften this encounter.
    There was a flash of irritation in Serivar’s eyes as he considered her, lips pressed together in a tight line. The obvious frustration pleased her. “Your time away seems to have numbed your sense of propriety. I suppose it must be the Lyran influence.”
    She said nothing, beating down the burning desire to rise to the Lyran defense. There was no sense in rousing his curiosity on that front. She breathed in the familiar smells of the office, books, ink, and the ever-present decanter of wine. Strange how much she had missed that distinctive blend.
    When her silence lengthened, he continued, “Indigo, this is Edan Lindis. He’s another adept in the King’s Order.”
    She inclined her head in a gesture of respect, but didn’t rise to curtsy as would be expected in other settings. She was not in the mood to play the role of proper noble lady today. If this man was one of Caithin’s secretive force of adepts and creators, then he was an equal of sorts, and she would treat him thusly.
    Edan faced her, a sparkle of amusement rising in his eyes when they met hers, and she again had that unsettling sense that she knew him from somewhere.
    “A pleasure to meet you, Lord Edan.” She added the title based on his rich attire and the hint of refinement in his bearing though Serivar had offered none.
    He inclined his head, reserved but respectful. “Likewise, my lady.”
    She looked at him a moment longer, trying once more to place him before giving up and turning back to Serivar. “I didn’t think we were allowed to meet others of the Order.”
    “Edan is part of something more exclusive than our normal membership. Like you,” he added pointedly.
    She raised her eyebrows in inquiry, but held her silence, curious to see where this was leading and unwilling to offer him anything until she had her answers. This was the first she had heard of some more exclusive group.
    “Before we move on to business, why don’t you have some wine and tell me of your experiences in Lyra.” Serivar gestured to the three goblets waiting on his desk.
    Edan walked over to sit in the chair next to her, angling it so that he faced her as well as the headmaster. He took one of the goblets and reclined in the seat, swirling the wine before taking a sip. Serivar took another goblet and she claimed the third, inspecting it with ascard on a whim.
    Should she mistrust Serivar enough to be wary of poison? Had he earned that level of suspicion, or was she being paranoid?
    To be fair to herself, the Headmaster hadn’t explained his actions and she was still on edge after her time in Lyra. Myac haunted her thoughts often enough to perpetuate a sense of dreadful anticipation in her. She saw him in her nightmares,