Light the Reign (The Forgotten: Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

attention first.
    Katya smiled at him mockingly. “We were told
that if I delivered the stone, we’d be forgiven our crimes and set
free.”
    Before he could answer, the Dena’ina leader
held up his hand, “They are honored guests of the Dena’ina and will
be treated according to our customs.”
    This custom had apparently also been how the
colony of the marked within the Dena’ina tribe had started; their
Elders had agreed that the practice of exiling any with the mark
was outdated and incorrect. They believed the mark was not a symbol
of the Dark King’s purpose, only his bloodline. And this bloodline
also contained improvements which would only benefit the human race
as a whole. By offering any of the marked who were exiled from the
other tribes honorary guest status, they were to be protected by
tribal law.
    Unfortunately, the other tribes – and the
Myaamia in particular – did not take kindly to this sanctuary. A
small group of the Myaamia Elders had responded by sending in
assassins to take care of the matter. This had resulted in what the
Myaamia called the ‘incident’. Regrettably, the assassins had met
their end while attempting to kill the marked, but not until after
succeeding in killing several beforehand. Those who knew of the
event at all in the Myaamia tribe thought that the Dena’ina had
viciously murdered their tribesmen, having no idea that they had
been the ones sent on a murderous mission.
    Another voice suddenly cut through the clamor
that their arrival had caused, and Katya saw a familiar face in the
crowd. Her friend, Lorcan, was rushing forward towards them, and
she smiled. Her expression soon wavered, however, as she saw the
look in his eyes. He was out for blood, and he wasn’t focused on
her. He was glaring at the leader of the Dena’ina.
    “You killed my parents!” he yelled hoarsely
as he leapt through the air. A gleam of metal caught Katya’s eye
and she belatedly realized he was holding a blade out in front of
himself. With no time to knock the knife from his hands or
intercept it, Katya threw herself in front of the man.
    Lorcan’s body collided roughly with hers, and
the blade slid in through her ribs, slicing through skin and flesh.
She choked on her breath and collapsed into a heap, panting
laboriously.
    Several people rushed to her aid immediately
from the Dena’ina party, and before she knew it, she had been
whisked away and into a small dwelling on the ground. Someone
needs to tell Lorcan the truth , she thought absently as her
mind shut down to shut out the pain. Marak was busily injecting her
with painkillers and he wound around her body worriedly, tensing as
other hands touched her.
    She felt magic being used on her and could
sense the wrongness of her wound slowly being righted. She drifted
in and out of consciousness as the mages healed her flesh. She
should have seen that coming, should have realized that if Lorcan
had been told the same lies that Kali had spread he might try
something. But she hadn’t anticipated such a violent response from
her young friend. Her thoughts faded into nothingness.
    Some time later, she blinked open her eyes.
Lorcan stood before her looking contrite. “Are you alright?” he
asked hurriedly as soon as he saw the fluttering of her
eyelids.
    “I’m fine,” she waved off his concern, “but
what in the Gods names did you think you were doing?”
    His expression of shame deepened, but it was
still tinged with anger. “Slade told me that our parents were
killed in the incident with the Dena’ina; that they killed them…”
he trailed off.
    “That’s not what happened,” she whispered
softly to him.
    “That’s what they were just saying,” he
agreed, but did not look convinced. Katya understood the mixture of
emotion now. He must have had weeks to build up the rage towards
the ones who were responsible for his parents’ deaths, and to have
someone now tell you that the anger was misplaced – and worse yet
that it was your