The Grimjinx Rebellion Read Online Free Page B

book says that seers are very rare, only a handful are born every generation. Even still, they all share some unique traits. For example, all seers have green eyes. And all seers are left-handed. And . . . and . . . all seers are silent for the first ten years of their lives.”
    The room fell quiet but for the ticking of the nearby clock. Ma and Da joined hands and I knew we were all thinking the same thing. Aubrin had green eyes. Aubrin was left-handed. And Aubrin . . .
    â€œNo,” Ma said quietly. Her lips pulled back into a pained smile. “No.”
    By now, Callie was sobbing again. “And . . . and I just casually mentioned to Talian that Aubrin had only started speaking about eight months ago. And that none of you knew why she had been silent for ten years . . .”
    Da was on his feet, pacing behind the sofa and breathing heavily. Ma wrung her hands. All this nervous activity got to Callie and she started wailing.
    â€œI’m so sorry!” she said. “I didn’t realize this would happen. As soon as I told Talian, he contacted the Palatinate Lordcourt. I ran as fast as I could to tell you. I didn’t know they’d come so quickly.”
    â€œWay to go, Strom,” Maloch barked. “You’d turn in your own uncle, wouldn’t you?”
    Callie shot him a hate-filled look but didn’t say a word.
    I stared straight ahead, letting it all sink in. This had nothing to do with my investigation into the Uprisings and the Palatinate. This was about . . . my sister? A seer? She was a lot of things. A con artist. A pickpocket. But a seer? How could I not have known that?
    It seemed obvious now. The night before, when she’d tried to warn me about the widow Bellatin. And when she’d known Kolo’s last words to me.
    The Dowager wandered over to the glass cabinet again, her back to the room. I could have sworn she was trying not to look at us.
    A pair of twin doors leading into the study slid open. Talian stepped through, hands folded at his waist.
    â€œI apologize for the delay,” Talian said softly, sharing a humble smile with everyone. “I needed to contact the Lordcourt.”
    Talian had changed since he’d helped me and Callie thwart Edilman Jaxter and fend off the balanx attack in Vengekeep. He looked thinner, his scarlet-and-black robes clinging to his lithe frame. And he seemed much older than twenty. In these past few months, he’d become so reserved, so measured . . .
    So adult. It was frightening.
    â€œMr. and Mrs. Grimjinx,” Talian said, “I must apologize. I’m sure this was incredibly stressful. Please let me assure you the Palatinate doesn’t make a practice of seizing children from their parents without any warning.”
    Da exhaled loudly, expelling enough air that he almost doubled over. Ma blinked twice and her smile widened. “I knew this was a mistake,” she said. “Thank you, Talian. Yes, we’ve had quite a scare. But if you can just see that Aubrin is brought back to us safely, we’ll say ‘No harm, no foul’ about the whole matter.”
    Ma and Da stood as if to leave. But Talian made no move to see them to the door.
    The mage frowned. “I’m afraid I haven’t made myself clear. We apologize for the abrupt way your daughter was taken. But—”
    â€œShe won’t be returning to Vengekeep.”
    At the sound of this new voice, we all turned to the open study doors to find a tall woman wearing the majestic robes of the Palatinate Lordcourt. A gold-rimmed monocle covered her left eye. The smile on her lips could have frosted the windows with ice. We all stood. Not to be respectful but because of what my great-great-uncle Gellimore Grimjinx always said: Sit with your enemy, never stand again.
    â€œMy name is Nalia,” she said. But we knew who she was. It’s hard to forget someone who, just two months ago,