The Redwood Rebel (The Redwood War Book 1) Read Online Free
Author: Lorna George
have personally assured her Highness that making a substitution will be easy enough.'
'No. It's ridiculous that you've even asked me.'
'Why? You haven't even heard what we're offering you.'
'It doesn't matter what you're offering me. Even if I did agree to do this monstrous thing, and I’m not going to, you have two days. It might be easy enough for you to forget, but I’ve been starved of light, food and exercise for the past four years. Even a complete fool would notice the difference.'
'Oh, that's nothing a little magic couldn't fix,' Cygnus shrugged. 'A basic glamour spell, a good strong wine with a pinch of something herbal over dinner, and a nice, dark room. He won't be able to tell.'
'Then why me? If you're going to cover me with a spell to alter my appearance, what difference does it make who you get to do it?'
'Because we have a hold over you that we don't have over anyone else.' Adrienne spoke at last, scathingly.
Cygnus shot a warning look at her, then spoke carefully. ‘Come now, poppet, you must realise you are the obvious choice.'
'And yet, I’m still not going to do it.'
Adrienne smirked then and Naomi knew that the hammer stroke was coming. 'Not even in exchange for your freedom?'
There was silence, no one even dared to breathe as this offer echoed around the large room. Naomi sat perfectly still for a long while, her eyes blank and unseeing. Her freedom? She had never even considered that she might be free again. The darkness of her cell pressing down against her, the cold seeping into her bones had extinguished all hope of such a thing. She had known that only death could await her after all that had passed, that it was the best she could hope for now. Taking Adrienne down with her as she went had been fleetingly attainable, but to be free... To go where she wished, to run again, to laugh from the pit of her stomach and do as she chose was a dream long since extinguished.
'You won't,' she whispered. 'You could never let me go, you know that. This is a trick.'
'Indeed it is not, my dear. You would be watched very carefully as you made your way to the coast, and needless to say, any trouble would result in your swift and immediate death, but so long as you left the country and never returned, your life would be your own.' Cygnus cocked his head. 'You have relatives in Tsumetai, do you not?'
She did have relatives in Tsumetai. She would find them, take care of them if they still lived, and honour their memory if they didn't. She could grow strong there, get back on her feet and hone her skills. If she could raise a rebellion against Adrienne, she would do it. If she couldn't, then a swift assassination by her own hands might be enough. She could avenge her family, in exchange for one night.
'How can I trust you?' Naomi asked, looking suspicious.
Cygnus only smiled as he spoke the words that would seal the deal. 'What choice do you have?'
Chapter Two
Hadrian Arun, Fourteenth Dragon King of Koren, looked pensively into the goblet of wine cradled between his hands. It had been a long, trying day and he was sorry to think it wasn't over yet. He wanted nothing more than to allow the bitter wine to lull him into the peaceful slumber it promised and forget all the cares of the day. Unfortunately for him, he still had one more duty to perform before he could rest, and the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to forget about it entirely.
Reluctantly raising his gaze from the wine, he watched his bride from across the room. She was beautiful, certainly. He had no qualms in that quarter. Sadly, her beauty seemed to be the only thing she had in her favour. She was foolish, vain, and even from just their brief acquaintance, he believed that she was also cruel. They had been deliberately kept apart for as much of the day as the crafty Lord Cygnus could manage, given the circumstances, and that Arun could already see all these negative traits concerned him deeply. He looked away from the
'No. It's ridiculous that you've even asked me.'
'Why? You haven't even heard what we're offering you.'
'It doesn't matter what you're offering me. Even if I did agree to do this monstrous thing, and I’m not going to, you have two days. It might be easy enough for you to forget, but I’ve been starved of light, food and exercise for the past four years. Even a complete fool would notice the difference.'
'Oh, that's nothing a little magic couldn't fix,' Cygnus shrugged. 'A basic glamour spell, a good strong wine with a pinch of something herbal over dinner, and a nice, dark room. He won't be able to tell.'
'Then why me? If you're going to cover me with a spell to alter my appearance, what difference does it make who you get to do it?'
'Because we have a hold over you that we don't have over anyone else.' Adrienne spoke at last, scathingly.
Cygnus shot a warning look at her, then spoke carefully. ‘Come now, poppet, you must realise you are the obvious choice.'
'And yet, I’m still not going to do it.'
Adrienne smirked then and Naomi knew that the hammer stroke was coming. 'Not even in exchange for your freedom?'
There was silence, no one even dared to breathe as this offer echoed around the large room. Naomi sat perfectly still for a long while, her eyes blank and unseeing. Her freedom? She had never even considered that she might be free again. The darkness of her cell pressing down against her, the cold seeping into her bones had extinguished all hope of such a thing. She had known that only death could await her after all that had passed, that it was the best she could hope for now. Taking Adrienne down with her as she went had been fleetingly attainable, but to be free... To go where she wished, to run again, to laugh from the pit of her stomach and do as she chose was a dream long since extinguished.
'You won't,' she whispered. 'You could never let me go, you know that. This is a trick.'
'Indeed it is not, my dear. You would be watched very carefully as you made your way to the coast, and needless to say, any trouble would result in your swift and immediate death, but so long as you left the country and never returned, your life would be your own.' Cygnus cocked his head. 'You have relatives in Tsumetai, do you not?'
She did have relatives in Tsumetai. She would find them, take care of them if they still lived, and honour their memory if they didn't. She could grow strong there, get back on her feet and hone her skills. If she could raise a rebellion against Adrienne, she would do it. If she couldn't, then a swift assassination by her own hands might be enough. She could avenge her family, in exchange for one night.
'How can I trust you?' Naomi asked, looking suspicious.
Cygnus only smiled as he spoke the words that would seal the deal. 'What choice do you have?'
Chapter Two
Hadrian Arun, Fourteenth Dragon King of Koren, looked pensively into the goblet of wine cradled between his hands. It had been a long, trying day and he was sorry to think it wasn't over yet. He wanted nothing more than to allow the bitter wine to lull him into the peaceful slumber it promised and forget all the cares of the day. Unfortunately for him, he still had one more duty to perform before he could rest, and the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to forget about it entirely.
Reluctantly raising his gaze from the wine, he watched his bride from across the room. She was beautiful, certainly. He had no qualms in that quarter. Sadly, her beauty seemed to be the only thing she had in her favour. She was foolish, vain, and even from just their brief acquaintance, he believed that she was also cruel. They had been deliberately kept apart for as much of the day as the crafty Lord Cygnus could manage, given the circumstances, and that Arun could already see all these negative traits concerned him deeply. He looked away from the
Readers choose
Nathan Hodge
Julie A. Fast
Alex Archer
Jean Hanff Korelitz
Jean-Patrick Manchette
Nika Michelle
Georgia Bockoven
Mallory Kane