The Shrinemaiden (The Maidens) Read Online Free Page A

priestess’ current mood.
    “Back to your rooms,” High Priestess Saleia commanded and Adelai took that as her cue to flee. Adelai didn’t stop until she had ran up the stairs, throwing herself on her small wooden bed with relief, to the puzzlement of the sisters she shared the rooms with.
    She would continue to see Thornton accidentally but occasionally, often meeting him along that same corridor, as if knowing she would be there. He would say nothing, but smile and look at her in that same way again, the one that would make her redden. Adelai tried to glare at him to salvage her pride, but she supposed he had seen worse than that, for he was unmoved.
    One later incident would forever define their relationship. Adelai was staying out in the gardens again, at her favorite spot near the large marble statue of Inne-Anneah. She was too caught up in her reading to hear him approach, until his mouth was inches from her ear. “And what is the little maiden reading?”
    Adelai jumped, the book toppling down to the ground in her haste, and all too quickly found herself caught in his arms, with his hands on her waist. His touch burned at her skin, even through the light material. He held her longer than she knew he should have, blue eyes studying hers before letting go. Speechless at first from both his proximity, and then at his audacity, Adelai finally found her voice.
    “How dare you!” She sputtered. His easy familiarity was unnerving.
    The captain did not look contrite or apologetic, only amused. “I have dared before, little maiden. Or have you forgotten already?”
    “I am not accustomed to being touched so freely this way.”
    “Then you miss out on very many pleasures.” He picked the book she’d been reading up from the ground. He raised an eyebrow as he perused the volume. “This appears to be a book on military strategy, by the famed war hero, General Alprius.”
    “It pleases me to see that you can read.” Adelai snatched the book from his hand, taking a step back in case he was angry.
    “Is it customary for shrinemaidens to be reading such serious materials in their leisure hours?”
    “It is customary for this shrinemaiden to do so.” Whatever fears and skittishness she’d felt had disappeared at this point. To have someone imply that she should be nothing more than a simpleton is, Adelai had always felt, one of the worst insults to suffer from. “We study history and mathematics, the sciences and languages just as much as we study court etiquette, embroidery, and other pleasures.”
    She immediately regretted her choice of words, as the man’s gaze drifted back toward her mouth. She held the book against her chest, hugging it as if this could serve as a shield.
    “If you are truly interested in military history, then it would do you well to read the campaigns and exploits of General Narceus in the twelfth century. Have you read that? Or General Lancrye’s memoirs detailing the war between the kingdoms of Maronchaler and Lancre?”
    Adelai shook my head reluctantly. She was a voracious reader, and had very nearly read every book in the temple’s extensive library, though it was sadly lacking in books regarding military affairs.
    A smile spread across his handsome face. “I shall bring books from my own collection for you to borrow, if you would like.”
    “Will you?” Immediately she was delighted, forgetting her earlier vexation. “I would be very grateful. You are very generous.”
    “The pleasure,” the captain said, “is all mine.”
    This marked the start of Adelai’s odd tutelage, a training that none of her other sisters received. True to his word, the captain returned a few days later with a handful of books, and all the free time she possessed outside of lessons and chores since then were spent in that garden with him. More than the books, he took great pains to instruct her about the politics of the land, his firsthand account of the different myriad of cultures outside the