Unguilded Read Online Free Page B

Now her face itched. She lifted a hand to swipe at it. If Osten was teasing her while she slept again she’d make him sorry. He was becoming as mean-spirited as his mother. She shifted, and grass rustled.
    She opened her eyes to the glare of the sun high overhead. It wasn’t her bed, it wasn’t her house, and it wasn’t her half-brother teasing her—it was tall grasses, bent over by the wind, caressing her face.
    She lay there for a few moments, trying to figure out how long she’d slept, trying to decide which way to go, trying not to let her fear and despair overwhelm her.
    A few hours, that was all. She brushed a wayward tear from her cheek and sat up. Her shawl slipped from her shoulders, and the heat of the sun warmed her arms and neck.
    She shielded her eyes and looked out over the valley. There was no sign of anyone on the road. Could they already have passed? Could she be safe up here, near the Mountain Road?
    She licked dry lips and ran a hand through her windblown hair. No matter where her searchers were, she needed to find water. She grabbed her pack, slung it across her shoulders, and glanced out over at the valley. And froze.
    What was that? She squinted. A dark mass flowed along the road, its shape uneven and so thin in places that she could see through it. When it reached the point where she’d left the road, it followed her path up the hillside.
    Is it tracking me ? She glanced around in panic. She had to hide—but where? And how? She stared at the mass as it came her way. The colour—that dark, grey-black—was the same colour as the mist on Mage Guild Secundus Valendi’s horse.
    Shaking, she sucked in a breath. Was it magic? Was he searching for her with a spell? She’d assumed that her pursuit would come in the form of riders—she should have realized that a Mage as powerful as Valerio Valendi would use magic.
    She stood on the edge of the slope. The dark cloud flowed towards her too fast–she would not be able to outrun it. And it was a mist, Valerio Valendi’s mist. Could she do what she’d done to the mist that had swirled around the horse? Disperse it, or dissolve it or . . . Gyda, what did I do ?
    She had made that mist disappear, Kara knew that for truth, but she didn’t know how . And she hadn’t done it on purpose.
    She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. Either the mist would do whatever it was sent to do or she would make it disappear—watching it come for her wouldn’t change that. She might as well search for water.
    The twisted willow tree was out of place amongst the pines and hardy bramble and arbutus bushes. Kara stepped under its leafy canopy and peered past the gnarled trunk. Water bubbled up out of the soil into a shallow pool before it seeped into the ground. Her feet sank into the lush, green grass that grew around the spring.
    She knelt by the spring, her knees instantly becoming damp from the saturated soil. She’d just dipped her hand into the water for a second sip when the nape of her neck tingled.
    She turned around. It was here—the mist. The grey-black cloud glided across the sloped path towards her. She blew out a big breath, trying to dispel her fear. Then it was on her. She closed her eyes as a cool film settled on her exposed skin. Go away, go away, go away ! Her damp skin warmed, just a little at first, then more, until it felt like a slight sunburn. She opened her eyes to find herself engulfed in a white haze. The white thinned, and in a few moments it had faded completely.
    The sun shone down from a clear blue sky, and not a trace of mist remained. Had it truly been a spell? If so, would Valerio Valendi know it was gone? Would he realize that she’d done— something —to get rid of it?
    She didn’t know exactly what she’d done, but she was still alive and free. And she still needed water—and food if she could find it. Worrying about Valerio Valendi and his magic wouldn’t help her with those tasks.
    Like all children in Villa Larona,