Where Serpents Strike (Children of the Falls Vol. 1) Read Online Free Page B

anything?”
    “This is the back road to Aberdour, yes?”
Khile said. “And you know who Komor is, then surely you know what
he’s doing.”
    Lia knew the answer, but she didn’t want to
say it. Maybe, if she didn’t say it, it wouldn’t be true. Maybe if
she squeezed her eyes tight enough the nightmare would end and she
would look up to see the post and beam ceiling of her bedroom in
the castle, her violet drapes blowing in the crisp morning breeze,
sunlight kissing her pale skin.
    But this was no nightmare. The black vipers
were real, and they were headed for Aberdour, which could only mean
one thing: the invasion had finally arrived.
    Aggie lurched over a log in the road,
forcing Lia to latch onto Khile’s arm. He must have felt her grip,
because he brought his arms in closer to her. He smelled of wood
and earth.
    “Do yourself a favor and forget about Komor
The Raven,” Khile said. “Aberdour is about to fall, and that makes
you and your brothers and sisters the most important people in the
realm right now.”
    As Khile pushed the horse hard over the
rough road, Lia thought of her home lying not too far ahead.
Aberdour. The last free city on Edhen. She wondered if she and
Khile would arrive in time to warn the people. Perhaps they already
knew. Perhaps the western towers had already spotted the Black
King’s army on the crest of the Northern Road. The bells could be
sounding throughout the city right now.
    Lia longed for her father, Lord Kingsley.
She longed for him to scoop her up in the safety of his arms, hold
her tight against his barrel chest, and tell her everything was
going to be all right. He was supposed to go hunting this morning
with her brother Brayden. She wondered if they were out there now,
creeping through the trees, bows at the ready, unaware that they
were soon to be the prey.
     

 
BRAYDEN

    Brayden groaned, ignoring his mother’s call.
Burrowing deeper into the blankets, he pulled the pillow over his
head, blocking out the piercing beams of sunlight.
    “I don’t want to go,” he mumbled.
    His mother called to him again, her voice
echoing down the castle hallway, amplified and hollow.
    Brayden tossed his pillow aside in
annoyance. He lay there for a moment, listening to the spring
breeze stealing through the open window and wishing sleep would
come take him again.
    A shadow passed his bed. Rolling over, the
young prince watched in shock as an owl flew toward his window and
perched on the sill, shaking out its brown and white-feathered
wings. He’d never seen an owl this close before. The bird gazed at
him, bright hazel eyes unblinking over a striking yellow beak.
    Brayden sat up, heartbeat racing, for he
knew owls were bad omens. In fact, a bird of any kind could be a
sign of horrible things to come—if it looked you in the eye.
    The metal latch on the thick maple door to
his bedroom rattled, frightening the bird. The creature dove from
his windowsill, wings spread, caught the wind and rode the breeze
away.
    Queen Lilyanna Falls swept into the room. A
fine linen dress dyed navy and embroidered with golden flowers
along the curving neckline dusted the floor beneath her.
    Behind her trailed a middle-aged maidservant
clutching a warm basin of water and a towel.
    “I swear, sometimes I feel like I’m talking
to the floor,” Lilyanna said. She went to the wardrobe. “This past
moon marked your twelfth year, Brayden. You are to be a man soon,
and a man meets his commitments.” She picked her way through the
clothes, slinging over her arm a few fresh items for him to
wear.
    “But I hate hunting,” Brayden said.
    “And you think that means you don’t have to
go? We all have to do things we don’t want to do. Besides, this is
very important to your father.”
    Brayden threw back the bed sheets and walked
to the table where the servant woman had set the water.
    “I don’t care.” He splashed the water on his
face and patted himself dry with the towel. “If he wants to hunt,
let