Memory's Wake Omnibus: The Complete Illustrated YA Fantasy Series Read Online Free Page A

scarier, more complicated alternatives she would keep to herself, not wanting to give more worry to her already confused companion.
    “I wish even more I knew where I was before that. I mean, how am I supposed to find my way home?”
    “Alward,” Eloryn mumbled between nibbling on her bread. A flash fire of guilt passed through her to say his name. What would he say, when he found out it was her fault they were found? “He spent much of his life studying the Veil and doorway spells. He must know everything there is to know about them.” Eloryn hesitated. She had to decide once and for all whether she would trust this girl. Her heart could find nothing to distrust, felt only warmth and sadness for her, empathy stronger than the warnings that came to her in Alward’s voice. “We have another home in the south of Avall, on Rhynn island, that we were to go to if we were found here. That is where I am going and... You can come too, if you like. It is at least part my fault to have brought you into this danger, so I will help you as best I can, and am sure Alward will too.”
    “If you think he can help me get my memories back, help me get home, I’m Team Magic all the way.”
    “I’m sure he can.” Even though they were separated, Alward would come for her, and if he couldn’t find her he would wait for her on Rhynn. Those men couldn’t catch him, couldn’t hold him. He was too clever, too powerful, and she needed him. She fought back a persistent fear that tore at the fringes of her thoughts.
    The two girls trudged onwards, dragging their tired bodies through the rough tunnel.
    “Just one more question,” Memory asked after a short silence. “Is life always like this?”

Chapter Three

     
    She had looked at him as if he were some kind of animal. Worse. A monster. The terror in her eyes crushed his heart, as though the rockslide that closed the cave entrance had also fallen on it.
    He had waited for her for so long. He ran the moment he heard the noise, that same gusting howl he remembered from his first night in this world, coming from the very same spot. The night he would never forget. Just how long had it been? The years felt longer for being unable to count them, but shorter for his time spent with the fae. So long, lost in that forest, doubting he’d ever see her again, that his memories of her were even real. But here she was, looking just the same. Same age, same hair, same clothes, even the same bruises as the day he had lost her. He no longer doubted.
    The dust from the rockslide cleared and the hunting men who had chased the girls still surrounded him. Them and the dragon. It circled above, waiting for something. To give the men their next order? He shifted his eyes upwards uneasily. He’d never seen a dragon before. They were legendary, even to the fae he knew, and scarce.
    The men coughed and swore, wiping dirt from their eyes. They looked at him, wondering how he fitted into their chase, turning to their leader for guidance. He’d been mistaken as an animal by hunters before. He didn’t like hunters. A growl rumbled from his throat.
    If it hadn’t been for him, those men would have caught her. He would not let anyone hurt her again. Not now that he was stronger. Getting out of this corner himself mightn’t be so easy, but he had the advantage. This was his forest.
    He sized up each of the men, picking the weakest of the herd. That bald one, who stood there puffing with a little too much weight and already winded from the chase. He sprang at the man without warning. Landing on his rounded shoulders with both feet, he pushed off, using the man’s height to launch higher. He burst through a spray of leaves and wrapped a hand onto a thick branch, swinging himself up onto another. Behind him the men milled about, delayed by confusion, too busy yelling at each other over their lost prey.
    Their voices grew dim behind him. He ran across branches as though they were solid ground.
    His mind raced