Season of Glory Read Online Free Page A

continually redirecting me toward those of
our own tiny village. “They’re our family now. The Maker has given us a new clan.” And I’d accepted it. At least we’d had that option—to protect our greater family.
Kapriel and Keallach’s parents chose to hide in plain sight. “Maybe the queen and
king of Pacifica thought it a divine promise. That the Maker would not make a mistake,
giving them twin sons, both marked with the crescent moon that night. Maybe they
thought they were in the perfect place to raise the future leaders of all those who
would seek the Way.”
    â€œOr maybe they gave in to greed,” Dad said gently, “refusing to leave the bounty
to which they’d become accustomed.”
    â€œWe should not speak ill of them,” Mom said. “They paid a great price for their decision.”
    â€œAs you all did,” I said. I remained silent after that, my mind a whirl of conflicting
thoughts. Seeming to sense my attempt to sort it out, my parents allowed me to pace
ahead of them, walking on my own. In the distance, I saw Bellona and Vidar—who that
morning had moved out ahead of us, scouting—emerge from the hilly woods and go directly
to Ronan and Niero. Cyrus drew near, listening in and nodding. Vidar was pointing
and seemed to gesture about something beyond the woods that bordered our trail. We
all caught up to them, gathering in a group, but the five of them turned slightly
away, speaking in hushed tones. I frowned and tried to catch Ronan’s eye, but he
was still ignoring me.
    So were the others, I decided, looking around to each one. I moved back to my dad
and touched his arm. “Do you know what’s going on?”
    He shook his head, confused.
    It was then that I detected the collective apprehension among the others. I turned
to face them as they all warily glanced my way. “There’s something you need to see,”
Vidar said, pain etched in his voice.
    Pain. And anger. Indignation. Those three emotions practically radiated from him
and Bellona.
    â€œWhat?” I said, trepidation flooding through me.
    â€œCome,” Niero said.
    I swallowed my irritation, clearly understanding how they wanted this to play out—that
they wished for me to personally see whatever was there. And if so, it had to have
something to do with Keallach.
    I steeled myself for what was to come, half desperate to know, half heartsick at
what was ahead.
    We set off at a quick pace, easily reaching the crest of the hill. From there, we
slowed down, following a winding, narrow trail through thick brush on the other
side. Once we reached the valley, we headed north. We paused only when we reached
a well-maintained dirt and gravel road, to be certain no one approached before we
crossed it, and then began climbing again. Not long after, Bellona and Vidar crouched
down and led us around boulder after boulder until we could safely peer beyond them
down into the canyon.
    What filled my eyes made me suck in my breath. In a quarry below us—with a high fence
all around—were countless children, some of them younger than their first decade,
some of them closer to our age. They were in rags and emaciated. Armed guards circled
constantly, barking orders. One guard carried a whip, sneering at the children he
watched, taunting the older boys in particular.
    The wave of collective misery that enveloped me made me want to turn and vomit. I
knew what this was. It was where the unchosen children went “for meaningful work,”
as Keallach had put it. I swallowed back the acrid bile in my mouth and eyed Cyrus,
beside me. “How many of these places are there?”
    He shrugged, sharing in my misery, and then slowly nodded. “About twenty. Mines.
Lumberyards. Factories. And quarries like this.”
    â€œPacifica’s hunger for labor such as this can only grow,” Niero muttered, looking
down upon the yard from Cyrus’s other