Arbiter (The Arbiter Chronicles Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

about her age. The man stopped in front of her, giving her a small smile.
    “Impressive,” he said, holding out a gloved hand towards her. “Do you need any help?”
    At first, Rae thought he was being sarcastic, but then she caught the surprised look  on his face. He was genuinely impressed. She took the offered hand reluctantly, allowing him to pull her to her feet. Rae disentangled herself from the fallen chair, stepping away from it and rubbing at a sore spot on her shoulder where she had struck the ground. She looked at the man again, and this time caught the distinct gleam of amusement in his eye. Rae’s eyes narrowed, and she quickly looked away. He may have been genuinely impressed, but it seemed like he also found her failure amusing. She brushed the dust off the simple shirt and pants that Varra had lent her, more to keep her hands busy than anything else as she tried to hide the flush on her face. She did her best to ignore him, pulling the chair back up and pushing it under the table, but she could still feel his eyes on her as she worked.
    “It works better if you don’t use quite so much power,” said the mage. “But that was still pretty impressive. Normally, new mages have problems using more power, not less of it.”
    “Is there something you want?” she asked.
    “I just came down here to talk to you,” he said, “I’m Cathel Alvain, by the way. I think Varra might have mentioned me.”
    Rae glanced at Cathel as she closed the book. “She might have said something about a yearmate,” she conceded.
    “That was me,” said Cathel, smiling slightly. “Although I think Varra wishes it wasn't. It was…Rae Miller, wasn’t it?”
    Rae shrugged. “That’s me,” she said, not turning to look at him. “What about it?”
    He glanced at the door, his expression growing slightly more contemplative. Out of the corner of her eye, Rae saw him fold his arms, leaning against the side of the table. “I was curious, that’s all,” he said. “It’s not every day that someone comes down from the Daylight Realm, and you’re causing a bit of a stir.”
    “I’m not gonna apologize for what I said,” said Rae. “I meant it.”
    “You’re really here to look for Kaeltharin?” asked Cathel, giving her a sidelong glance. When she said nothing, she heard him shift, unfolding his arms and resting his hands on the edge of the table at either side of him. “You're chasing children's stories. The Shard's nothing more than a myth. I'm not entirely convinced it exists, and even if it does, finding it would be suicide.”
    Rae resisted the urge to roll her eyes. In her case, not finding it would be suicide. And she’d rather die at the hand of some monster than have the Reaper come for her. She had no doubt that he would, either, if it came to that. He would come gladly.
    “Doesn’t matter,” she said. “It’s not like I have any other reason for being here.”
    “You could stay at the Tower, with a Source like that,” said Cathel. “You’d probably make a great mage in a few years.”
    “I don’t have a few years,” said Rae, scooping up the tome in her arms and placing it back on the shelf. “I only have one year to find Kaeltharin. Can you people help me with that or not?” She was beginning to get mildly irritated. The other man had warned her that this would be the case, but she hadn’t thought people would be so reluctant to even give her any information about it. If someone asked about a legend in her world, there would always be people willing to talk, whether they believed the story or not.
    Cathel watched her as she moved, his green eyes sharp. “…Maybe we would be willing to help if you provided us with some information. Why do you want the Shard of the Star so badly? How did you hear about it in the first place? Most people don’t even know about the existence of separate Realms.”
    Rae met Cathel's eyes. He had a point, as much as she hated to admit it. She couldn't request