Battle Mage: Winds of Change (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 11) Read Online Free PDF

shirt had ridden up slightly revealing some of her stomach and side above her silk underwear. He moved the sheet, which had covered them both, up to her chest knowing that she hated being too warm, but the early morning air was quite cool. The summer south of the wall had been much warmer than the Kardorian had been used to for most of her life, but they had been even further south while he had performed his mission as well. Of course, the summer heat while sailing the North Sea with its cooling breezes had never seemed as muggy or warm as it had been in Hala since returning.
    Letting out a breath in place of a true sigh, the young man chided himself, "Stop thinking so much."
    A smile touched his lips thinking of the young woman's words to him the previous day as they had kissed.
    Gathering the clothes he would wear to walk to his destination, Sebastian slipped out the door locking it behind him. Ashleen wasn't a morning person anyway; so making sure she was safe, he knew that the young woman wouldn't begin to care that he was gone for several more hours. Dressed in only his under shorts would have had him risk being too scandalous for Madame Alamore, the inn keeper, who had sometimes accused Ashleen of being so when entering the inn after being in the hot smithy; but no one else seemed to be up so early. The faint sounds of snoring could be heard from a couple of the rooms without even using a battle mage spell to increase his hearing.
    Sebastian quickly bathed. Ashleen had commented that he had smelled like smoke after the fight the previous day. While he hadn't bothered to shower before their evening began, the mage had woken up noticing the smell on his pillow case though it was pretty faint. After the bath, including washing his hair to rid himself of the lingering smell of smoke; Sebastian dropped off his sleeping clothes in the room before leaving once again.
    The dining area of the inn was empty though the first bumping around of Hilda and her staff consisting mostly of family could be heard coming from the kitchen as they prepared for those looking for an early breakfast. A little food would have been appreciated; but the mage could make it until a more appropriate time, he was pretty certain, so he hurried out from the front door of the inn.
    Cool air greeted him and he was glad that they had closed the window before going to bed. The room had been just the right temperature for the two of them to sleep comfortably, but this cool air was a reminder that the summer was coming to a close; which meant winter would be close behind a stunted version of fall weather. That was the usual way of Southwall and the rest of North Continent close to the sea. Only the southern waters could keep the northern winds from making the south as cold as the land was said to be north of the Dragon Spine Mountains all year long.
    Leaving the inner city, Sebastian hurried to the compound controlled by the fire wizards in Hala. While most would consider such a destination very odd for a battle mage, it was the courtyard behind the fire wizards' guild hall that drew the young man this morning.
    Guards of a more common kind met him with crossed spears barring his approach. The gray light of predawn had brightened enough to see the colors of his falcon uniform and Sebastian was also becoming a common sight to the men here since he was one of the few capable of using the portal contained within the stone walls.
    "Halt. What is your business, falcon...?" the soldier asked sounding a bit tired. His shift had to be nearing a close, Sebastian thought, and the man's eyes were certainly less focused than a sentry's should be.
    "Falcon Sebastian Trillon, I've come to check something with the portal. Are wizards on standby inside?"
    "Wizards Treya and Zeben drew the short straws," the soldier replied before raising his hand to cover a yawn. The mage thought the same could be said for the guards stuck watching a space of land that was mostly boring empty