Behind The Wooden Door Read Online Free PDF Page A

eyes.
    Crying wouldn’t help anything, but I knew if I went alone, I would not survive another run-in with Artair’s soldiers.
    He sighed deeply and shook his head. “Lead the way,” he replied and motioned to the other side of the river.
    The woods were silent as Tristan and I made our way to Madame Cornelia’s. There were no birds singing, no crickets chirping, and not even the croaking of frogs. Just silence. I checked behind me every few minutes to make sure Tristan hadn’t abandoned me. He was acting different. More reserved. I would have taken any insult just for him to be the one to break the silence.
    “How did you know to come after me yesterday?” I asked.
    I watched his face for any trace of something that might give him away, but he remained emotionless.
    “Intuition,” he said.
    He never took his eyes off the path ahead of him.
    I crossed my arms. “If you don’t want to talk me, fine. We’ll just carry on in silence.”
    We trudged on in unbearable muteness. Minutes felt like hours.
    I couldn’t take it.
    “Aissur, who do you think will start the attack first?” I asked.
    “I thought we were carrying on in silence,” he said.
    He tried to hide the smile that threatened to creep onto his face, but he failed. After a moment, his smile faded and he was back to being the serious soldier from before.
    “I think Artair will, but if he doesn’t soon, I will. I came to fight a war, not to be a bodyguard for a spoiled princess.”
    I stopped in my tracks. “Just because I asked you to come out here with me didn’t mean you had to. You had a choice.”
    “No, I didn’t,” he said heatedly. ”Your father put me in charge of keeping you safe. He thinks you’re stupid enough to get yourself killed and he’ll be heirless. Obviously he was right.”
    “I don’t need you to protect me,” I reply.
    “Then why am I here, Princess?” he asked.
    I pushed past him and his mocking face and scanned the forest. We should have been there by now.
    The large carriage was almost unable to be seen. It was hidden amongst the shadows of a large sycamore tree. Lanterns hung from the branches lighting the fortune teller’s cart. Crude pink words read: Madame Cornelia’s Forebodings. As I moved closer to the sign, I saw the black wings of death painted on it as well. The butterfly’s painted eyes looked almost lifelike as they stared into me as if it too could see my fate.
    “This is it,” I said.
    I stopped and waited for Tristan to join me.
    “I figured that one out on my own, Princess.” The sarcasm was back as well.
    I took a heavy breath and knocked on the door. The scrape of a chair followed by heavy footsteps sounded from the other side. Tristan’s hand went to the hilt of his sword, ready for any attack from the psychic woman.
    A woman clad in purple robes and bulky, silver jewelry opened the door. Her graying black hair fell past her waist, and her hands looked like they had claws for fingernails. She scanned us with her eyes before she bent down in a low bow.
    “Ah, Princess Lanium, welcome. How are things on the other side of the forest?” she asked. She smiled a toothless grin.
    “If you’re such a great psychic, you should know,” Tristan said. He placed his hand on my shoulder and pulled me closer to him and farther away from Cornelia.
    She looked up at him with burning eyes before she walked back into her carriage.
    “What is it I can do for you two?” she asked.
    She motioned to two chairs from across the table she now sat at. The distrust in Tristan’s eyes was evident as he stared at the woman. I moved to step into the carriage, but Tristan held me back.
    “Lanie, let’s get out of here. I have a bad feeling about this.”
    Was he actually scared of the old lady?
    “Aissur, I don’t care what your ‘intuition’ is telling you. We can’t leave now. We’ve already come this far,” I replied.
    I ripped my arm from his grasp, walked into the dim carriage, and sat down at the