Daegan (The Age of Alandria: A Companion Novella) Read Online Free PDF Page B

whisper.
    “Master Daegan, I am not sure what magic you are dealing with, but that woman died many full moons ago. Her place has been abandoned ever since.”
    “Thank you,” Daegan replied, giving the boy a serious glance and a nod.
    The boy ran off, leaving Daegan staring at the spot where the boy had just stood. His blood ran cold. He needed to leave. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Things did not affect Daegan this way—he couldn’t understand why all of a sudden unexpected and strange things were happening to him.
    The dream—it must have something to do with the dream of his parents he’d been having again, not to mention the other dreams he’d had—the ones of a girl he had never seen before. In those dreams, she led him to different areas of Alandria and showed him things he’d never seen, she’d draw him in with her intoxicating emerald green and gold eyes that simply accepted him as he was while also giving invitation to hold her close.
    Shaking his head, Daegan snapped out of his deep contemplation. He looked down in a brief state of utter despair. The peace he saw in the old Faerie woman’s eyes came back to his mind. Daegan had never known peace like that. He craved it.
    He rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. His distress was getting the best of him. This was all too much. His thoughts were all over the place: When will it make sense? Will it ever make sense? How do I stop it? What if I cannot?

CHAPTER FOUR
     
    With a warrior’s focus, Daegan forced the sadness from his mind. Deciding he would simply retire to his quarters since he did not have provisions to supply those in the shifter camp, he headed back toward the castle, which was really more like a relic and a large mansion combined. It was beautiful even with the decaying stones and the grounds around it falling slowly to their own ruin.
    Elnye and L’nalrinia were the most well-kept and the most... alive of the territories left. Not long ago, Daegan had been in Adettlyn—the throne of Lumari, the territory of the Elves—and he was in shock at the destruction and ruin of not only the once beautiful castle, but also the city itself and the villages surrounding it.
    Just outside the grounds, the land was dying, a fact well disguised with a glamour constructed by none other than their own Paladin. Maleina had said that it would keep the people’s spirits up and cause them to stay and be loyal to their cause. Daegan had his own theories that it had more to do with keeping the power of the Earth Faeries’ magic close and under her control. He had no idea how far the decay of his land truly spread. There was something very wrong in Alandria and he needed to find out what needed to be done. His mood was still dark. He could feel the land and its inhabitants suffering. This was his home. With each passing day, his thoughts and connection to it grew stronger. It was stirring something deep inside him.
    With more determination than he had had until recently, he strode with purpose past the stables and toward the side entrance, alongside the kitchen, that he preferred to use even if it did belong to the servants. He felt more comfortable and under less scrutiny using that entrance. Just before he reached the castle, he saw the young boy, Silát, attending to one of the horses.
    “Ready for your first lesson, young master of the stables?” Daegan shouted.
    The boy looked around, confused at first, then his eyes lit up. He tied the horse and ran toward Daegan.
    “You remembered!”
    Daegan nodded with a twinkle in his eyes. He picked up a thick stick off the ground that was about the right size and tossed it to the boy. “You need a sword. This will work for now. To be fair, I will use a similar weapon.” Finding another stick, he held it at the base where the hilt should be.
    “Stand like me, and hold your sword in your strong hand like this.” Daegan evaluated the boy’s stance. “Now do as I do,” he instructed as he