Forsaken (Fated Saga Fantasy Series Book 8) Read Online Free PDF Page B

difficult to stay out of other people’s business. Especially for her. As Second Seer to the Banon she was recognizable to almost anyone on the island. Sometimes, she didn’t mind their openness, other times… not so much.
    At one point or another, many of the people walking down this very street had come to her, hoping she’d see some vision of their future, or answer to a problem. They were far too eager to confide details she really had no interest in knowing.
    Now and then, she was able to help someone. But sometimes it took weeks or months. And too often, she saw nothing of use at all. Visions didn’t really work like that. With many long years of practice, a seer could get better at having specific visions, but it was never a guarantee.
    This is how most seers earned a living on the island. And she was no different as an apprentice until she’d been named Second Seer. Which meant she was to be groomed as First Seer to the Banon. A much more difficult and time consuming job, with a lot more on the line than someone’s job promotion, or marital problems, or some other menial issues she did not care about in the least.
    Island security.
    Uprisings.
    Attacks from the Grosvenor…
    These were much more exciting and dangerous things. And as First Seer, like her mentor, PanSofia, she’d be expected to have visions that would keep the Svoda safe. Or warn of potential dangers. It was considered a high stress job… although her mentor took it all in stride. As long as you had a Banon that understood visions could not be forced… and feeling the pressure to have a vision might well keep you from doing so.
    It was a difficult line to walk.
    But Juliska was ready for it if her mentor was ready to step down.
    But first, she was going on a quest.
    Leaving the island, for the first time since she’d been found by the Svoda and brought here. Although she had no memory of her time before coming here. For whatever reason, her first memory only went as far back as age eleven, from when they first found her in an orphanage on the mainland. She had no recollection of how she’d gotten there, who her parents were or where she’d come from.
    Regardless, the Svoda had taken her in and she’d been adopted into a family. Her new parents had loved her just as one of their own.
    Before long, the carriage pulled up to her mother’s road and she shouted for Ian to stop here.
    “You sure?”
    “Yes.” She hopped out on her own. “I’d like to walk, just a little. This road is one of my favorites at this time of year.”
    “All right then. Have a good night.” He nodded and pulled around to head back to the Banon’s office. Little Ivan peeked at her with a shy smile. She waved goodbye with a lighthearted chuckle. He giggled and his father shook his head and laughed.
    He really was an adorable child. With a great dad. It just made her miss hers all the more.
    She turned and headed toward her mother’s. It was one of Juliska’s favorite streets to walk down. Not because she’d grown up here, but for the cozy shingled cottages that lined the street. With beautiful, well manicured gardens surrounding them. The people on this street prided themselves in perfection and it showed. Not a bloom, a blade of grass, or a tree limb out of place.
    Crisp.
    Clean.
    Maintained.
    If she ever had a house, she’d want in on a street like this.
    But not this one. Any street but this one…
    She sucked in a breath and stopped in front of three-foot iron gate. There was a sign hanging on it that read, “Cobb.” She closed her eyes and let out her breath, slowly. All her excitement and anxiety turned to dread… she’d have to spend the next few hours here.
    And now, make sure she kept the Banon’s secret. She’d have to tell them something, to prepare them for the fact she’d be gone and busy… but she could not give away too much.
    She pushed opened the gate and walked through.
    Her mother, Adeline Cobb, met her at the door.
    “Happy