Knight Avenged Read Online Free PDF

pitched, then rolled. With a quiet curse, she slid to a stop and, using the square base of the round pillar for cover, leaned against the cool stone. Steel rasped against leather as she sheathed her dagger and pressed the heel of her hand to her eye socket. It didn’t help. She squeezed her eyes closed. The pain persisted, becoming worse with each passing minute.
    Blast it to heaven and back. Of all the rotten luck. Such bad timing too. Distraction wasn’t an option. Neither was staying in one spot for too long.
    Too bad the coming vision didn’t care.
    Ever obstinate, her gift ignored her wishes, refusing to go away. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Cosmina shook her head. Gift . Right. What a farce. Her talent as a Seer was more curse than boon. A plague upon her mind. A constant drain upon her body. A sickness that traveled so deep it infected her heart and soul. Normally, she was better at controlling it. Could block out the images, forestall the inevitable, and keep her visions at bay for as long as needed. Tonight was proving to be an exception. Bright light kept flaring in her mind’s eye. The constant barrage sapped her strength, weakened her guard, and—
    Gods. The pressure. It was so intense now, making her skin crawl and her eyes tear.
    Raising her hands, Cosmina cupped both sides of her head. The cap she wore to conceal her hair shifted, pulling at her scalp. Pain drove a spike through the top of her skull. With a silent curse, Cosmina pitched forward. Her knees cracked against the marble floor. Battling the onslaught of the premonition, she barely noticed the collision. The gods keep her. She must hold the line. Needed to keep her mental barricade up and the vision from—
    An image pushed its way inside her head.
    Her hands curled into the leather sides of her hat. Oh na y . . . not here. Not now. But her gift for the second sight didn’t care what she wanted. Without mercy, it clawed through her mind, shredding any chance of denial. The image of a man solidified in her Seer’s eye. Stark details tumbled over each other. Short hair as black as a raven’s wing. Hazel-gold eyes. Armed to the teeth. Warrior strong. Twin swords raised and at the ready.
    “Blast,” she whispered through clenched teeth, trying to shut out the mental apparition. The beginning of a name morphed in her mind: H . . . his name started with an H . Henry or Heath, or mayha p . . . Cosmina frowned. Goddess preserve her, she couldn’t tell. Couldn’t steady the vision long enough to procure the information she needed. “Damn you to hell and back. Get out of my head.”
    Surprise, surprise, the warrior didn’t listen any better than her gift. Despite the fact he’d yet to speak inside the vision, H-whatever-his-name didn’t seem the obedient type. Riding roughshod over people seemed more his style. Was it unfair to make the assumption based on appearance alone? Cosmina huffed. Probably, but she didn’t care. All she wanted was for him to go away and leave her in peace. But even as she prayed for him to fade, she wondered what envisioning him meant.
    Was he friend or foe? Would he hurt or help her?
    Damn good questions. Ones that highlighted an ever-persistent problem. As much as she wished otherwise, her visions never came with a road map. Or any kind of explanation. Instead of a complete picture, she ended up with bits and pieces. Visual snippets and broken whispers. Quick flashes that left her scrambling to fit the puzzle pieces together. Never the whole story. Always a jumbled mess inside her head.
    Incredibly frustrating. Dangerous too, considering the warrior was still planted on the forefront of her brain. He was too strong. Far too capable. She could tell by the way he held himself inside the vision and knew—without a shadow of doubt—H represented a threat of disastrous proportions if he proved to be an enemy of the Order of Orm.
    Too bad her mission couldn’t be forestalled, never mind ignored. Turning tail