Night of the Storm: An Epic Fantasy Novel (The Eura Chronicles Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Festival of Lights. Now, be a good boy and give mama a hug.”
    Wilem looked around at his older brother, Torian as he snickered.
    “Come now, Wilem. Listen to mum and go find one of your friends to play with,” Daveed, the next in line for the throne, said.
    Wilem glared at him. Why couldn’t he be older, like Daveed, and do whatever he wanted?
    They were about to leave for the gladiator tournament at the Festival of Lights, and Wilem was too young to go. Wilem knew his mother didn’t want him to see such barbarity and blood. But, he was tired of being treated like a child.
    “Oh, the little baby has to stay home and play with his toys.” Torian teased.
    “That’s enough,” Daveed said. He looked at their mother. “Father is waiting. We must go before we are late.”
    Queen Alania nodded. Dressed in ivory and gold, she walked over to her youngest son. A golden circlet rested upon her wavy brown hair as she knelt to him.
    “Be good, Wilem. I will sing you a song when we return.”
    “No,” Wilem hissed. “I want to go!”
    She shook her head. “Maybe next year.” She reached out for Wilem with an arm covered in gold bracelets, and he shrugged away. Queen Alania sighed and watched him with disappointment furrowing her blonde eyebrows.
    “I love you, Wilem.”
    Torian mocked Wilem behind their mother’s back, pretending to cry like a baby.
    “I hate you. All of you!”
    Wilem awoke with tears streaming down his face. “Mama! Mama!” he sobbed. It was the same dream every night since the palace had been ambushed and his entire family had been killed.
    That was nearly a year ago, and the pain that filled his gut was unbearable. It poisoned him, reminding him of how ungrateful and spoiled he’d once been.
    “I love you, Mama,” he whispered into the darkness.
    There was no reply. The silence that haunted him turned his stomach sour.
    “Please come back,” Wilem pleaded through tears. “I promise to be good.”
    That had been the last time he had seen her beautiful face. She had looked so sad at hearing him say those hateful words. The Shadow Elves had come just hours after, and while Wilem played with Jorge in the cellars, his entire family had been massacred. He couldn’t stand the guilt.
    Wilem missed them dearly. Even Torian.
    He sat up in his tiny room in one of the fairy tree houses shook. A shrill creaking sound broke out and the entire room tilted until Wilem rolled off the bed.
    Wilem crashed to the bamboo floor with a thud as another loud explosion came from outside. Screams followed, and he scrambled to his feet. He fell over once again as the room tilted to the other side.
    Wilem crawled to the door in the floor and opened it. He strained to make out anything below. He shoved his feet into his boots, prepared to take off running into the jungle.
    Fog filled the Tolrinian fairy compound. As he stepped down onto the ladder go his room built into the tree of his room, the screams grew. He hopped down the last few steps and turned to see chaos.
    Wilem watched the fog thicken over the colony. He heard the commotion all around and felt his pulse start to race.
    He stood frozen.
    Not again. This cannot be happening again.
    Wilem shook as memories of his family’s murder flooded over him. His eyes darted to the fairies as they flew past him, nearly knocking him to the dirt with their speed. The stars in the sky seemed to have vanished, and the fog was so thick that soon he felt as if he was alone.
    “No,”
    Shadow Elves ran through the village. His eyes narrowed at their blood-red armor. They were different from the elves that had swarmed his kingdom. This particular group reminded Wilem of the elves that had searched his palace, seeking out the royal family.
    He backed away from the chaos, desperate for a place to hide. Where were the hidden tunnels of his palace when he needed them?
    “Wilem!”
    As if in a daze, Wilem swayed with the wind and watched a fairy fly past his face.
    His eyes