Prophecy's Promise (Prophecy of the Edges Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

smirking slightly. “A Scholar Warrior? How intriguing. Very well, the offer will remain open to you when you return from your journeys.” The two took their leave and merged back into the crowd, talking briefly with various nobles, some I knew and some I did not.
    I did feel proud of my decision. I would go out into the world, help Altis, even though I did not want to, and then, once The Edge was fixed, I would lead great learning. A sense of peace settled over me. And I understood a measure of myself that I’d not before. This whole time, it was my feeling powerless that had been bothering me. Now that I had options, it didn’t feel so stifling to be forced down this path. And, thankfully, I did have the ability to return to my studies after everything.
    I was not happy. But I was content.
    Altis eventually came over to his seat as the plates began to emerge from the kitchen.
    “Enjoying the party?” he asked.
    “Not really,” I responded.
    Altis didn’t reply. He didn’t say anything else to me for the rest of the meal. Instead, he spoke to the Dybreakean man on his other side. The dinner was the finest I’d had, probably ever. After we had eaten, Queen Mauzaca stood up to thank the Dybreakean ambassadors for their goodwill and remarked how happy Gryshelm was to take their hand in friendship.
    The attendees clapped and shouted approval. Altis walked over to the Dybreakean princess, Krystin, and bowed, offering her his hand. She was very pale for a Dybreakean. Half of her honey-colored hair hung freely down her back in swooping spirals, while the other half was coiled atop her head. A pearl dangled from each ear, bringing attention to her slender neck. Giggling, she placed her tiny hand in his, and he led her to the open floor.
    And then the dancing began. The ladies looked like elegant flowers with their dresses twirling around them. Altis led the Dybreakean princess through twirl after twirl. She seemed scarcely past girlhood. Altis towered over her petite figure. Their movements reminded me of the dancing figures in Meena’s music box. With nearly unnatural perfection, they glided across the dance floor, each step in time with the rhythm of the music.
    Unable to sit alone in my chair for another minute, I got up and walked around the room. I could hear the whispers in my wake. It reminded me too much of the day that I’d first come to the Keep. I found a quiet corner covered by curtains and slipped into it. There was a bench running the length of the wall and I sat down. I desperately wished that I had brought a book with me. The pins from my coiffed hair poked at my scalp. I wanted to be in my room with my hair down and these fancy clothes back in Meena’s closet where they belong.
    Not a minute later, Prince Jaysen slipped into my corner. Flustered, I stood up and tried to curtsy, wondering if I was in trouble.
    “No need to show formalities when no one can see us.” He stank of gin, but his words were not slurred. He was not as tall as Altis, nor was his features nearly as handsome. But the stamp of kinship was in the angle of his cheekbones, the dark black of his hair, and the icy blue of his eyes.
    “Your Highness?” I asked, confused.
    “There is a conspiracy in my court, and it is centered around the Weavers. My unnamed source that has been feeding me information said I could trust you. I was unsure because you seem too timid to be of much use. That is, until Adine gave you the option to turn away from all this, and yet you chose to stay the course, even though you do not wish to become a Warrior. Why did you turn him down?”
    I couldn’t answer his question as I did not know why myself. “Your Highness, you are the prince. Could you not confront the Weavers?”
    “Even a prince needs more proof than whispers in the dark when dealing with people who could take over the kingdom in a blink of an eye if they wished.”
    “No one has the power to do that,” I said slowly.
    “Power isn’t in