Shades of Avalon Read Online Free PDF

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    “Please,” Triona continued softly, “if you don’t mind, I would like you to stay.” Her hand fell by her side. She seemed to lack the strength or desire to keep it up.
    Eila nodded and retook her seat beside Joshua, sliding her fingers through his. He smiled weakly, but his jaw remained too tight to give it any authenticity.
    In contrast to Caleb, Joshua favored his mother in appearance with finer features and a slightly narrower face, although his coloring was as dark as the other men in his family. I liked Joshua much more than Caleb. He possessed an unassuming and dignified nature, and he made a great pepperoni pizza.
    As the most recent ex-member of the Council, Eila could have some insight into what we were about to discuss. I had a nasty feeling that wasn’t why Triona wanted her to remain. More likely it had to do with the fact no one could lie when asked a direct question in Eila’s presence. The truth came out regardless of intent.
    Triona stayed by the door in living room of Lewis and Carmel’s house, scrutinizing everyone. “Who is going to start?”
    “Perhaps you would like to?” Samuel said back to her quickly.
    “I really don’t want to.” Triona’s eyes flickered toward Eila, appearing not entirely comfortable with the way the truth came straight from her unconsciousness.
    “It would be best for us to hear exactly what happened,” Samuel pressed.
    Carmel came back into the room, carrying a tray with mugs and coffee. None of us needed caffeine, but I couldn’t fault her for wanting to keep busy. She laid the tray on the coffee table—neutral territory. Lewis stood up, allowing her to take his armchair by the fire and sat on the armrest next to her.
    So much of Triona and me was embedded in this house—as though we were a part of it just like the foundation. I had built the kitchen cabinets with Lewis one summer. Both Triona’s name and mine were scratched into the wood behind the books in the bookcases on either side of the fireplace. We had sat on the rug watching Saturday morning cartoons and eating Froot Loops, and been measured each birthday with a nick in the frame of the pantry door. We even had a tree house with a rope ladder out back. Growing up, this house seemed gargantuan—a happy castle where we became a family again after we had lost our parents.
    Yet with every seat occupied and the brocade curtains drawn on this secret meeting, it felt claustrophobic.
    Carmel wrapped her fingers around a coffee mug. She leaned toward Triona, inching off the seat before settling back, twisting the cup in her hands. Like me, Carmel probably wanted to comfort Triona, but my sister had made it clear she didn’t want to be treated like a coddled child anymore. Triona had enough of that growing up when everyone around her was unconsciously drawn to protect her—an innate guarantee for the safety of the queen.
    I threaded my fingers through Amanda’s and tightened my grip on her hand, needing to connect to her physically. Our life together was unexpectedly tentative once more, dangling above a void. The decisions made in this room had the capacity to alter everything.
    Triona swallowed thickly, as if she might vomit. Her skin remained the same pasty shade it had been at the hospital. I thought it had been the artificial lighting there. But even in the ambient glow of the flickering log fire, she appeared drained of vitality.
    “We reached the outskirts of town, and I was telling Caleb it would snow soon…Of course he argued.” She smiled sadly, twisting her hands in her lap.
    Amanda didn’t hesitate to move from my side on the couch. She stood and went to Triona’s, placing a hand on her forearm. It wasn’t in Amanda’s nature to hold back when she saw someone in pain, especially not her best friend. She cared little if a person wanted to borrow her strength or not, only if they needed it.
    Triona continued, “It all happened so fast…It’s hard to keep my mind linear.” She