Shadow Train Read Online Free PDF

again,” she said.
    â€œWhat dream?”
    â€œAbout the man. The blind man in the tower. He’s been locked in a room up there, and he wants me to let him out. But he’s furious, you know? He’s so angry that I’m afraid of him. But in my dream I let him out anyway . . .” Her voice trailed off briefly, as she remembered the feeling of terror the dream always gave her. “What do you think it means?”
    Orias didn’t answer. Instead, he took her hand, helped her to her feet, and led her to a big gilded mirror that hung on one wall near the window. He stopped her in front of it.
    â€œDon’t you look stunning?” he asked as they both gazed at her reflection.
    She stared at herself in the mirror, looking like the princess her little-girl self had always imagined she would grow up to be. And Orias, standing behind her, was every inch the prince, with his perfectly sculpted face, his long dark hair, and those startling blue eyes. She should be the happiest girl in the world.
    A flash caught her eye, and she went to the window.
    â€œOh, look! Fireworks. Aren’t they beautiful?” She tried to sound enthusiastic, but the words came out tonelessly. She watched as the sky lit up with spirals, stars, pinwheels, and spinners that fizzled, then crackled and sparked to life again and again above the treetops of Middleburg.
    â€œYes, it’s beautiful,” Orias said, gazing first at the fireworks and then at her.
    â€œWhere did you say it comes from?” she asked vaguely. “The water for the tea?”
    â€œThe River Lethe,” Orias said, and he levitated her gently off the floor and floated her toward him. She laughed softly, and when she was close enough he reached out and pulled her into his arms.
    â€œI’ve never heard of it. Where is it?” Aimee asked.
    â€œIn my father’s homeland. The Dark Territory,” Orias answered. “Perhaps we’ll go there one day.”
    â€œOh,” Aimee said. Then another gorgeous multicolored pinwheel went crackling and reeling across the sky, like a scattering of diamonds. As its sparks faded, her uneasiness disappeared, too.
    â€œLovely,” Orias said, his lips brushing her ear as he spoke.
    She nodded in agreement and took comfort in having his arms around her, the missing element that troubled her slipping away from her mind.
    * * *
    As Zhai Shao approached Lily Rose’s door, he adjusted his tie. He was dressed in the new clothes he’d asked Lotus to pick up for him on her last shopping trip to New York, and in his hand he held a special bouquet of exotic flowers from his stepmother’s florist. Before the door opened, he went through a quick mental checklist to make sure that all his preparations for the evening had been completed, and by the time Lily Rose was greeting him, he was feeling a little more relaxed. Besides, the old lady’s eyes were utterly unique: one was a rich hazel color that bordered on amber, the other a clear pristine blue, and when she looked at him with them, it was impossible to stress out.
    â€œWell, hello, Zhai. Don’t you look nice?” Lily Rose said warmly, the dark skin around her mouth crinkling into a smile. “Come in, come in. Go on back—they’re almost ready.”
    He followed the sound of laughter to Dalton’s bedroom door, which was ajar.
    â€œKnock, knock,” he said, slipping inside.
    He found Dalton and another Flats girl, Myka, standing in front of a broad mirror. Next to them was Kate—and she looked spectacular. She was wearing a beautiful green velvet dress that Zhai guessed Lily Rose had made for her and her fiery red hair, which Dalton had probably styled, looked fantastic. She’d lost a little weight while recovering from the wound she’d suffered during the battle at the tracks, but the color had returned to her cheeks. Lily Rose, Master Chin, and the local doctor all agreed that she had