The Destroyer Book 4 Read Online Free PDF Page A

clear up your mind. If your last memory is of the Castle Nia, there has to be more story worth telling.”
    “You are right.” I rubbed my eyes a bit and cleared fog from them. Sleep did sound wonderful. “I’ll probably remember more after some rest.”
    “Do you want breakfast before you go? Sun will be up in a couple of hours.”
    “No that is fine. I am hungry, but I can eat when I wake up. I’ll see you later in the day. Thank you for listening.”
    “Thank you for telling me of your life, Kaiyer. I wish that Paug — ” The old man stopped himself and sighed. “Well. No use wishing for things that can’t be. My grandson would have liked to hear what you told me today. Get to bed!” he ordered and pointed to the room that once belonged to my young friend.
    The sheets felt cool and I almost didn’t have the energy to take off my clothes before passing out. I tried to remember more of the castle before the dreams took me, but it was no use. As if on a river, my mind slipped from the story I had just told Janci to a dream of fighting hordes of my enemies. In the dream, my screaming death armor felt like it was part of my body.



Chapter 3 -Iolarathe
     
    “Our tribal lands lay over the next hill.” The male escort had told me his name a few times, but I had not bothered to remember it.
    I made no response to his statement and he cleared his throat before the sour scent of fear escaped his body. Even in the cool breeze rolling over these grassy hills I could smell him.
    “Do you wish to rest here for lunch, or should we carry on?” Gerleita was the other escort from my father’s tribe of Laxile. She also wore the scent of sour fear, but it was less offensive than the stench of her male counterpart.
    “How long until we reach the estate?” Corlintha asked for me.
    “Six more hours. Which is why I asked if Iolarathe would prefer to rest.” Gerleita smelled of sharp cabbage now. Bitter and pungent.
    “We will break here.” I turned to Corlintha and nodded. She blinked her purple eyes and bowed slightly before turning her horse around to face the rest of the caravan. With a click of her tongue the beast cantered down the small slope toward the many covered wagons. She would alert them to my plans and oversee my lunch preparation.
    “May we eat with you?” Gerleita asked. Her heart beat quicker and the sour stench grew hotter in the midday heat. I was surprised at her boldness and considered the consequences of acceptance. My father had sent his top traders to escort me and my servants from my mother’s lands. Despite traveling together for the last month, I had done nothing to build a relationship with them. My mother would be displeased, but her opinion hardly mattered anymore.
    “Yes, but sit downwind of me. For the love of the Dead Gods you both reek like you expect me to kill you any second.” The woman’s emerald eyes opened along with her mouth.
    “We are sorry, Mistress. We don’t wish to offend you — ” the male said.
    “Silence. I don’t want to hear your bullshit now. You may join me for lunch, but do not speak unless I address you.” They both bowed deeply off the side of their horses and the sour scent increased.
    I dismounted my own steed and handed the stallion’s reins to Gerleita. He was a spirited warhorse that disliked anyone’s presence but mine. He must have sensed my displeasure because he didn’t balk at the woman’s touch when she tied him to the nearby juniper.
    Twenty humans set up my pavilion downwind, so that I would not experience their stench. They would just handle the framework and the canvas top of the structure. Then my personal servants would place the furniture, rugs, tables, and deliver my meal.
    Corlintha approached me from the direction of the caravans and offered me one of her rare smiles.
    “You, Gerleita, and the male escort . . .”
    “Chirtlan,” she reminded me.
    “Will join me for lunch. Unless you have other plans?” I raised an