The Forgotten King (Korin's Journal) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Xalis are imprisoned within abelyr boxes in the storage compartment below the carriage.  There’s no way that they will ever be pried from the hands of the laboratory researchers at the Academy.  Poor Til’ must be taking his broken promise to Bhaliel quite hard. 
    Once at the Academy, there’s little chance I’ll be able to escape the watch my father will surely have placed over me, and it’s unlikely that Korin could rescue Max by himself.  Korin may be skilled, but he’d have no chance against the Academy wizards.  I know in my heart that Korin will undoubtedly come after us, though, so I can only hope for the best. 
    I can’t help but feel that all of this is my fault.  Days ago, I felt blessed to be with Korin, to be around people who cared for me.  For once, I was happy. 
    Now I believe they would all be better off, had they never met me.
    If only I could break out of this accursed wooden prison and free Max.  Korin needs him.  Without him, I don’t know if Korin will be able to find Raijom, or what he’ll do if Raijom discovers a new method of locating him. 
    Alas, I’m nothing but a Gelin-blooded failure.  Unable to free myself.  Unable to stand up to my father.  Maybe I deserve this for even thinking I could break away from the Academy and prove myself.  For thinking that maybe I could make a life outside of the Academy.  A life with Korin . . .
    As I write this, I notice that there is no fight left in me.  Yesterday, my anger was strong enough to convince me that I could escape this situation.  Having faced eldrhims, a dragon, and an evil wizard, my confidence had been bolstered.  Paired with the caring support my new friends had shown me during our time together, I’d felt I could do anything.
    Yet, here I am today, locked in my wooden cell, helpless.  Four wizards of my father’s own choosing—wizards of the Third Rank, no less—are bringing me back to Tahron, to the Academy.  The bastards won’t even speak to me.  The night I was taken, they only told me that my father was furious and had some big plan for me.  Nothing else.  They won’t let me speak to Max, making them the only company I’ll have for the next three weeks.  Maybe less, given the pace they’ve been setting. 
    They took everything from Korin.  He and Til’ are all alone with nothing to their name.
    Please, Loranis, let them be okay. 

Chapter 4
    Out of the Woods with Wood
     
     
    Garlan was kind enough to shove me out the carriage door, landing me on my ass in true Korinalis Karell fashion.
    After our rough ejection from the carriage, Til’ and I sat morosely outside of Byweather’s northern gate.  The sun hadn’t yet taken dominance over the chilly fall morning, and the dirt road leading away from the city was still quiet enough to allow the distant sounds of gulls to reach us.  The damp ocean air helped to clear my senses a bit, but not nearly as much as I’d have liked.
    As I sat there rubbing my wrists and dealing with all-over body pain, Til’ suddenly burst into excited conversation, his voice dry and raspy.
    “We’re free, Korin!  Now we can go save Max, Sal’, and Xalis.  You guys can go after Raijom in Gualain, and I can meet up with you after I take Xalis to the Snowy Waste.  Do you think a dragon would fly me to Gualain?  That would make everything so much easier.  Can you believe we’re free?  Galius is finally going to get his just rewards for stealing from the Kolari and causing us so much trouble.”  Til’ shadowboxed the empty air.
    As Til’ segued into one of his trademark chatters, his big silver eyes lit up excitedly.  His shrill voice rung with the childlike quality I’d grown accustomed to.  His renewed perkiness was only slightly marred by the blood crusted under his nose and around his lips.
    However, as guileless as he now appeared, there’d been an atypical, violent rage ready to rip its way out of him back in Galius’s basement.  I couldn’t just