The Iron Butterfly Read Online Free PDF Page A

next to me and put his hand on my back but I stiffened in fright and spat out, “DON’T! Don’t touch me!”
    He dropped his hand dejectedly to his side and reached for an extra blanket to wrap around my shoulders instead. I could tell by the look in his eyes that I had hurt his feelings. But after months of being tortured by cruel people, it hurt too much to have anyone touch me without the memories of the tortures coming back.
    Darren stoked the fire and spoke with a quick look over his shoulder. “Get some sleep; we have an early morning ahead of us. We are putting as much distance at dawn between us and the Septori as we can. I want to get farther away from Sinnendor’s lands. You are right, I have a feeling that whoever captured you will be looking for you. At first light we will be heading to Haven, the capital of Calandry.”
    Darren must have seen me flinch at the news of them postponing leaving until tomorrow, because he went on to quickly explain.
    “Our horses are too tired to travel any farther tonight. We’ve been pressing them hard the last few days heading to the Citadel, so Joss can finish his training. There ain't anywhere in the world safer than the Citadel in Haven. It’s the Denai training ground.”
    I felt goose bumps travel up my arm at the thought of being surrounded by a whole army of Denai. There was something deeply ingrained in me that made me wary of them. I wasn’t even sure why or where these feelings of mistrust originated from. But I was forced to share a cell with other Denai, like Cammie, and we were all subjected to the same punishment. And over time, because of an inherent need for survival, I learned to ignore most of my misgivings. The Raven was particularly obsessed with the Denai race.
    Darren and Joss were whispering to each other and kept casting me furtive looks, before Joss went and sat by the fire. “I will take the first watch,” he said to me. “So you should get some sleep.”
    They may have set up a watch to guard against the Septori, but deep down I had a feeling it was to make sure I didn’t run away in the night. They were right. I probably would have run. I had little desire to go to the Citadel but I also had nowhere else to go.
    I closed my eyes and tried to piece together what Cammie had said about her kind. She said the city of Haven was populated with both human and Denai. But the Denai race was slowly becoming extinct and fewer each year were born. Whole clans tried to intermarry with them in hopes of breeding young and powerful Denai. It didn’t work.
    I forced my mind to think of the tomorrow and resigned myself into going to the Citadel in Haven with Joss and Darren. Maybe they were right, and leaving this all far behind would be for the best. Maybe in this city a young girl with no past could possibly forge a future? “Haven,” I whispered before I let sleep take hold of me.
     

Chapter 3
     
    We were on the road riding before the rays of the morning sun made an appearance. I could tell Darren was anxious to have us moving in case the Septori were searching for us. His eyes kept scanning the woods as he hastily tossed me one of Joss’ shirts and a pair of his own soft brown pants, I was swimming in both. Joss’ shirt felt soft against my skin and I couldn’t help but hold the fabric to my nose and breathe in the masculine scent. I felt a rush of heat fill my cheeks from embarrassment at what I was doing, hoping neither one caught me in the act.
    Darren’s pants on the other hand wouldn’t stay up around my hips and kept falling down. I did the best I could with a spare piece of twine to keep them up. I didn’t have boots but I was fine because we were going to be riding. My feet were calloused from not wearing shoes for so long that I didn’t even notice the cold anymore.
    My tattered garments which barely resembled clothes anymore from all of the dirt and blood, lay burning in the fire. I stared emotionless as the cloth burned; the edges