The Rogue Knight Read Online Free PDF Page B

irritation persisted. He needed to sleep.
    Under the light of dawn, they began to pass farms. A wagon went by in the opposite direction. The driver hardly looked at them.
    â€œDon’t tense up when you see people,” Jace told Cole. “You were glancing at that guy too much. Nobody knows us. We’re free kids on a stroll. Act like you own the road. Don’t pay attention to other people, and they probably won’t pay attention to you. If they want to be friendly, let them make the first move.”
    Cole resisted the urge to get defensive. He had felt tense when he saw the driver, and it might have shown. “Good advice.”
    After the road briefly became the main street of a little hamlet, they began to pass many more homesteads, large and small. People went up and down the road on horseback, in wagons or carriages, and on foot. The presence of so many other people helped Cole relax and feel less conspicuous. The crowds dispelled his sleepiness. He watched for legionnaire uniforms and tried to casually notice whether any of the passersby showed unusual interest in Mira.
    As the sun climbed, the lane continued to get busier until it joined up with a larger road. Coming around a bend, Cole looked out at a massive wall that was the dark green of a forest at twilight. Beyond the imposing barrier, rooftops, domes, towers, and spires suggested a city of greater scale than Cole had expected. It didn’t look anything like the scattered tall buildings and sprawling suburbs of Phoenix. This city was more compact, with architecture that brought to mind ancient capitals from history books.
    â€œThat really is a city,” Cole muttered.
    â€œYou didn’t think the five kingdoms were all farms and woods, did you?” Jace asked.
    â€œAnd magical floating castles,” Cole added.
    â€œHe hasn’t been here long,” Mira said. “We’ve avoided the more populated areas.”
    â€œWhich isn’t always the best strategy,” Jace said. “It can be easier to get lost in a crowd.”
    â€œThere are pros and cons,” Twitch said. “Crowds have lots of eyes.”
    â€œAmong the pros are food and beds,” Jace said. “I’ll take my chances.”
    â€œWhat’s Elloweer like?” Cole asked. “I still don’t know much about it.”
    â€œIt’s hard to explain,” Mira said. “The shaping in Sambria seems straightforward to me. Elloweer is more mystical. The shapers there spice things up with showmanship. They call their art enchanting.”
    â€œThey make seemings,” Twitch said.
    â€œSeemings are illusions,” Mira explained. “The best seemings look totally authentic, but they’re not tangible, no matter how solid they appear.”
    â€œAnd then there are the changelings,” Jace said.
    â€œChangelings are living things that have been altered,” Mira said. “In Sambria, we can imitate life with semblances, but our kind of shaping doesn’t work well on living things. Some of the Ellowine enchanters can make astonishing alterations to living beings.”
    Cole glanced at Twitch.
    â€œWhat? Are you wondering if I’m a changeling? If so, it happened a long time ago, to my great-great-great-grandparents. And eventually I inherited it. But our traditions hold that our ancestors came to Elloweer from elsewhere.”
    â€œIt’s believed that Elloweer connects to many worlds,” Mira said. “Or at least it may have in the past. Like Twitch, some of the unusual Ellowine people look human if they leave their kingdom. Others physically can’t leave at all.”
    â€œStandard advice in the five kingdoms is to steer clear of Elloweer,” Jace said.
    â€œI didn’t get taken as a slave until I left Elloweer,” Twitch complained.
    â€œWell, in Sambria, people think twice before heading too far east,” Jace said. “Weird stuff happens