The Shadow Reader Read Online Free PDF

the third floor. She needs to get some rest before we decide what we’re going to do with her.”
    “You mean, before you decide if you’re going to kill me.” A moment passes before I realize I spoke those words out loud.
    Aren smiles. “And, Lena, make sure the room’s not near one of the oak trees. I think our nalkin-shom has an affinity for jumping out of windows.” He winks at me. “Enjoy your stay, McKenzie.”
    “Come on,” Lena snaps as Aren unbuckles his weapon belt and walks toward a trio of waiting fae. I consider ignoring her until she folds her slender but toned arms across her chest and raises an eyebrow, looking all too ready for a fight. We might be close to the same height and weight, but I’m pretty sure the daughter of Zarrak can kick my ass—I’m pretty sure all the fae here can.

THREE
     
    N EAR AS I can tell, the camp is divided into two groups: those who want to kill me and those who want to use me. I’d like to say a majority is taking my side, but it’s not even split down the middle. Two-thirds of the fae voted with Lena, who seems to be the biggest advocate for my death.
    I’m standing on the inn’s front porch with the rebels staring up at me like I’m on some kind of auction block. The sun’s almost gone, and I have to squint to make out the faces in the growing darkness. I know better than to ask them to turn on a light, though. Not only can fae see better than humans in the dark, but I highly suspect they’ve had someone cut off the electricity to the inn. The room Lena shoved me into for twelve hours was stripped bare of everything except a rickety old bed. Not even a lightbulb was left in the single socket in the ceiling. They gutted the house of human technology.
    Honestly, I’m surprised they risked transporting me in a vehicle last night. Even if the van was the most basic model, it was a complicated piece of tech, and tech screws with a fae’s powers.
    They call what they do amajur . I call it magic. Almost all fae are able to manipulate the atmosphere—that’s how they create fissures between our worlds. Others can create illusions, animate small, nonliving objects, suppress sound, control the elements . . . Everyday things we do on Earth with our technologies, they do in the Realm with their magic. The thing is, because of human influence, some of those magics have become extinct. Fae are no longer able to build gates or glimpse the future. Other magics like healing and empathy are endangered. That’s part of the reason why the Court is at war with the rebels. Aren and his people ignore the laws against bringing human artifacts and culture into the Realm. King Atroth has to take action to protect the fae’s magic.
    I refocus on the lynching party. Oddly, I’m more annoyed than afraid. Maybe it’s shock. Maybe it’s foolishness. Or maybe it’s Aren. He’s sitting on a wooden bench a few paces to my right with his boots propped on top of the porch rail. He’s on the “use me” side of the debate, and though he hasn’t said a word in my defense—he hasn’t said anything since this trial began—I figure his vote has to weigh more than the others’. I hope it does, at least.
    Lena says something in their language and the fae go quiet. Seconds tick by. As the silence stretches, my discomfort grows.
    “It’s decided, then,” Lena says in English, laying a silver-eyed glare on me.
    My heart slams against my chest. Tension gathers in my shoulders and my leg muscles tighten, ready to run, but nobody moves. I think that’s a good sign. A majority may have voted to kill me, but maybe no one wants to do the deed.
    The scowl on Lena’s pretty face deepens. She unsheathes a dagger from the leather scabbard at her hip, climbs the porch steps, and holds the weapon out toward Aren. “It needs to be done.”
    She doesn’t have the guts to do it herself. I think she’s a coward for that, but I’m also relieved. Maybe these people do have some type of moral