Thorne (Random Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

by the twins from the cliffs.’
    I waited for him to overcome his wariness.
    A grin spread Winn’s mouth. ‘If you’d like, I could show you … I fear my description might be unworthy.’
    I stood up. ‘Lead the way.’
     
    I’d spent my life by the sea, but it was different standing at the headlands of Limontae. The sight below was beautiful and dangerous, and I couldn’t take my eyes from it. The cliff itself had been built into – there were hundreds of houses within its face, spreading from the very top all the way down to the sand of the beach. These flickered with glowing lights, and from this distance they looked like fireflies in the darkness. Beyond lay the ocean, and as we stopped to survey the view I realised that I had never known the sea as I thought I had. This was a creature as savage and unquiet as wolves’ teeth tearing at the shore. The water I lived beside was quiet and calm and glistened silver in the moonlight. Here there was barely any moon at all, and the surf was an enormous throbbing mass of black.
    Although the cliff and the sea would have been enough to satisfy my wandering soul for one night, there was more beauty to behold. Along the headland, exploding out of the water, were seven enormous towers. Each was slender and straight, rising dozens of levels into the sky, and their surfaces seemed to be made of glass, winking in the starlight. I could imagine what they would look like under the sun. In all my life I’d never seen such feats of architecture. I’d thought Ambrose’s fortress to be tall, but it was as nothing compared to the shining towers of Limontae.
    ‘I’d heard of them, of course,’ I murmured. ‘But I never imagined them to be so grand.’
    ‘Aye, they’re a wonder,’ Winn agreed. ‘One for every subject of the academy.’
    ‘Do you go to the academy, Winn?’
    ‘No, sire – I look after your house.’
    I looked at him, abashed. ‘Forgive me.’
    ‘Of course not, sire. Shall we continue? We need to hurry or we’ll miss the betting, and that’s the craziest bit.’
    ‘Where are we headed?’ I asked softly, for some reason feeling like I had to whisper. Winn pointed towards the first tower, but before we reached it he led me off the edge of the cliff. I couldn’t see anything below except rocks.
    ‘Are you any good at climbing, my lord?’
    I shrugged. He led me over, climbing agilely down the rough surface to an invisible path, overgrown with shrubs and long grass. I followed far more slowly. I didn’t want to tell him that I had a very real discomfort with heights. I even struggled being near windows on the top level of Ambrose’s fortress. The darkness tonight helped me to trick my mind into believing I was not high on a rocky cliff. And facing the rocks made it marginally easier to concentrate on my feet and hands, taking each step at a time. I stumbled a few times, but soon made it lower into the grassy hills.
    ‘Are you well, Majesty?’
    ‘Yes, sorry. I’ve slowed you down.’
    ‘Not at all.’
    We rounded a final corner, dropping out of view of the rest of the world. A huge sea cave opened up before us. We climbed over slippery rocks to reach the mouth, the ocean slapping dangerously close to our feet. If the tide were any higher, there would be no way to get into the cave.
    Noises reached me over the crashing surf. Voices shouting. Winn grinned and led me further in. Just inside the mouth I stopped, stunned. The cave was vast – deeper and wider than I could see – and the roof was so high that I could barely make out the stalactites that hung from it.
    There were at least fifty youths standing on the rocks; they looked like they ranged from between about fifteen to twenty-five years old. They were all yelling and gesturing at each other with a heady, frenzied chaos, but as I watched I realised there was actually method to their shouts. Standing on a big rock above the rest were two people. The boy was slim and wiry, with messy yellow