Thunder Read Online Free PDF Page B

my life, I let him get captured. What is wrong with me?” She put her head in her hands and wept.
    Mother rushed to her side. “I know, baby. I understand. You were scared—”
    â€œI was not!” Selah bristled at the thought. Her fingers absently traced the scar on her forearm. A tingling invaded her chest again, and she tried to ignore it. “I’m just as brave as they are.”
    Mother gave her a look bordering on sympathy. Selah wanted to get away from that look. She darted from the chair. “I need to be alone. Yell when dinner’s ready.”
    â€œYour father went to Council and took the team and wagon with him rather than waste fuel, so as soon as dawn breaks one of the boys will have to take the AirStream to retrieve the wagon so they can transport their captive.”
    Selah calculated how long it would take Raza to pilot the hovercraft to Council and then drive the team and wagon back. AirStreams traveled only a foot above the road, so it wasn’t like he could zip cross-country in a straight line. He was forced to follow the roads.
    She shook her head. “They’ll wait twenty-four hours from when they found him with me to see if he’s still a viable catch. I hope for that poor man’s sake the mark may be gone, and they’ll have to set him free.”
    Selah drummed her fingers on the table surface worn smooth by years of polishing. She counted the hours in her head. Maybe she would have a chance to get him back while Cleon guarded him alone.
    Mother turned back to the table. “Dinner will be me, you, and Dane. Do you want soup?”
    Selah turned. “No, I don’t want soup. I want my catch back. All I can think about are those eyes . . .”
    â€œDon’t you dare look like that,” Mother said.
    â€œLook like what?” Selah pulled back her chin.
    Mother pointed at her face, making circles in the air with her fingertip. “That wispy, faraway look. I know that look, Selah Rishon Chavez! Don’t you dare think of getting involved with a Lander. It will cause you . . . nothing but heartbreak.And your father . . . well, I don’t want to think about what your father would do.”
    Selah cocked her head. “That’s an odd thing to say. I’ve never even seen one up close before. Why would you think I’d get involved with a Lander?”
    Mother crossed her arms. “No reason at all. But you just keep it that way for your own good, young lady. You’re betrothed.”

    Selah rolled onto her back. Her eyes remained closed but she detected radiant light filtering through her eyelids. She could hear birds outside her window singing their morning song. She’d made it to her Birth Remembrance! She didn’t want to open her eyes. She just wanted to lie still and bask in the glory of being grown. As of yesterday she’d finished school. She’d be allowed to drive an AirStream. Her possibilities were endless . . . Well, not exactly, but she refused to think that far ahead. She would enjoy today.
    She sighed and smiled so wide she could feel her cheek muscles heating. Even breathing felt different. She opened her eyes and sat up. The sun poured through thin curtains floating softly on the breeze that pushed its way through the open window. The air smelled fresher than she ever remembered, and the bird song . . . She could hear more birds than—
    Selah cocked her head. Could she really hear the ocean waves lapping at the beach several blocks away?
    Adrenaline coursed through her chest. What was going on? She scurried from the bed, entangling herself in the covers and plopping to the floor on her bottom. She burst outlaughing. Well, that really looked adult. Maybe she needed to rethink the whole worldly shift that came with an eighteenth Remembrance.
    Selah pulled the covers from around her. Still laughing at herself, she brushed the hair from her eyes and stood up.