Tribe of the Snow Tiger (Legends of Windemere Book 10) Read Online Free PDF Page B

her into the snow drift, the young woman falling completely under the chest high drift.
    “I’m going to strangle you, little brother!” she shouts while barreling out of the snow.
    Her body is shivering even though her crimson shirt is covered in a rolling fire that dries her off in a second. Nyx tries her best to catch the nimble warrior, but Luke manages to always remain a hair out of reach. He rolls his eyes as she dives and misses, the channeler landing face first in the warm mud. The muck bubbles at her blossoming rage and the patches on her skin harden before flaking off. Nyx is about to attempt another charge when she sees all of her friends yawn and rub at their bloodshot eyes. Remembering that she is the only one who got enough rest last night, she calms down and cancels her spells. The channeler calmly walks over to Luke and gives him a half-hearted smack to the side of his head.
    “I said I was sorry,” Nyx says, crossing her arms and frowning. Biting her lower lip, the half-elf fiddles with her shoulder-length hair. “You guys should have woken me up if I was casting in my sleep. If you want, can create energizer spells to help with your fatigue. I think I can cast a version that doesn’t result in a crash. There might be a little danger since I keep having surges, but they shouldn’t be a threat if I concentrate.”
    “Just focus on melting the snow. None of us can afford to be incapacitated,” Luke replies while returning to his crouching position. The blonde warrior runs his fingers along some indents, but the tracks have been trampled by their small scuffle. “We don’t really need to follow a path since Timoran knows where we’re going. Still, I want to keep an eye out for signs of predators. I’ve seen tracks left by wolves, bears, wyverns, trolls, and others that I can’t identify without a clearer print. This one really has me curious.”
    “Do you think we really have to worry about trolls?” Dariana asks while taking a drink from her waterskin. She rubs at the clear ring on her finger when she notices that the others are staring at her. “I only mean that I’ve sensed them and they’re staying away. It would appear that Nyx’s presence has made them uninterested in us. Trolls are not nearly as stupid as people think. It doesn’t happen often, but they won’t attack something more that’s dangerous than themselves unless they are starving. Although, the trolls are staying nearby, so maybe they’re hungry enough to consider the risk.”
    Nyx unleashes a blast of fire into the air and has it make a tight circle before exploding into a display of lights. With a crackling hiss, the spell drifts toward the ground and leaves sizzling holes in the snow. The faint sound of stampeding feet to the west brings a prideful smile to the channeler’s face. She runs her hand over her face to remove the expression, but the corners of her mouth continue to dimple.
    “What has gotten into you?” Luke asks, approaching Nyx and putting his hands on her shoulders. He winces when her skin heats up to the point where he feels a shock of pain. “I know you’re excited to have your magic back. We’re all happy for that. It doesn’t explain why you are acting so strange and uninhibited.”
    “Because Stephen is dead and the last strike he made against me is gone,” she replies, slipping out of her best friend’s grasp. She plucks a few berries off a nearby bush and pops them into her mouth, the sourness catching her by surprise. “I spent so long being scared of that bastard and angry that I couldn’t stop him. Now he’s nothing but a bitter memory. I no longer have nightmares of him doing stuff to me. Shadows aren’t hiding him anymore. I’m free of that monster.”
    Ignoring Dariana’s gestures of warning, Luke mentions, “All of that is true, but I think it’s more than that. He stopped you from confessing to Delvin, which might be the real source of your outbursts. That’s entirely