Wings of Lomay Read Online Free PDF

behind him.
    “He broke a few bones during practice today. With the talisman unsheathed, I couldn’t heal him.”
    Kiora hurried up the next couple of stairs. “You could have told me.”
    “He decided not to. Yell at him.” Kiora heard the smirk in his voice. He turned down the hall, throwing open the door to Alcander’s room and shouting, “All right then, where’s my patient?”
    Alcander was on his bed, propped up with some pillows, his arm over his stomach, his face pinched with discomfort.
    “Shut up and get over here,” Alcander said. “You took your sweet time. I felt the magic come back ages ago.”
    “My apologies.” Emane stuffed his hands in his pockets and strolled over to the bed as if it were a pleasant afternoon excursion. “Some of my pupils had questions, and then I had wise words to impart to Kiora. My schedule was packed.”
    Alcander groaned, rolling his head to the side. “Emane, if I was any condition to—”
    “But you’re not,” Emane interrupted. “Don’t waste your breath with idle threats.”
    “Emane, stop torturing him and heal him.”
    Emane placed his hand over Alcander’s collarbone and then over his ribs. Alcander sighed in relief as Emane mended his broken bones. Swinging his legs over the bed, Alcander put an elbow on his knee, glaring up at Emane. “Pupils, you say?”
    “Many.” Emane nodded, rocking back on his heels. “Lots of questions.”
    Kiora rolled her eyes and plopped down next to Alcander. “Did training go better?”
    “Much,” Emane said. “Surprisingly, the fact that the Taveans were locked up for so long is proving to be an advantage. Alcander has had to fight against his magical training, and it’s slowed him down. Without so much drilled into them, they are actually picking up the new fighting style a little faster.” He shrugged. “Once they had no choice but to learn it.”
    “How long before we’re going to need more weapons?” Kiora asked.
    “Yesterday.”
    There was a knock at the door, and Lomay poked his head in. “Sorry to interrupt you all, but I need to borrow Kiora.”
    “Did you find a solution to the barrier?” she asked, hope filtering in.
    “I did.” His tone was melancholy, which she didn’t understand. He looked wistfully toward Alcander, which only confused her more.
    As they walked down the stairs, Kiora watched Lomay. The usual twinkle in his eyes seemed dimmer, and his shoulders bowed further forward than usual—as if physically weighed down by something.
    “I never had any children of my own,” he said abruptly. “Alcander has always been like a son to me.”
    “Why didn’t you ever have children?” she asked.
    “Ah.” He smiled bitterly, using his hand on the wall for support. “I was young and stupid, too busy for relationships, and obsessed with becoming great—it consumed me. By the time I realized that greatness is not in the amount of magic you possess, it was too late.”
    Kiora raised her eyebrows. “Too late? Lomay, you have been alive for a very long time.”
    “There are some matters in life in which I have found myself to be a very slow learner.” He leaned forward on his cane as they reached the main floor, his feet dragging. “I knew I had missed out on things, but to be honest, I didn’t care. It wasn’t until I ended up raising Alcander that I realized exactly what I had missed.”
    “Does he know how you feel?”
    “I think deep down he does. But he is Tavean, after all, and he was a very angry Tavean. I didn’t think telling him I loved him would be received well.”
    “Maybe. But you should still tell him.”
    Lomay paused with his hand on the library door. “Perhaps I will.”
    The library was a disaster. Books and scrolls were strewn over every surface—tables, shelves, and even the floor. Lomay shuffled in, his cane clacking on the tile.
    “It took me a while to find what I needed,” he said in explanation of the mess. He made his way to the round table in the