The Bind of Blood and Bonds by Becky James EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author: Becky James
- Language: English
- Genre: Coming of Age Fantasy
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2.8 MB
- Price: Free
I TAPPED THE WAKE STONE TO MAKE IT SHUT OFF ITS INSISTENT
quaking. Rolling out of my bunk, I stretched before my thoughts could
catch up with me. Rising at dawn had been my habit throughout my life;
rising a turn of the glass before dawn, less so.
I made my way from my bunk situated right at the barracks entrance—
strategically placed in order to catch and reprimand any soldier caught
returning late or, in my case, to share a drink with them—towards the
washroom. A minor benefit of such early waking was getting the room to
myself. Especially the mirror. I splashed my face and shaved, taking great
care to catch every hint of stray stubble.
I eased my shirt over my forearm tattoos. My skin had just settled down
from the recent additions, the sergeant stripes fetching well alongside the
campaign tattoos, but it could still be sensitive. Taking a thick dollop of
unguent, I inspected the remnants in the jar; still plenty, and no excuse yet
to visit the Academy and Aubin’s shop.
Not that it had gained me anything. Whenever I had visited on my offdays, the shop was shut up tight, and I had failed to catch any sight of him
around the castle as well, despite knowing that he had to be around
somewhere. Anytime I caught a flash of tawny hair against tanned
southerner skin and turned to look, there was nothing there. We had
resolved to give him time, and thus I would stick to that resolution, but I
wished he would hurry up and speak to us again soon.
Pulling on my freshly pressed reds with the new sergeant epaulette, I
felt trim, tidy and ready to face the day, pacing down the rows of sleeping
swordsmen and out of the barracks toward the mess hall. They would have
some restorative on to heat, another perk of being an early riser. I sat at a
table in the deserted dining hall to compose myself, readying my mind for
the morning’s duties.
Sergeant Philo came down soon after. Paper flew out of his hands, and a
three-day-old beard marred his chin and cheeks. I snorted to myself. It
wasn’t exactly a stellar example for the men, nor particularly attractive for
many women.
Thinking of women made me remember the last time Tuniel had visited
the castle. Tuniel MasterMage, the authority over all magic users in the
country of Oberrot, had a monumental task restoring and reaffirming the
Magical Mundane Accords, the peace that existed between those who could
use magic and those who could not. The Accords protected mundanes and
set out mutual expectations of behaviour.
This trust had been damaged by
the previous MasterMage, who had moved directly against the castle itself,
capturing Gough and the older members of the royal family to get to
Gough’s soul companion Rose. Tuniel would have to work hard to smooth
over and re-establish relations, but I knew she was more than equal to the
endeavour.
Despite being so busy, she made ample time for me. A pleasant shiver
ran down my spine, reliving the feel of her fingers smoothing my cheek and
flowing down my shoulders, the rushed clandestine kisses in between
meetings.
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