Tender Thorns (THE IVY INSTITUTE #1) by Albany Walker EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Authors: Albany Walker
- Language: English
- Genre: contemporary romance
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 6 MB
- Price: Free
BRIAR
Itrudge up the path with a knot of dread lodged in my throat so
palpable, I can barely swallow the hot saliva pooling in my mouth.
Every step I take most likely brings me closer and closer to certain
death, but I’m too afraid to slow my ascent up the mountain.
The spires of my destination are scarcely visible through the trees and
fog blanketing the Mori Forest, meaning I still have a bit of a climb. Maybe
my black heart will explode before I can reach Ivy Institute. I dismiss the
thought as soon as it forms, knowing I would never be that lucky.
The thick canopy of trees covers everything but the narrow lane
winding up the hill. I know darkness will arrive soon, and gods only know
what will come with it. I’m unsure if I should be grateful to my bastard of a
father for kicking me out of the carriage at the base of the road—he was too
afraid to get close to the institute—or curse him for making me late for my
inevitable execution.
I settle on wishing he would die, and not for the first time. He’s never
done anything for me I could be thankful for.
The ache of hunger that always gnaws at my belly is almost enough to
distract me from my heart thundering in my ears and head as my breaths
grow shallower with each step. I haven’t eaten today, and while that isn’t all
that unusual, hiking up a mountain is, and it’s taking its toll on my body.
My foot skids over a walnut-sized rock, digging into the soft leather
sole of my boot and causing me to throw out my arms to catch myself. The
moment I stop moving, I’ll feel the blisters on my feet weeping in my too
small shoes, but that’s easy to ignore—the wobble of my thighs and burn of
my calves isn’t. I force myself to take one step, then another, because if I
stop moving, I’ll risk my muscles locking up, taking the choice away from
me.
Ten minutes later, the thought of lying down to die peacefully under the
shadows of the trees doesn’t seem so bad. Maybe dehydration or the
elements would get me before someone found me, but knowing there are
fates worse than death keeps me going.
A branch to my left cracks, the sound cutting through the muffled forest,
and dread fills my gut. I know I’m not alone, and I feel foolish for ever
assuming I was in the first place. Run, echoes in my head, but instead of
heeding the warning, almost every muscle in my body freezes as my head
turns toward the sound. My eyes search the darkness, finding only shadows
dancing along the base of the trees and ground.
It only takes a breath for me
to realize the rhythmic movement is my mind trying to make sense of my
vision waning with every thud of my heart. What isn’t a figment of my
imagination, though, is the eerie silence now surrounding me. It’s as if the
forest itself is holding its breath, along with every creature that calls this
anathematized place home.
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