When Gods Fall by S. E. Bouvier EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
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- Author: S. E. Bouvier
- Language: English
- Genre: Greco-Roman Myth & Legend Fantasy eBooks
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- Size: 2.9 MB
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If the rumours circulating Camp Bessi held any truth, the Marked healer
lived close to the forest edge.
Alena quickened her pace along the winding trail amid the pine trees,
Katell’s parting words echoing in her mind. Save Father. Do whatever you
must, but save him.
It was the first time Alena had seen her normally indomitable sister so
vulnerable. Katell was the eldest, the strong one who always had a plan. Yet
when she’d left, she’d hesitated outside their family tent, her usual
fierceness melting into the frightened demeanour of a young woman on the
verge of losing her only parent.
Alena wouldn’t let her down. She wouldn’t let their father down. She
couldn’t.
Setting aside thoughts of Katell’s absence, Alena forged ahead and
scoured her surroundings for any hint of human life.
“Alena!” Octavia’s stumbling footsteps trailed behind her. “Alena, stop
this madness! Let’s go home before it’s too late.”
“We’re almost there.” Alena kept going. She’d come too far to turn back
now. Her father’s life depended on her making a deal with the healer.
The shade from the dense canopy brought an unusual dampness to the air.
Though rain was an infrequent visitor to the grassy plains of her homeland,
the forest trail was tainted with mud. A cuckoo’s soft, two-note call echoed
around them in stark contrast to the constant commotion of Camp Bessi.
Beneath the trees, nothing reached their ears—not the gurgling creeks nor
the distant bleating of sheep scattered across the nearby steppe.
“Alena—”
“If you’re too afraid, then wait for me here. Or better yet, go back to
camp, Octavia.” Alena glanced back, huffing out a short breath. Despite
rarely venturing outside Camp Bessi, her friend had insisted on
accompanying her. She hadn’t even traded her usual long skirts for more
practical hemp trousers. “You shouldn’t even be here.”
“Neither should you.” Octavia struggled to keep up. Strands of her mousy
brown hair stuck to her sweaty temples. “It isn’t proper for two unmarried
seventeen-year-old girls to leave camp, not to mention dangerous. Your
sister isn’t here to protect us. Besides, if the elders catch you seeking that
Marked woman’s help—”
Alena tuned out her words. Every Freefolk knew the consequences.
Meddling with Marked ones—men and women blessed with gods-given
magic—was punishable by exile, and in some cases, death.
The elders’ rules were clear. In the Freefolk Lands, the gods were dead,
and Marked ones were not welcome.
Alena didn’t want to imagine what the elders would do if they caught her
breaking their rules. Though they weren’t in charge of Camp Bessi, they
kept the Freefolk customs alive and forbade any discussion or worship of
the gods. But with any luck, the Council, the camp’s real leaders, would
understand her actions and be lenient should she be caught.
After all, she was trying to save one of them.
That morning, Alena had left her father, lying weak and feverish in his
bed of furs, entrusting his care to Elder Yorn, a kind-hearted woman and
family friend. She’d welcomed them to Camp Bessi seventeen years ago
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