Page 48 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
Leave,the god roared.Now!
Graeson didn’t have time to convince the strangers he was not a threat. The child, whether a seer or not, was not his enemy. Not by any means.
"Come on," he said to Nyrri.
The drakonis released a tired sigh but lowered her back. After spending this much time together, he knew to interpret that as a soft yes. He hoisted himself back into the saddle.
The strangers stared at him as they huddled closer together, fear dripping from their countenances.
Nyrri released a quiet whine.
He patted her on the back. "We’ll find them."
But as Nyrri took off for the skies once more, Graeson wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince Nyrri or himself.
Chapter 21
MYRA
The precarious stacksof books wobbled on the table. Myra pursed her lips to hide the blooming smile. She flipped to the next page. Through strands of blonde hair, she peered at the captain sitting on the other side of the table. "You’re doing it again."
"Doing what?" Laurince asked.
"The—"
But that was as far as Myra got before the tower of books collapsed.
Someone cleared their throat, and Myra looked over her shoulder at the older man sitting at a nearby table. He glared at them and pushed his thick, round-framed glasses up the bridge of his nose with a shove.
A loud bang sounded, and the table jolted once more, sending a few more books falling.
Myra turned to find the captain rushing out of his seat.
Apologizing to the man, Laurince knelt on the ground and began picking up the texts. "I—I’m sorry. I didn’t even realize I was doing it."
The captain had been bouncing his knee nonstop since he sat down with Myra and Rian. If it wasn’t his knee, he was tapping his finger on one of the leather-bound books. Everythump-thumpwas a reminder of the time ticking by, the time spent reading books that had thus far proven useless.
Yet, despite the creeping doubt, a small grin poked at the corner of Myra’s mouth at Laurince’s bewildered expression. They might have found nothing particularly useful yet, but Myra could not say she regretted the time spent in the library with the captain and the king.
She joined Laurince on the floor. She ran her hand over one book, the old leather curling at the corners. "It’s all right. These ones were useless anyway." She meant for the words to come out light and playful. But when Laurince’s expression turned solemn, she knew she had failed.
"Myra," Laurince said, drawing out her name, "don’t give up yet. There’s bound to be something." He held up a book and smiled, amused. "Get it,bound?"
Her brows scaled her forward.
"Boundlike a book is bound?" He lowered the book, his smile faltering. He swiped a hand through his hair. His recent haircut had gotten rid of the slight wave in his hair. A piece hung in front of his face, and he shoved it away and shrugged. "I suppose it wasn’t that funny."
Myra shook herself out of her stupor. "No, it was. I’m just…"
"Worried?"
Among other things,she thought.
Laurince offered her a sad smile. "I’m sure Graeson has caught up with them by now. They should be back any day now."
"No, Kallie’s too stubborn. Once her mind is made up, there’s no changing it." Her gaze fell on the books still scattered on the ground. Some had landed face-down and open. Several pageswere now bent and folded over. She should offer Magnolia her services in the morning to pay for the damages.
A calloused hand landed on hers. "She’s going to be all right," Laurince said.
