Crown of Steel (Chaos Awakens) Read Online Free

capable? Regardless, the words had come out of her mouth and Haley wasn’t one to abandon her commitments easily, not even when she knew she was wrong. "I'm not going to just sit around here forever, not while he's out there fighting for us!"
    Kassa had lowered her face to her hands. She raised her head and Haley thought she caught a glimpse of a tear streaking the woman's face. "You have to tell her, Johndin. You can't keep this secret forever."
    Haley's eyes leapt back and forth between the old mage and the woman who'd become her trainer. "What secret? I'm tired of not knowing what's going on." Even as she pushed for answers a sense of trepidation crept over her.
    Shawl set down his pipe with a shaky hand. His rosy cheeks had gone pale, and any cheer his herb provided had long since fled his face. "Haley, this isn't easy for me to tell you, but I've kept it from you for your own good. I didn't want you to harbor resentment, and I'd hoped with time it would be easier for you to understand. It's clear to me now that I should have come forward much sooner with this information. Time has not helped you, and your dedication to Xan is admirable." Haley was frozen in her seat and her heart hammered away in her chest as her stomach churned uncomfortably. It was as if she knew what Johndin was going to tell her. Perhaps she had even suspected it on some level.
    "Xan did not leave the island the night he brought back Kassa. He was consumed by the mists." The old mage shifted uncomfortably in his chair, looking at his pipe longingly. "I warned him about the mists and the nature of the island at night. At first I hoped that he'd gotten off the island, but I checked the boat I have and it's still in its normal place. Swimming to shore is possible, but there was no evidence that he ever left the clearing. Then there were Kassa's words when we found her. 'Shade walked into shadows.' Xandrith was swept up by the mists of Dreamer's Isle. I hoped for a while that he would return - some people do - but as time went on I knew it wasn't to be. Xandrith is gone, Haley."
    Haley sat in stunned silence. She was caught between horror and anguish, but a great wall of rage was welling up deep inside of her too. "That's not even possible." She said quietly as her emotions thrashed out of control inside of her. "Xan couldn't be killed by some stupid mist. You don't know that, Johndin. You can't! You're just guessing!"
    Shawl shook his head slowly. "It's more than a guess, I'm afraid. I've used my magic to divine the connections. I know he went into the mist, and it is clear that he never came back out, Haley. I'm sorry child, but Xandrith is gone."
    "That's a damned lie!" Haley shouted. "If Xandrith is gone then what have we been doing here all this time? Why would I be wasting my time training while the world is dying out there? Xan is out there right now, trying to save us, and we need to find him and help. You're a liar, Johndin Shawl!" Haley stood up, throwing her chair back with enough force to send it careening off the nearby wall. Johndin had gone quiet. He was looking tired and sad.
    A hand touched Haley's shoulder and she jumped. She hadn't even seen Kassa move. "It's not a lie, Haley. After the confusion finally fled, I remembered Xan walking away into the mist and just vanishing. It was the first clear memory I had."
    Haley shrugged the hand from her shoulder and stepped away. She didn't like to be touched. She allowed it during training, but Kassa was no friend of hers. Haley didn't want the woman thinking they were close, especially not now. "Did you think I would just forget him? Why have we been wasting all of this time training? What did you hope to achieve?" She wasn't sure who she was talking to, Kassa or Shawl, but someone needed to answer her questions.
    "It was my fault." Shawl said quietly. "I'd hoped if we kept you working and training that you might begin to forget about Xan. I just wanted you to find some happiness in your