The Lore Of The Evermen (Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

make sure she wasn’t being watched before she began to climb. The set of stairs led her up two levels before she reached her personal chambers at the end of a corridor.
    Her heart raced with excitement.
    Entering her chambers and gently shutting the door behind her, Ella threw a heavy cloak with a furred collar and hood over her shoulders before pulling on two soft gloves. She crossed the room and pulled open the doors leading to the balcony.
    The fierce biting wind struck her with force, and she grimaced at the chill on her exposed cheeks. Stepping out onto the balcony, she tried to close the doors softly behind her, but they were torn from her grip and slammed shut.
    It was freezing out on the balcony, but even so, Ella placed two gloved hands on the rail and looked out at the grand skyline of the Imperial capital Seranthia and the golden glow of the windows, which gave the city a softened beauty in darkness that it never had in light.
    There were so many buildings pressed close together that it was difficult to encompass them all. Block-shaped structures clustered around her: the market houses of the other eight houses. Nearby, snowy gardens surrounded the manses of Fortune’s wealthy merchants. A long line where the distant buildings ahead terminated could only signal the length of the Grand Boulevard. The Imperial Palace rose above it all, easily the highest structure around, dominating the city with its lofty size.
    Seranthia was now so peaceful, but Ella feared the tranquility would soon be shattered by the coming darkness. In a way she’d come to love this city, a difficult place in many ways, where it was easy to feel like a stranger, yet filled with infinite variety. Rich and poor mingled together in Seranthia, even though the difference in their stations was greater here than anywhere else. Many of the city’s inhabitants seemed to think of Seranthians as separate from Tingarans , and even the individual neighborhoods were renowned, with each projecting its own charisma and the citizens of each fiercely proud of the district they called home.
    An emperor now lived in the Imperial Palace. Seranthia’s pride had returned.
    Time passed as Ella looked out at the city, her thoughts turning from one thing to another. If anything, it grew colder, and Ella fought to control a shiver. The message was vague about the time, so she didn’t know if she was too early. Deciding to head back inside, at least for a while, she turned away, but then she caught a flicker of motion on a nearby building.
    Ella frowned and tried to peer through the flurries of wind and snow. All she could see was a figure: a dark shadow.
    Ella watched the figure, a man, climb from one roof to another, leaping and bounding with incredible agility. He ran and leapt from one building to the next, flying through the air for tense heartbeats before landing with catlike grace. A wide gap separated the Alturan market house from the surrounding buildings, but the figure didn’t pause. He dashed forward and threw himself into the air.
    Ella stiffened as she waited for him to plummet to his death, but at the end he hovered as if floating, coming to rest gently beside her on the balcony.
    Seemingly impervious to the cold, Killian pulled back his hood and grinned. The night was clouded, but the shimmering lights of the city poured from countless windows to light up his face. His wild red hair, down to his collar, framed a strong masculine face with a sharp nose and square jaw. Ella couldn’t help smiling when she saw the twinkle in his deep blue eyes.
    “You couldn’t use the front door?” Ella said.
    Her heart rate increased. Killian had a way of looking at her that made her feel there was nothing else to rest his eyes on.
    “Easier said than done. You have no idea how hard it is to get away,” he said. “I have people by my side from the moment I wake to the last thing at night. Lords and ladies compete for the honor of having breakfast with me, and