The Onyx Vial (Shadows of The Nine Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

The scent of saltwater clung to the air. It took him a moment, but then he recalled the salty taste in his mouth when the downpour hit. He gaped. “That was you ? With the seawater—the rain?”
    "Both of us," Ariana corrected.
    "Mostly her. I just held the trees in place." She loosed a breathy, almost giddy laugh, as though she was surprised by this.
    Ariana just looked pleased with herself. "I did pull off something pretty brilliant back there."
    So Ariana was Mervais, then. And Tehya an Eerden like himself. No wonder he was drawn more to Tehya. Ariana was too cocky.
    But Tehya didn’t seem to mind—or even notice. She beamed, clearly proud of her friend. Of course, Ariana had reason for being cocky at the moment. He hadn’t tried using his magic, and from what his grandpa had told him, controlling an element you weren’t in physical contact with took a serious amount of practice.
    But cocky rarely equaled careful. “How’d you find me?”
    Ariana deadpanned. “You aren’t exactly stealthy,” she said, a smirk creeping onto her lips. “We just followed the crashing sounds.”
    Well, he’d never had cause to run silently before. “But, what about the—”
    “Huntsmen?” she finished for him
    “Only two of them could get through the gaps in the trees,” Tehya explained as he nodded. “But they went after me.”
    Hunter felt himself pale. “You? Why?”
    “ Someone had to distract them while you made your getaway.”
    “But what if they’d caught you?” he asked, noting and hating the wild panic that rose in his heart at the thought.
    She shrugged. “I’m very quick.”
    “And they were very distracted,” Ariana added.
    The answer didn’t make him feel much better. The whole point of him running the direction he had was to keep the danger as far from them both as possible, and still he’d managed to put them in harm’s way. “I’m sorry,” he offered weakly.
    “You should be,” Ariana said, as Tehya answered, "It's fine. I drew them off and doubled black. They're headed the wrong direction looking for us."
    "For now," Ariana added.
    Hunter tensed. She was right, of course. Even if they had successfully lost the Huntsmen, it was only temporary. His first priority at all times was to stay hidden. Great work so far , he thought. The Fyrennians had seen him now, and they thought he was the—what, runaway?—son of Falken Fyrenn. Not something easily forgotten. Word would spread about him. He needed to get to Ruekridge. Fast.
    “Come on, Tay. Let’s go.” Ariana turned away, her dark hair swirling around her.
    “Wait—”
    She eyed him over her shoulder.
    “Where are you going?”
    "Home," Tehya answered, which earned her a reproachful stare from Ariana.
    “Mind if I tag along?” he asked, as nonchalantly as he could manage.
    Tehya smiled, open and genuine.
    "Just into the town with you, obviously," he added quickly, loosing an awkward laugh. "Not to your house."
    "The house is probably best, actually," Tehya said.
    Ariana grabbed Tehya's arm, her eyes on him. “Wait a moment. That depends."
    “On what?” he asked, weary.
    “Whether we can trust you.”
    Hunter furrowed his brow.
    “How is he going to prove that to us here, Ariana?” Tehya said, voicing his very concern.
    There was an eagerness in Ariana's eyes now. He didn’t like it. “Hand over your bag," she said.
    Hunter gripped the bag tighter. He couldn’t do that. Absolutely not. And yet…if he was to have any chance of staying out of danger, he needed help. He needed to cooperate. But his bag ? The pages ? He’d already lost one. He couldn’t afford to lose the rest. “I… can’t,” he regretted to say.
    Ariana arched her brows. “If you want our help, I don't think you have another choice.”
    He set his jaw.
    “Ariana,” Tehya interjected. “Is that really necessary?”
    Ariana didn’t respond and didn’t take her eyes off him. She held his gaze until he shifted uncomfortably, then she sighed. “I