Hunted Sorcery (Jon Oklar Book 2), B.T. Narro [digital book reader txt] 📗

“He will get more money.”

I’d never known Leon to be optimistic about anything, but I could contain my doubtful thoughts for now, as they didn’t seem to be helping.

“When is he imposing the crisis tax?” Aliana asked.

“Probably after he receives confirmation of Rohaer marching our way. It’s a long road between the kingdoms. Or maybe he has something up his sleeve that will stop them from leaving their territory at all. I don’t know. It’s not my job to find out.”

Speaking of something up his sleeve, hosting a premature celebration didn’t seem like the king at all.

“How do we know that Pearson has left?” I asked.

“Because he’s been seen by your Eslenda, Jon. You trust her, don’t you?”

“She reported it?”

“Yup, just a short time ago.”

“What else did she say about it? And why didn’t I see her?”

“Hell if I know. She walked right through the courtyard.”

“You were gone for a while,” Aliana told me with some curiosity to her gaze. “She came through and left quickly.”

I swallowed. “Oh” was all I could say, as I waited to see if Aliana would mention Kataleya’s absence as well.

I could feel Aliana studying me, but I pretended not to notice as I tried to relax my face and look ahead.

We drew looks from about half the people we passed on the crowded street. There were all kinds of expressions worn by the faces of the people we wanted to protect. Aliana’s bow drew most of the focus, the large weapon strapped to her back. Or perhaps it was Aliana’s beauty that stole the gazes of many men, but it would’ve been concerning if all were curious about more than her bow, as most were much older than her.

It felt like a lifetime ago when I had first met her and thought her to be strikingly beautiful. I had quickly changed my mind after her attitude toward me had come out with what had felt to me like aggression.

Kataleya was different. Her grace and charm had taken time for me to notice, but my attraction to her had only grown the more I’d gotten to know her. Flashes of our passion, of the curves of her body, came to mind with heat through my chest. I remembered the sounds of her moans, the way her bright eyes focused on my face, then rolled back in her head. But most of all I remembered the way she felt, all of her, her lips on mine, her bosom in my hands, and our bodies connected.

Here I was thinking about her again, this time so intensely that I started to lose my breath. I felt a short panic as I realized Aliana was staring at me. I could see on her face that she knew something was amiss, and she was just waiting for Leon to part from us so she could ask.

I wanted to divulge the truth. I wanted to ruin every possible chance Kataleya might have with this rich boy. But then what? What would happen after she found out I had betrayed her trust? It wasn’t like she would fall lovingly into my arms. No, she would hate me for it.

It was just my heart thinking for me again. I didn’t want to hurt her, even if she had hurt me. There was no purpose behind it.

At least I had the memory. I felt myself smiling a little the more I thought about it. I was lucky to have experienced what I did. I’m sure there would be many men who would be jealous of my position.

But it didn’t help for long. Damn, it was going to be hard to let go of her.

Before I knew it, we were about to arrive at the place where Aliana’s mother worked as an assistant to a healer. Finally, memories that didn’t involve Kataleya flashed through my mind, specifically the man with the horrible gas. I made sure to replace that thought with something more pleasant, the way Greda and her mother had held each other and wept with relief after I had removed Pamela’s curse.

I finally felt both corners of my mouth lift with another smile. It was just a few hours ago, after Kataleya had denied me, that I couldn’t picture myself smiling ever again. But I could let go of her. I had let go of my father, and that was immeasurably harder.

“Jon,” Leon told me. “Let’s have a quick look around for any threats.”

“I thought you said these kinds of threats are done.”

“No, I said the king said they were. It’s better to be safe. Go that way, a wide sweep. Look for anything suspicious.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

I followed Leon’s instruction. This wasn’t a particularly busy street, so it was pretty easy to tell that there were no people spying on us. There was still plenty of light left in the afternoon, and I didn’t see any place that an archer or especially a dark mage could be hiding.

As I went down the street, I found myself wondering about the details of Eslenda witnessing Pearson’s travels. She was the most powerful sorcerer I knew, and yet it seemed that even she did not want to engage in combat with Pearson. Perhaps she had seen him accompanied by a great number of dark mages and that was the reason? Or perhaps she knew that even she wasn’t strong enough to face him alone.

Leon and I met back outside the small two-room building of the healer, Quincy, an older gentleman who’d hired Aliana’s mother as his assistant some time ago. Gwen looked much better than the last time I’d seen her, when she had been trapped for three days in a basement. She looked as if she had gotten over the distress from that event, smiling happily when we entered, mostly at Leon.

“Gwen Forrester, you look lovelier than ever,” he said.

Aliana made a sour face, but her mother flashed her teeth. “Thank you, Leon. You look well, of course.”

Now Aliana seemed confused.

“I heard about what