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

the barbershop because I wasn’t going to be coming back. That’s it, give or take a few things.”

“You’re Cess also, right?” Michael asked, referring to her religious beliefs.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Just thought I’d remind everyone.”

“So I believe god died on the Day of Death. So does Leon. And I believe the demigods are real, and so does Kataleya. Doesn’t matter. The point is I’m innocent because I can’t possibly be connected to nobility. Who’s next?”

“That doesn’t prove you’re innocent,” Kataleya said. “It just proves you’re unlikely to be the traitor.”

“I’m sorry, Eden,” Aliana said. “But I agree with Kat.”

Eden scoffed as she rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’m not proven innocent yet.”

“Remi?” Aliana asked.

The shy girl of the group looked over in shock.

“We don’t know a lot about you,” Aliana said carefully, as if her words might startle Remi into running off. “You’ve never talked about your past, at least around me.” She checked to see if Eden and Kataleya agreed. Both nodded.

“It’s not me,” Remi said. “I would never hurt anyone here.”

Reuben laughed scornfully. “Says you after you struck me illegally during a duel!”

“That was because you were being an ass!” Remi retorted in a loud voice, shocking many of us into laughing. She formed a little smile before glancing at Reuben, found him glaring, and then lowered her head again as she lost her grin. “And because I just wanted to train, and I had to win to do that. I’m sorry, Reuben.”

“Just don’t lie about who you are,” he said. “Who is your family?”

She continued to stare at the ground.

“Remi Ryler,” Charlie answered. “The Rylers are farmers from a small town a few miles from Newhaven.”

She looked at Charlie quizzically. “How do you know that?”

“I heard Karl speaking with a man named Gerald Ryler one day years ago. He was looking for his wife, a woman of, um…” Charlie stopped to think as Remi seemed alarmed.

Karl was the blacksmith who had raised Charlie after apparently finding baby Charlie in a barrel one day, abandoned by his parents.

“Fourteen, I believe,” Charlie continued as his eyes lifted to help him access his memories. “Veronica Ryler, I think was her name. She was missing. I heard Karl asking about Veronica while I was working on a sword. She and Gerald had just gotten married, but she suddenly disappeared during the night. He was worried and was desperate to find her.” Charlie’s eyes went back down. “That’s all I remember.”

Remi had gone white.

“When was this, Charlie?” I asked nervously.

“Three years ago.”

All of us stared at Remi in shock.

“Um, Remi?” Eden asked, then paused for a long time. “Can we see your identification papers?”

Remi shook her head as she backed away from us.

“Remi…” Eden tried again. “Running would be an admission of guilt.”

Remi was shaking her head. “It’s not that. I just didn’t want…I never wanted any of you to know.”

“You’re married!?” Michael asked incredulously.

“No, I said Veronica,” Charlie corrected him.

“Charlie…” Michael said, gesturing at Remi.

“What?”

“That’s Veronica!”

“What?”

“Yes.”

“Are you?” Charlie asked her in disbelief.

Remi appeared horrified as she stared at all of us. Eventually, her shoulders relaxed as her head drooped. She gave a nod.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

It took a moment for everyone to calm down. Reuben was the last to stop shouting.

“You’re more of a liar than anyone. Remi isn’t even your birth name!”

“Enough, Reuben,” Kataleya said. “Let her explain.”

Remi swallowed as she glanced at us.

“I didn’t tell anyone, because…” She stopped and looked around hopefully as if we might let her out of this, but no one helped her. It was finally time she spoke more than a few words. “Because it doesn’t matter, and…” There was another pause as she looked at us again.

“Out with it!” Reuben demanded.

“It’s very difficult to speak about,” she said quietly.

I suddenly had the feeling that Remi might’ve had a more traumatic past than any of us. I mean, she had clearly fled from her husband. There was probably a good reason for it.

I could see others looking at Remi more apologetically now. They must’ve felt the same way as me.

“We have to know the truth,” Kataleya said calmly. “Even if it’s difficult to speak about. We have to know we can trust you because all of our lives are at stake. You do understand that, right?”

I was beginning to like more and more that Kataleya had stopped us for this discussion. All of this needed to get out, and better sooner than later.

I was almost entirely convinced by now that Kataleya was not the one working against us. Time and time again, she had proven how smart she was. She would never leave a callring in her room if she was the traitor. Never.

Looking at Kataleya more closely, I started to wonder if she might be older than some of us. She seemed more sure of herself as she spoke, and there seemed to be something in her eyes that tipped me off, though I didn’t know what it was. Sometimes I caught her looking at me across the dining hall during mealtimes as if she knew a secret about me. She never seemed shy about our gazes meeting, even offering me a smile here and there. It was a kind of confidence I wasn’t used to, though I certainly didn’t mind it coming from someone so easy on the eyes.

She dressed differently than the other girls as well, and I didn’t think it only had to do with the wealth she possessed. She wasn’t like Reuben—she almost never donned expensive robes. She often worked up a sweat while training with water and therefore tended to favor more close-fitting shirts open at the collar. She didn’t seem to mind that these same shirts accentuated her curves.

Remi, in contrast, looked younger than Kataleya. She had dark green eyes, almost brown. They were small but hard, her face taking on a look of grit as she glanced at the ground. She had light brown hair that was always curly and messy, not in