Season of Sacrifice (Blood of Azure Book 1) by Jonathan Michael (best ebook for manga txt) 📕

“He’s here, Jay.”

I look over my shoulder, tense beyond control. “Who? The Taoiseach?” These noises that escape my mouth are going to drive me mad. They’re not words, but somehow, Elder understands me.

Elder chuckles at me. “No. Your brother. Stone. He’s in the city.”

“What?” A sudden warmth and excitement fills me, but I quickly shove those emotions down and collect my composure. Just as Ellia has been training me to do. But she would have lashed me for that one. “He is?” I react more languidly. “You’ve seen him?”

Elder nods. “He’s been loitering about the Academy. I’m not sure if he’s enrolled or not.” He looks out the window and leans in, almost pressing his forehead to the glass. His finger does press against it as he points at something. “Just out there. There’s a hill. I’ve seen him there a few times, only briefly though. He sits and stares at the estate. Wondering how to gain access, no doubt.”

“You can see him sitting on a hill from here?” I ridicule his claim.

Elder chuckles again. “Of course not. I walk the wall almost daily. It’s rather high and still a distance to see, but it’s certainly him. I wouldn’t mistake my best mate. Four seasons might turn a boy into a man, but it can’t change a person. It was Stone.”

“Stone? You’re certain? For all he knows, I’m dead in the Scarlet. And there’s no chance he’d come after the Taoiseach. His chicken legs would have him in the Blood Plains before he came here.” I study Elder for a moment. He’s not one to make false claims. “Have you talked to him? How long as he been here?”

“Sorry.” He raises a hand to his forehead and brushes it through his hair, scratching at his scalp. “You’re going to have to slow down for me to grasp all that.”

“Have you talked to him?” I repeat as clearly as my nub allows.

“Ah…I’ve tried. He doesn’t spend much time there. Yelling from the wall would be useless, and by the time I get to the hilltop, he’s always gone. He’s in a rush to get somewhere, which leads me to speculate his attendance at the Academy.” Elder pulls back from the window and interlocks his fingers together, placing them on his lap. “He searches for something, Jay. I have no doubt it’s you.” He stares at me earnestly. “You have a choice to make. Nobody is keeping you captive.”

You’re damn right Nobody is keeping me captive. “If I try to escape, she’ll give me a more severe punishment than this.” I stick out my nub of a tongue. “And she chopped off my hand a couple months ago. Thanks to the Taoiseach, I got that back. But she’s no featherweight when it comes to discipline.”

Elder shakes his head at me with blank eyes and a shrug of his shoulders. “Sorry. Stick to simple words,” he suggests.

“Fug…c…ck.” How does somebody communicate without a tongue? Even the best four-letter curse isn’t available to me. A word that speaks anger, sadness, humor. It emphasizes all emotion, and I can’t even say it properly. “Fug…”

“Hey!” Elder’s eyes light up. “Sasha can help you. She navigates all around this estate doing her duties, lending a hand where needed without a problem. And she doesn’t speak. Maybe she can give you a few pointers.”

Except I tried to murder all the handmaids. Not really, but they have no incentive to help me with the way I’ve treated them. “Yeah, maybe.”

The door to my chamber creaks open. Ellia, with an outfit befitting a whore, steps in wearing a revealing silk gown with black lace and knee-high boots. And for the first time she isn’t wearing an eye patch or band of some kind. Instead, her hair is done in a way that drapes over her dominant eye. She looks beautiful, but it’s apparent what her intentions are. She’s going out for the evening.

“What’s this? The two of you sitting in silence together. Or have you tamed her into being a good listener, Elder?”

I glance at her but look away when she makes eye contact. I haven’t spoken to her since she cut off my tongue. For reasons beside the obvious.

“Jaymes is a fantastic listener. She always has been.” He turns to face me. “It may be her choices that lead you to believe otherwise. She has a hard time taking the easy path, I think. Always making life a struggle when it needn’t be.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Ellia replies.

“Did you need something?” Elder rises and strolls over to her.

“Nah. Just making sure the pupil is where she needs to be.” She glances at me again before turning her full attention to Elder. The two step out into the hall together and leave me be. Alone.

I don’t belong here. Even Elder sides with the tyrant. I got so caught up in becoming my own person I was willing to choose the darkest path to get there. And I’ve forgotten all about Stone. But he’s here. In the city. He’s within my grasp. All I need to do is make the right choice. I can choose an easier life. I don’t have to follow Ellia into Susy’s four hells. I can follow Stone, and we can go back into hiding.

The path is just as it was before Ellia destroyed it with her rot. But it’s closed in. There’s no passageway. It’s as it was before she placed her hand on the wall to open it up. I just need to find out where to place my hand, and I’ll be free of this estate. Free of the Taoiseach. Free of his Shadow. I revel in the idea of meeting up with my brother again. It puts a smile on my face.

The Taoiseach keeps his grounds dark