The Path of Giants by B.T. Narro (best novels to read .txt) 📕

the dead of night. These thieves seemed brazen from everything I’d heard about them. I imagined if there was something here they wanted to take, they would do it whether or not one person was on patrol. There was plenty of light from the still-burning furnace, though I didn’t see anyone feeding the flames. I wondered how long it would take to die out.

Eventually, I chose a spot on the hill near the high bridge leading to the top of the furnace and sat down. I didn’t expect anyone to come. Remi and I were mostly here to appease the blacksmith.

I wanted to know more about this Valaer steel that the krepps had traded to the king, a material so hard that it could not be melted by flames or even a metal mage like Charlie. How heavy would such a substance be if we were actually able to turn it into armor? I figured the king did not expect to make a weapon purely from Valaer steel but from some sort of alloy of metals, though I didn’t know enough about smelting to be sure.

I noticed someone coming from the city. I wasn’t sure if he or she saw me, so I remained still, sitting in the shadows.

Eventually, she was close enough for me to see that she had long hair. She was familiar, as if I might know her just by her silhouette. Soon the light fell upon her blonde hair. I stood up when I recognized her.

I walked down the hill. I didn’t think anything was wrong, as she didn’t seem to be in a rush, but I had no doubt that she was here to see me.

“Jon,” Kataleya said as she finished closing the distance between us. “I figured you would be up. I can’t sleep. I have to tell you something.”

I didn’t know what else it could be besides something I wasn’t ready to deal with. “I have to be watching for thieves,” I said as an excuse.

“I know, but this is important. I have to know if I’m going crazy or if my concerns could be real.”

I was starting to second-guess myself. “What concerns?”

“I’ve been thinking more about my father’s life since the king convinced me to change my way of thinking about his death. I think I realized something, but I’m not sure if I should tell the king. You’re the only one I can talk to who met my father. Do you—” She stopped. Her next words sounded to be forced out roughly, as if she was nervous of speaking them aloud. “Do you think he was capable of treason?”

“What? No,” I blurted before thinking about it more. “What do you mean?” I asked.

“I think he was plotting to overthrow the king and take the crown for himself, with the help of Trevor’s family, the Chespars. Even with my father now gone, the king still might be in danger whether or not my mother knew of the plan.”

“God,” I uttered. “How sure are you of this?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I never thought my father was power-hungry, but then Hadley took his essence, and I found out it was cursed. This didn’t surprise the king, who has worked closely with my father for a long time.”

“But how well did you know your father, Kat? You knew him better than the king did.”

“I thought I knew him well, but I’m not sure anymore. I’d always wanted to make my father proud, but he’d made that quite difficult throughout my life. My mother pushed the same agenda. My father knew best, she always said. I came to believe it because he had so many people that he lorded over. He was like a king to most everyone in and around Livea. I always thought he was doing right by us, but I can’t deny the fact that our family was far richer than anyone else’s. I’m sure now that his greed had something to do with that.”

Her voice became shaky. “I don’t know what to do now. The problem is, if I tell the king and I’m wrong, then he might make his greatest allies into his enemies. We need the support of my family and the Chespars to have any hope of standing against Rohaer.”

I thought for a moment. “I still don’t understand why you think your father was planning to overthrow the king. Unless you’re saying greed is enough proof?”

“No, greed is enough motive but not proof. I think he planned to overthrow the king after the end of the war, not before. No one wants to be in Nykal’s position. Rohaer has the superior army. But if we win the war, the king will be even weaker than he is now. That should be almost enough proof already that someone is planning to take a shot at Nykal. And you know what they say. If you’re going to shoot at a king, you’d better not miss. There is no one with a better chance of overthrowing him than my family and the Chespars. With their combined army, I don’t think Nykal would have a chance. That’s why my father wanted me to marry Trevor and became furious when I showed interest in you. It could’ve ruined everything if I was to marry one of the king’s sorcerers.”

“But not Reuben,” I reminded. “If all of what you say is true, then why did you tell me that your father approved of you and Reuben.”

“That was only right after Nykal came to power. My father thought the king would be too powerful to overthrow and that it was best to align with the most powerful family we could. He thought being a sorcerer of the king meant more than all the wealth and forces the Chespars could offer, especially as the Langstons are very wealthy as well. But like I said earlier, that changed when it became clear just how destitute our king currently is. All the nobles know that he