Filed to story: The Chosen Saga Novel PDF Free
“Thank you. Wait, are my markings unusual as well?”
“No one alive has these markings little one.” Tal stroked down her arm and held on to her hand. He leaned down and looked closer at her hand. “The markings are lines of power mixed with the first language, which has died out. Even I can’t read it. I don’t know if anyone can.”
Shavon stroked down her other arm along the markings. “They are beautiful. They seem to be glow where we touch.” She was right. Where her hands passed the markings flared brighter.
Araiya stepped away from them with a laugh. “Okay you two stop it. That tickles.” They smiled and shook their heads.
“Well, Chosen Araiya, I feel like tomorrow will be here soon enough, and you need your rest. Shavon and Talon, escort her back to her room. We leave at first light.” Amara waved them off home. They walked there in silence. They had almost made it to her cabin when she felt a chill down her spine. She stopped and looked around but couldn’t see anyone.
“What is it?” Tal immediately went on guard.
“I don’t know. I just got a chill. Maybe I’m crazy, but I felt someone watching me.”
“No, never question your judgment, Araiya. Let’s hurry inside and talk.” Shavon hustled into Araiya’s house and held the door for the two of them. Tal sat down on the chair and Shavon climbed into his lap as Araiya excused herself to get dressed. She came out in loose shorts and a long nightgown. She sat on the edge of her bed facing them and sighed. “Okay now that we are alone, Talon?”
Tal laughed. “Yeah well, the Chosen here think Talon would give a little too much information away before everyone found out. I prefer Talon over Tal; it seems utterly foolish to shorten a short name. Plus, the dragon that raised me would be hurt to know I shortened it.”
“The dragon that raised you. You mean your mother?” Araiya pulled her feet onto the bed and got comfortable.
“No, I mean the dragon that raised me. I won’t go into detail, but all dragons come from the All-Mother more or less. So, we all had the same mother, but she was gone before I can even remember. One of my older sisters raised me in Air. Sky taught me how to be a dragon. When I came of age, she was the one who taught me to shift. Dragons are special, they can be born as a dragon or a child. When the dragon reaches maturity, they can shift to their other form. Sky was there to walk me through it every step of the way.”
“So, River is your brother?”
“No, he’s a different story that isn’t mine to tell.”
“So back to the matter at hand,” Shavon pushed.
“Oh right, when we were almost here, I swore I felt someone watching me. I don’t know what it was, but I felt a chill down my spine. This will sound super crazy, but I’ve had that feeling before. I used to just dismiss it when I was younger. I didn’t know what it was until one day I caught Jon, my stepfather, staring at me from the window. He looked evil, and when I went inside after chores, he beat me for the first time. I was ten. Ever since then whenever I got the chill, I looked around and always found him staring at me. I would always get a beating when I caught him. That’s why I stopped. I was looking for Jon.” Araiya got up and started to pace. “Do you think he found his way here?”
“No that wouldn’t be possible. This place is hidden from everyone unless they are invited in.” Shavon caught Araiya’s arm and hugged her. “You are safe from him now. I can promise that at the very least. This is unnerving though. Who could be watching you now?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think I ever want to know. It felt straight-up evil.” She shivered and crawled back into bed.
“We will go and let you sleep. I will come back in the morning to help you pack and bring you your proper robes if we have any. Actually Talon, can we go and check right now? If there isn’t, we can have them made for tomorrow morning. Purple robes aren’t really a thing.”
“Do I have to wear a robe all the time? Can’t it be like a cloak or something?”
“We can ask. Most Chosen wear their robes all the time, but I don’t see any issue with a cloak.” Shavon patted her leg. They left with a wave, and Araiya was finally alone. She got up to lock the door and crawled back into bed. Within a few minutes she was asleep.
Araiya awoke to the sound of someone pounding at her door. “Araiya wake the fuck up or we are leaving without you.” Araiya snapped up and rushed to open the door. Talon had his arm up ready to knock again and Shavon was laughing.
“What’s so funny? How much time do we have? Did I miss breakfast? How late am I?” Araiya rushed into the bathing chamber to do her morning routine. Shavon laughed even harder, and Talon started chuckling. “What is so funny?” Araiya raised her voice.
Shavon came into the room still laughing. “You aren’t late, but Talon is impatient. You can slow down. Go get cleaned up and we can head for breakfast.”
She had a quick wash and stepped out, dried herself off and walked out. “So, do I have to wear the robes?”
“No, Talon and I were able to convince Amara about the cloak. She finally relented after we promised that you would only wear black underneath. So, we had the weavers make you new clothes. I just hung them up so you can go get ready.” Araiya nodded and entered her dressing room.
She saw new clothes everywhere. She grabbed her undergarments, which were also new and black, and slipped them on. She went to grab pants and a shirt and didn’t know how to put them on. “Umm Shavon, can you come here?”
“Yeah, did you need help?”
“What the hell are these? How do I even wear them?” She held out the pants and what was supposed to be a shirt and Shavon laughed.
“Like I said, we had to make a deal with Amara. She agreed to the cloak but said that if you wanted to wear it, this would need to be done. Amara said that your power lines should be showcased. Once you get used to them, they will be easy to dress by yourself. Let me show you.” Shavon pulled the clothes from her arms and helped her into the pants. The pants were two sides of leather held together by laces. Shavon kept the laces loose until they were all the way up, then she tightened them from the bottom up and tied them on her hips. The purple markings that ran on the outside of her legs were still visible through the laces. Shavon grabbed up the shirt and turned toward her. “Araiya, you will have to take off your top coverings. They won’t fit under the shirt.”
“What the fuck do you mean?”
“Just take it off and trust me.” Araiya slid off her top wrapping and covered herself. She angled her body so Shavon wouldn’t see her back. Shavon smirked at her. “You’ll have to come here and let down your arms. Nothing that I don’t have, so come on.” She pulled her closer, fed one arm through the vest, and started walking around her when she heard Shavon gasp. “Who did this to you?”
“I told you my stepfather used to beat me.” Araiya straightened her shoulders. “He never wasted money on healing me, plus I think he liked leaving me with his anger painted on my skin. A little reminder for every time he put me in my place as he used to say. He tried to break me with each beating and every scar.”
Shavon slowly stroked over all the spots and lines that had faded to a soft silver, so light you wouldn’t notice unless you were too close. She started to cry for her. Her back was riddled with so many you couldn’t even attempt to count them. She also had markings down her spine, but Shavon was sure Amara wouldn’t mind covering that one. She traced the pulsing purple glyphs stacked along her spine and Araiya gasped.
“I am sorry, I didn’t think it would hurt you.” Shavon finished wrapping her back in the vested top and started to lace the front