Free The Corin Chronicles Volume I: The Light and the Dark by Marvin Amazon

continued to walk deeper into the village, before retiring into a larger tent that resided on the edge, isolated from the others.

2.2
    L EAVING C ALCARA
    T he cool, morning breeze outside Calcara felt soothing, and the silence did not bring the eeriness Selena had felt for most of her journey through the Shallows. The vast tunnel of the portal had filled her with fear, and sometimes a feeling of hyperventilation. The longer she had spent inside the bright, red atmosphere of the Shallows, the more it affected her psyche, and the more she had to convince herself that the artificial air was safe to breathe. In time, the taste of insects and dead plants had become a luxury. It was the only food she remembered eating during her journey. The occasional screams emitted from the Kalkarat, which flew through the silence, were her sole reminder that she was actually still alive. But even the burning rocks that scalded her feet as they boarded different transporters did nothing to deter her from the hope of emerging through the seemingly endless path.
    Inside the Shallows, space and time folded upon itself, so she did not realize the amount of years that had passed when she finally emerged on Tyranis. In the Shallows, it had been like one never-ending and hellish night. But she had been told that five years separated Corin from Tyranis. She also knew that, nature permitting, she would make that journey a thousand times to secure the safety of her son.
    Sitting inside the long, brown carriage on the outskirts of Calcara with her young son resting on her lap, she thoroughly enjoyed the feeling that came with sleeping in a safe place, where she did not fear waking up to see that her life or that of her son was in danger. She welcomed the taste of clean, wholesome food, especially for Siroco, who had spent half of his natural life within what she could only describe as purgatory. Amid the icy winds, the Tyranis sun, which had already started to emerge in the sky, differed significantly from that of Corin’s, fluctuating between darkness and light through counter-rotating rings. She noticed that the leftmost ring brought brightness when rotating, with the rightmost ring casting shade across the planet, just before the complete emergence of its green moon.
    The horses became suddenly restless, and the sound of their stirring brought a halt to Selena’s wonder of the strange planet she now inhabited. She peeked outside her carriage, but the general silence of the morning remained, no matter how hard she tried to listen for the galloping horses of Kirinki and his men. A hint of worry emerged on her face, and she spared a look at Gertrude, who had remained seated in the same position for the last few minutes, gently caressing Siroco’s hand. She found it surprising that her son had taken to another so quickly, but as she focused on Gertrude’s broad smile, she began to understand why. Dressed in the same long, red dress as the night before, Gertrude looked like a beacon of joy.
    “Do you think we came out here too early?” Selena asked after a few more minutes of silence.
    “I am of the opinion that we came here at just the correct time, my lady.” Gertrude spoke rapidly, and Selena had initially found it difficult to understand her, but as the night had gone on, it became easier. “We came here in very good time. Master Kirinki should be here shortly.”
    The previous silence crept back into the carriage, but it did not remain for long before the sound of numerous horses approaching brought Selena to her feet. With haste, she opened the cloth at the tail end of the carriage and looked out to see who was approaching. She immediately made out no less than ten riders and wondered why there were so many.
    Reining his horse, Kirinki quickly dismounted and stood on the edge of the carriage. “I trust you had a good sleep, my lady,” he said gently. “I apologize for being late myself, but it appears that I was more fatigued than I had