Free Silent Kingdom by Rachel L. Schade

seemed to read my mind. “Yes, I’ve been to some of Misroth’s other towns and cities with my father. He’s a hunter and trader, so he does a lot of traveling. He sometimes journeys as far as Argelon, but he’s never let me go with him.”
    My curiosity stirred, but my question was answered. Avrik knew nothing of the myths, or surely he would already be launching into his third or fourth mesmerizing description of the monsters lurking in foreign kingdoms.
    He seemed wistful, but then he brightened at another memory. “But I have been to Misroth City before. Have you…?” He hesitated, stopping before he finished the question, as if afraid to ask me about my past.
    I finished his question for him in my head. Have I ever been to Misroth City before? Yes, but this, Avrik, is the farthest I’ve ever been from home. I always thought I’d travel throughout all of Misroth someday, see my entire kingdom, and even explore the kingdoms and lands beyond ours despite our closed borders. I never thought I’d be hiding in a little village where no one knows me, making friends with a boy I can’t talk to. So please, please don’t ask any more… Not now.
    Pain welled in my chest, stinging relentlessly in my throat and eyes, but I forced back the tears.
    Avrik turned from me with a shake of his head. “I wish you could share your name, or where you are from, but I won’t pester you. If something terrible happened to you, it makes sense you’d want to forget.” He sighed and quickly changed the subject. “Don’t be nervous, though, about your first day of school.”
    I don’t think you’ll mind having a quiet friend when you seem comfortable enough with filling the silence, I thought. Good. We’ll get along well.
    “Although, I will warn you, word spreads fast around here,” Avrik told me as we trudged up one of a series of hills in our path. “Everyone already knows about you, and Teacher is expecting you. She encourages us to read often, so if you enjoy reading as much as Lyanna told me you do, you should enjoy our schoolwork.”
    Panting, we reached the crest of the hill and paused to take in the view. Grey and white clouds smothered the sun and sky and swirled together, wrestling with one another to determine which would choose the weather of the day. A cool breeze tugged at my cloak and brushed leaves past us, sending them rolling down the hill. Slashes of brown obscured my vision as locks of my hair, hanging freely about my shoulders, blew across my face. Up ahead, tucked behind a few more hills, rested a one-room building, about the smallest building I’d ever seen. I blinked, wondering what it was like to have to walk somewhere to school every day and share your teacher with a room full of other students.
    With mild surprise, I realized Avrik was talking still.
    “My mother liked to read a lot too… I think Father is lonely without her. Some of the townspeople like to spread rumors about his hunting habits, say he acts suspicious with his frequent travels and his long days up in the mountains and out in the forest. They do not like that he rarely socializes. Sometimes they tell stories about how he must be traveling across our borders and joining in forbidden deals with Alrenor and Toryn. He likes to keep away from everyone…avoid the talk…” Pain leaked into his dark eyes and I found myself feeling sorry for him.
    You have things you want to forget too.
    Questions about his mother flitted through my brain, things I’d hesitate to ask even if I could speak.
    He shrugged, as if tossing his grief aside like an unwelcome weight.
    I offered him a half-hearted smile, trying to express my encouragement and sympathy in one look, and he returned it gratefully.
    “Anyway, everyone at school will probably be in awe of you, a mysterious outsider.” He laughed. “But I’ll keep you company.” Then his lips quirked in a playful expression and his eyes sparked with fun. “I’ll race you the rest of the way