Free Arbiter (The Arbiter Chronicles Book 1) by Elisa A. Bonnin Page B

interspersing around them. She wore a white dress that brushed the ground lightly underneath her feet. It moved in a way that reminded her of water, the moonlight catching it and playing across the fabric like the moon over the ocean.
    The woman was barefoot, strings of silver gracing her wrist, but somehow, despite her simple garb, something about her reminded Rae of a queen.
    She was a queen, Rae realized, the fingers of one hand closing over her chest. She was a queen. And in that moment, Rae understood why the people of the Twilight Realm both feared and respected the Edgelands.
    She stopped in front of them, regarding them coolly. Cathel moved so that he was standing in front of Rae, and slowly, cautiously, removed his hand from the hilt of his sword, bowing deeply from the waist. She could sense his tension, his nervousness, and his fear, but none of those feelings showed on his face.
    “Hail, High Lord,” said Cathel. “...We mean you no harm.”
    Her eyes moved towards Cathel, and Rae held her breath, suddenly aware of the gravity of the situation. The woman could accept Cathel’s words for what they were, or she could kill them here and now, and neither of them would be able to stop her. Her eyes moved from Cathel to Rae, and Rae felt the weight of her stare, resisting the urge to take a step back.
    The silence was broken by the sound of a child’s laughter ringing through the air, bouncing off the stones of the ruins.
    “Tarethan! Tarethan!” called a young girl, emerging from the woods behind the High Lord. She was dressed similarly to the High Lord, but wore much simpler garb. She wore a dress that came up to her knees, and her long blond hair was unbound, silver flowers scattered through it in a delicate chain. Her eyes were a bright blue, and the light that surrounded her was tinged slightly with gold. Like the High Lord, she was barefoot. If she were human, Rae guessed that she would be about eight or nine years old, but she was Ivali, and there was no telling how old she was. 
    The girl ran up to Cathel, a bright grin on her face. She spread her arms wide, launching herself at him. Cathel’s eyes widened, and he reflexively opened his arms to catch her, swinging around with her momentum as he caught her and wrapped his arms around her. She giggled in delight as he put her down, taking a half step back and looking up at him, with her hands clasped behind her back.
    Cathel blinked in surprise, looking down at her. “You…” he began, his eyes widening in recognition.
    The girl only giggled, tilting her head to the side as she looked at the High Lord. “Atara, estali tarethan,” she said.
    Cathel looked away from the girl, understanding dawning on his face as he looked at the High Lord. “… Atara …” he repeated under his breath.
    The High Lord’s expression softened, and she nodded once at the girl, a smile appearing on her face as she turned towards Cathel. “Neither do I mean you harm, Tarethan ,” she said, her voice soft and musical. “For the kindness you have afforded my daughter, you are always welcome on my lands.” Her eyes moved towards Rae, her expression growing serious again.
    “But I would speak with the Arbiter.”
    Rae stared back at her, a look of surprise on her face.
     

Chapter Eight: The Lady of the Moon
    Rae watched from the hillside overlooking the ruins as Cathel and the Ivali child played, the child laughing as she spoke with him. There was a bright grin on her face, and she occasionally rocked back and forth on her heels, as though she could barely contain her excitement. Cathel seemed a little confused by this current turn of events, but he laughed at her antics, going along with her games and saying things to her that Rae couldn't quite hear from where she was standing. They must have been amusing, because the child's grin only grew, and she would laugh and take him by the hand to show him something else. She spoke in broken Common, and it was obvious that