Free The Kingdom of Eternal Sorrow (The Golden Mage Book 1) by C.G. Garcia Page B

Zenas interjected.
“We would be remiss not to question everything , even the assurances from
a mage of your knowledge and power.”
    “No, I haven’t forgotten,” Aidric replied flatly, bristling at Zenas’s continuing
refusal to address him with the proper honorific. “I wish that I could, that
she was just an ordinary maiden I found passed out in the forest, but she is
not. Even if she proves not to be the Golden Mage—which I seriously doubt—you
can all plainly see that she is of a race that is alien to our own. She is, by
no means, ordinary, but that does not mean she should automatically be treated
as an enemy of Lamia. Now, I do believe that we have wasted enough time on this
petty nonsense. Shall we proceed?”
    Diryan nodded, the barest hint of a smile on his lips as he turned to
Zenas and said,” You heard the lad, Zenas. Magick our language into her memory.”
    “As you wish, my liege.” Zenas’s face went utterly blank and his eyes
unfocused until he appeared to be as lifeless as a statue.
    Aidric’s mage senses could detect the faint whisper of magical energy
that Zenas projected from his mind and into the mind of the girl. It always
puzzled him how Zenas actually transferred memories from his own mind and could
permanently implant them in the minds of others. It was a form of thought-speech,
but unlike the thoughts being sent by a thought-speaker, Zenas was able to
alter a person’s memory banks with the thoughts he projected from his own
memory. However, his ability was limited to the transferring of languages, and
nobody could discern why.
    It was a rare ability. Usually only one with the potential of becoming
a Master Linguist was born in a generation, and sometimes there would be none
for a couple of hundred years.
    “It is done,” Zenas announced a few moments later, his sharp voice slicing
through the tense silence.
    Aidric’s heart began to race with both trepidation and rising
excitement. He only hoped that she would do nothing that would alarm the others.
Having to restrain her with magic again was definitely not the way to earn her
trust.
    He reached out a hand and gently rested it onto her forehead, all the
while feeling three pairs of eyes boring holes into his back.
    He then abruptly turned to Selwyn and said, “Sel, if she shows any
signs of distress, I want you to use your powers to soothe her. The last thing
we need is for her to refuse to speak out of fear and suspicion. She shouldn’t
be able to, but if she does start to push back at you, thought-speak me immediately .”
    Selwyn nodded curtly, his entire demeanor stiffening with sudden
alertness.
    Satisfied, Aidric turned back to the golden-haired girl. “Awake,” he sent into the bowels of her unconscious mind.
    Her eyes instantly flew open, and he could feel everyone tense behind
him. At first, she appeared only confused, blinking alluring green eyes the
color of peridot stupidly up at him. Then those eyes widened in shock as they
darted from him, to the others, then back to him. She let out a small sound of
fear and promptly backed up on the bed until her back slammed into the headboard,
trying to unsuccessfully meld into the wood.
    “Don’t be afraid, milady,” Aidric said gently in Lamian. “We mean you
no harm.”
    Instead of the reassurance his words were meant to give her, they only
seemed to increase the panicked look in her eyes.
    Why is it that nothing can ever be easy ? he thought in
exasperation as he watched the girl cower in his bed, unsure of how to proceed
next.

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
     
    The first thing Allison saw after waking was the face of the strange,
white-haired man. For a few seconds, she stared up at him blankly, her mind
still muddled and heavy with sleep. Then movement within the room caught her
attention, and she tore her gaze from his face to the penetrating eyes of the three
men at the foot of her bed. Her eyes widened as she took in the appearances of
her new—visitors.
    Like the