Onbekend(90)

“Um, maybe a walk?” Arianna asked, sensing Devin parking the car behind the diner. Devin walked into view, and Arianna looked away.

“Sure,” Turner replied. “Bird brain, we are going out for a walk.” Thomas stopped mid stride and turned back around. Turner ignored Devin as well, but he already had his approval.

Turner held Arianna’s hand as they began to walk down the sidewalk. Thomas was half a block behind them as extra security. Nothing needed to be said as they walked. Turner could feel the tension rippling off of Arianna after dealing with Devin. Arianna smiled up at Turner and laid her head on his shoulder. He never questioned her judgment, regardless of whether he agreed or disagreed with her. Arianna reached up to put her arm around him. She paused and tried to sense the people around her again. It was only slight, but she could smell the scent of both baku and dearg-dul approaching from somewhere behind them. They were being followed.

Becoming a Legend (Book 2 of the Blue Eyes Trilogy) will be released in June of 2013. Follow me on Goodreads and Twitter for updates!





Also available now by B. Kristin McMichael, the historical fantasy YA novel—To Stand Beside Her





Prologue

Kay slipped on the cold stone but kept running, her shoes clicking lightly on the hard marble floors. It was her first level-four assignment, and she had failed. When she initially accepted it, she needed the money. Now it didn’t seem to matter. Kay looked down each hallway for a door or hiding place. The nobles’ quarter in the palace of Lior was unfamiliar territory.

“Straight ahead,” the young man directed the men following him. The young guard led the chase, fueled by his embarrassment. He hadn’t noticed that the girl he had been questioning was a courier until she became flustered by his inquiry. The young lady with wavy light-brown hair and blue eyes looked friendly enough at the time; she had blushed when he searched her and her smile was nice to look at.

Kay heard the men getting closer behind her. She needed a hiding place, but the large, bare hallways offered no help. Turning right at the next intersection, she continued down yet another unfamiliar hallway. Kay was lost.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” a dark-haired, wide-built man said as Kay bumped into him.

“So sorry,” Kay replied. “I’m late to work.” Kay had heard Leila, her best friend and the best courier in the business, use that reply many times before.

“Stop that girl!” a young guard yelled from the other end of the hallway.

Kay quickly moved to pass the dark-haired man, but he easily clasped her wrists between his thick, masculine fingers. Kay looked into his eyes and tried her best to put on a flirtatious smile.

“Mister, you want me to be late for work?” she asked innocently, batting her eyes. It always worked for Leila.

The man’s grip didn’t loosen. Leila was right again; this wasn’t the business for Kay. Try as she might to mimic her best friend, nothing seemed to work. If only I were Leila, Kay thought, letting her mind wander as she waited for the guards still running down the long hallway to catch up. Leila was the best. Most of the neighboring counties had begun calling Leila the Ghost Courier, and the description was an exact fit. Leila could easily enter any heavily guarded place and leave unnoticed with her assignment. Kay had watched her many times in action. Leila truly was a ghost.

“I’m so sorry,” the young guard said as he bowed his head to the dark-haired man still tightly holding Kay’s wrists. “Lord Macarius, please accept my apologies.” The boy didn’t lift his head.

“What did she do?” Macarius asked.

“She was heading into the noble’s quarters,” the boy explained, still bowing. The boy handed Macarius the papers that he had confiscated from Kay.

“Lock her in the jail for now. King Nalick will deal with her later,” Macarius replied.

Kay turned to the stout man, Macarius, who was now smiling as he strolled away. He knew the truth behind the papers. Leila is going to kill me, Kay thought. She had taken the assignment against Leila’s warning. Leila was always right. Deep down, Kay knew that she was not really meant to be a courier.

When they arrived at the jail, the guard ushered Kay to the cell. Would Leila find her before the king tried her? Kay had heard the horror stories from the locals that King Nalick was a harsh man known to arrange for severe punishments. Kay moved to a bed in the corner of the room and stood on it to look out the tiny window. The sun was still rising, but Leila would begin to worry soon. Kay stepped off the bed and moved to the corner. Leila wasn’t completely healed from her last trip. Both Leila and Kay’s employer, Roger, would be upset. Sighing, Kay huddled in the corner to wait. There was nothing else she could do. Kay was caught.