Angelborn (15 page)

A few people in the crowd stood, heads bowed, repeating out loud the Promise of the Queen Who Sleeps, a prayer of protection. Others pegged Jasminda with hard glares and accusatory expressions.

The town physician pushed his way through and kneeled in the spot Jasminda had vacated. The girl’s father met Jasminda’s eyes, his expression grateful. He nodded once but his acknowledgment did little to lessen the sting of the rejection surrounding her. His wife continued to cry, stroking the girl’s hair. As the physician performed his examination, the mother looked up at Jasminda and screamed, “Get her away!”

Jasminda stumbled back, pulling away from Bindeen’s grip. She retrieved her bag, which lay abandoned on the other side of the street. Bindeen moved to follow her, but she waved him off. Her body was weary from the use of Earthsong, but even wearier was her heart. It ached with renewed pain. She hadn’t thought these people could still hurt her.

Shouldering her bag, she pushed through her exhaustion, focusing on one step and then the next. The journey ahead was long, and she had no more time to waste.

C
opyright
© 2015 by L. Penelope

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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F
irst Edition
: April 2015