Shadow Trapped Read online

  Carth slipped, and she reached for the mast, trying to hold on to it, but even her physical strength had faded.

  She fell.

  29

  Carth awoke in her cabin. Pain filled her, but it was a strange sort of pain. There was darkness all around her, with flickers of light. Lanterns. Her mouth was dry, and there was a gentle swaying beneath her. The air stank, like vomit that someone had attempted to cover with flowers or some other sweet fragrance, but it wasn’t enough.

  “Rest,” she heard.

  Carth tried to turn, but she couldn’t.

  She licked her lips, trying to put moisture onto them, trying to be able to speak, knowing that she needed to. When she finally managed to get some moisture onto her lips, she said, “The Ai’thol?”

  “Defeated. For now.”

  Carth breathed out. “How many did we lose?”

  “Who do you refer to as we?”

  She tried to move and looked over to see that it was Ras sitting across from her cot. He held a cloth that he wiped across her arms. A Tsatsun board rested on the table behind him, with pieces arranged all around.

  “Ras.”

  “That is me.”

  “What are you doing on my ship?” Her strength began to return, but it came slowly. Too slowly. If she needed to use it, she wouldn’t have anything left, especially if she had to use it against Ras.

  “I thought that I was helping. Perhaps I should go.”

  “Helping?”

  “You needed some assistance with the remaining Ai’thol. I did what I could, but I don’t have quite the same connection as you. My use of the S’al is not so… explosive as yours.”

  Ras had helped. That surprised Carth, especially as he had seemed interested in seeing out of the fray.

  “I didn’t think you were one of the players.”

  “How many players did you think there were on the board?”

  “I saw four.”

  “And I was but one.”

  “What about me?”

  “Ah, but you have been the same piece you always have been, Carthenne Rel. You are the Stone.”

  Carth blinked, trying to work through what he might mean, but failing. “How many of my people were lost?”

  “Yours? Maybe a few, but not nearly so many as could have been.”

  Even a few might be more than what Carth was comfortable with. All of that for Linsay and Talia. Had it been worth it?

  “You have already discovered that this was about more than rescuing the Collector and her sister,” Ras said.

  “Was it?” Carth asked.

  “This was about slowing the Ai’thol.”

  “Why?”

  “You have claimed the C’than. None have objected as you have served despite not knowing quite what you did, but it is time that you understand. It is time that you come and begin your true education.”

  “What is that?”

  “That is learning and understanding the key to power. You have caught glimpses of it so far, but you must understand it so that you can understand how the C’than protect it so that it is not abused.”

  “I thought the C’than wanted to remain neutral.”

  “There is no want. We protect the power in the world.”

  “The Elder Stones?”

  Ras smiled and turned away from her. “You have much yet to learn, Carthenne Rel. You have done well, and now you must do even better. The Ai’thol have grown powerful, and they were beginning to make their moves. I have seen that they were countered.”

  He moved one of the pieces on the Tsatsun board and then stood before disappearing from her cabin.

  She had been used.

  Not only used, but played.

  And in a game that was beyond anything she had ever played before. She had known Ras to be a master, but what she had just witnessed… it was more than she could comprehend in her current state.

  Carth stared after him, wondering if she should chase him, before laying her head back. After a few moments, the door opened, and Alayna and Jenna entered. Both wore looks of relief at seeing her awake.

  “How are you?” Alayna asked.

  Carth stared at the board, thinking about what she had seen and discovered. Maybe Linsay wasn’t her enemy. Somehow, she would have to help Carth as Carth had told her she would need to, but others would need to help also. And she would need to understand what the C’than were meant to do. And she would have to maintain the accords.

  It felt as if there were too many pieces moving around.

  Was she ready for it?

  “Tired. All I want to do is rest, but it seems as if I need to train.”

  “For what?” Jenna asked.

  “For something new. Something I’ve never faced before.”

  Alayna and Jenna both took seats alongside her. “It’s not like you’re going to do this alone.”

  Carth looked up at them, and she smiled. Alayna had been right. Her weakness was a strength. She couldn’t do this without them. They were her family, and they would face whatever would come together.

  Carth will return. Subscribe to my newsletter to be the first to learn when the next book will release. http://eepurl.com/cn4M3L.

  Looking for another great read? Check out Wasting, The Book of Maladies Volume 1.

  In the city of Verdholm, canals separate the highborns in the center sections of the city from the lowborns along the outer sections. The city is isolated, surrounded by a deadly swamp and steam fields which should protect the people of the city from the dangerous outside world. Until it doesn’t.

  For Sam, an orphaned thief who wants only to protect her brother, protection means stealing enough so she can one day buy her way into a better section. She’s a skilled thief, and when she’s offered a job that can change everything for her, what choice does she have but to take it?

  Alec is an apothecary who longed to join the prestigious university and become a physicker, but they rarely accept students from the merchant class, and he’s now too old to enroll. The surprising discovery of strange magic can change his fortunes, but only if he can fully understand it.

  When the natural protection of the city fails and her brother is thrown into danger, Sam must become more than a thief to save him, but she can’t do so by herself. Somehow, she and Alec are linked through an ancient magic and together they might be the only ones able to stop an attack that threatens to disrupt the balance within the city and bring the dangers of the outside world to them.

  Author’s Note

  Dear Reader,

  THANK YOU SO MUCH for reading Shadow Trapped. I hope you enjoyed it. If you would be so kind as to take a moment to leave a review on Amazon or elsewhere, I would be very grateful.

  Reviews like yours are how other readers will find my work. It makes a huge difference in readers finding my stories, so thanks for taking the time to do so.

  I’m also always happy to hear from readers! Email me at [email protected]. I try to respond to each message. Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook as well!

  Review link HERE.

  All my best,

  D.K. Holmberg

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  Also by D.K. Holmberg

  The Collector Chronicles

  Shadow Hunted

  Shadow Games

  Shadow Trapped

  The Shadow Accords

  Shadow Blessed

  Shadow Cursed

  Shadow Born

  Shadow Lost

  Shadow Cross

  Shadow Found

  The Dark Ability

  The Dark Ability

  The Heartstone Blade

  The Tower of Venass

  Blood of the Watcher

  The Shadowsteel Forge

  Th
e Guild Secret

  Rise of the Elder

  The Sighted Assassin

  The Binders Game

  The Forgotten

  Assassin’s End

  The Teralin Sword

  Soldier Son

  Soldier Sword

  Soldier Sworn

  Soldier Saved

  Soldier Scarred