Emerald, p.54
Emerald, page 54
As he turned to face the crowd, Arbor received the shock of his life. Standing near the back and applauding loudly along with everyone else, were his friends. Grak, Hord, Frunk, and many others he’d come to trust along his journey were here. A genuine smile graced his lips now as he descended from the dais and made his way over to his cheering friends. It seemed he wasn’t so alone after all.
Arbor sat alone in his manor room sometime later. This would be their last night in Fivora, as they would be heading for Vergara come morning. A lot of preparations still needed to be made before they left, the first of which was buying out the entire slave market currently in the city. Though he knew it wouldn’t do much good in the long run, he could at least help some people. One day, he might be able to get slavery abolished altogether, and with the help of Marquess Sindra and his faction, that may be a reality.
For the time being, the people were still suffering, and this was all he could do to help them. He would need people to help in the restoration of his lands, as the deed said it had been abandoned nearly four years ago. He wasn’t planning on making them work, but he would offer them jobs after a screening process to weed out any violent criminals.
The estimated cost for buying so many slaves would be near a hundred thousand gold, but Arbor saw it as a good investment for the future. At least, that was how he’d been forced to put it to Frunk so the gremlin would go along with it.
He sighed, pushing back from his desk and rubbing at his tired eyes. He’d slept most of the day, but that still hadn’t given him enough time to recover. His eyes moved down to the gleaming gold and silver ring now adorning his finger. He was still having a hard time believing that he was nobility now. All his life, he’d been a carpenter. He’d planned to marry the girl he loved and settle down in a small cottage in the woods.
Life was funny that way. His fingers closed around the silver necklace shaped like a lily. His fourteenth birthday present to his little sister. She would be fifteen now, almost a full-grown woman by the standards of the kingdom. Where was she now? Was she thinking of him?
A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he pushed the chair back, rising and stretching his tired muscles. It would do no good to brood. He was a Viscount now and would have the power and resources needed to find her. For now, though, it was time to get some more rest. He had a big day tomorrow, and he’d need all the sleep he could get.
He was just about ready to turn in for the night. It had been a festive evening, and he’d left the official dinner only to return home to a full-blown party. Judging by the noise coming from downstairs, it was still going strong, but he’d excused himself after about an hour.
He walked over to close the window and draw the curtains when his Perception Field flared a warning. Ever since the last attack, he’d kept his field active at all times. He hadn’t been stupid enough to believe that they were done with him yet, and it seemed they were going to try yet again.
“I know you’re there,” Arbor said, drawing his Origin magic out to cloak himself. “So why don’t you show yourself, and we can get this over with.”
There was a small gasp from a spot near the corner of the room, then the very last person Arbor expected to see became visible.
She was covered in bruises and cuts, her clothes caked in mud, and her features marred by injury. However, her features were still unmistakable.
“Please…help me,” Ramona whispered, then collapsed forward, a pool of blood spreading around her prone body.
Afterword
What’s up, Super-People!? Thanks for reading yet another of my books! To all those who review my books, let me thank you in advance. You people are truly super!
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Series by Aaron Oster
Rise to Omniscience
Supermage: Book One
Starbreak: Book Two
Skyflare: Book Three
Solarspire: Book Four
Stormforge: Book Five Coming April/May 2020
Buryoku
Power: Book One
Light: Book 2
Book 3 coming Spring 2020
The Rules
Somerset: Book One
Book 2 March 2020 (I did promise!)
Land of the Elementals
Rampage: Book One
Emerald: Book Two
Book 3 coming Spring 2020
Animal Kingdom
Riot: Book One
Book 2 TBA
Aaron Oster, Emerald
