Clash (The Arinthian Line Book 4) by Sever Bronny Page A

flinging the cloth at his head, and stomping off to tend the fire.
    Augum slumped, wincing from the drumming pain, and dabbed at his nose.
    Bridget drew her legs in, watching him. “What were you thinking?” she asked quietly. “That was … unlike you.”
    “I don’t know, I guess I … I guess I actually believed I could do it.”
    “You did do it, and yes it’s impressive, but it was an extremely foolish risk. You can’t just …” She flipped her hands. “… cast wild arcanery on whim, Augum.” She sighed and glanced over at Leera, who stabbed the fire repeatedly with a stick. “We’re all she has in this world now, you know that, right?”
    Augum felt a queasy rush. He could deal with being hunted by his father, but hearing he was half of Leera’s entire world sounded like a terrible amount of responsibility. And there he was being an utter idiot. What had he been thinking?
    “I’m glad you two like each other in that way,” Bridget said with a bittersweet smile, “I really am, but I’m worried. You can’t let it distract you from your studies, either of you. Our lives depend on it.”
    There she went being right again. Truth was, he’d been thinking about it a lot—but he was not about to give up spending time with Leera or trying not to like her in that way. Every time her fingers curled around his, butterflies zoomed around in his stomach. When he felt her soft lips, looked into those dark eyes, or held her delicate hand … he felt alive . He could not put the feelings into words, but it was something he could not change.
    “You need to focus, Augum, and prepare. Look at me.”
    He glanced into her eyes. The worry on her face was killing him.
    “Focus and prepare,” she repeated softly.
    He nodded. “You mean prepare for …?”
    “You know for what.”
    “Nana’s never going to get caught.” His thrumming heart said otherwise though. “She’d never let them win.” But they might force it …
    Bridget gently rested a hand on his forearm. “We must learn to become more independent. We must trust each other, train hard, and find a way to stop your father. I know we can do it. Mrs. Stone knows we can do it too, that’s why she’s trusting us with such a dangerous quest. I know we can figure out how to use the Agonex. I know we can learn Cron.”
    She’s been very serious lately. “Hope so, Bridge.” He thought about the bronze disk. Was it safe here? Mrs. Stone had left it with them, explaining she did not want it to fall into the enemy’s hands should they finally catch up to her.
    Bridget watched him a moment before getting up and dusting herself off. “Tomorrow we learn our 4th degree elemental spell with Mr. Harvus.” She offered him a hand.
    He took it and hoisted himself up. “Looking forward to it.”
    “At least try to sound more enthusiastic? Come on, I think we can still squeeze in another round of training before bed. We especially need to work on Reflect. All of us.”
    He groaned. “Hate that spell …”

Unexpected Arrival
    The next morning brought heavy cloud cover. Augum, Bridget, Leera, Mr. Goss and his son, Leland, ate breakfast at the Okeke cabin, a daily ritual. Sometimes Haylee and Chaska joined them, but not today. Leera told Augum they probably got in another fight, but for all he knew, Ms. Singh could have drafted her to help around her scribe shop, as she oft tended to do.
    “Pass the salt, please,” Mr. Goss said with a smile.
    Augum handed the saltcellar to Bridget, who handed it to Mr. Goss.
    Jengo placed his fork on the plate. “Today’s the day. Hardly slept. Can’t even eat.”
    Leera tormented her eggs. “What doom awaits you today?”
    “Is it Lover’s Day already?” Mr. Okeke asked absently, pouring himself a steaming cup of tea with one hand while holding the Blackhaven Herald with the other.
    “That’s tomorrow, Father. Today … today is more special—”
    “Don’t let Priya hear you say that,” Bridget cut in.
    “That’s