Read Fragile Destiny (The Aether Chronicles) for Free Online Page B

his lips. The Bright Lady spoke to Noli while she was inside a tree? Yes, they needed to reverse what Tiana had done to her before it was too late.
    Her face crumpled like a discarded handkerchief. “Why don’t you believe me?”
    “It’s … it’s a lot to believe. You said that you have a piece of the artifact. May I see it?” They knew it was something, but to be an item that could change the fate of his realm?
    “Here. I asked it for information just now, and it showed me things.” She shuddered, then put the piece in his hand. “But we can’t let Brogan have it. In fact, I really should steal the pieces he has. He can’t be permitted to assemble it.” Panic tinged her voice.
    “No, he can’t,” he soothed. No matter what the artifact became when assembled, Uncle Brogan would use it for evil.
    “Why don’t you believe me?” Noli glared at Steven. She popped up off the floor and marched out of the library. He just sat there, watching her. What had just happened?
    “Why don’t you believe her?” James sat up and leaned forward, brows furrowing. “Noli’s no liar.”
    Steven sighed. “Even though I’ve never heard of this staff, and it’s different from the stories we’ve been told, I could believe it. Also, if the piece showed her things, that, too, I could believe, even though it’s advanced magic. It’s the Bright Lady speaking to her that I doubt. The Bright Lady doesn’t speak often, and Noli’s not even truly one of us.”
    James’ arms crossed over his chest. “You’re an elitist snob.”
    “I am not.” He shot his brother a dirty look. “I’m supposed to believe a goddess spoke to her while she was in
a tree?”
    “Noli said she thought it could be the Bright Lady. It could be something else. We know all sorts of creatures lurk in the Otherworld. Perhaps when we put her in the tree to heal her it made her vulnerable,” James replied. “We shouldn’t discount any of this yet—even the crazy bits—until we finish researching.”
    Steven shook his head. “You as the voice of reason continues to disturb me. But you’re right. This is Noli. Still, I’m worried about her. Something’s more not right than usual.”
    “That’s why you’re going to reverse what Tiana did.” James blew a lock of hair out of his face. “In the meantime, you can teach Noli magic. I’ll take over her sword lessons.”
    “Noli in her current state with a sword unnerves me,” Steven observed truthfully.
    James shook his head in dismay. “She’s still Noli. Don’t forget that.”
    He got up and followed Noli out of the room.
    “Why are girls so maddening?” Steven muttered. He examined the small gold piece in his hand. It looked like a bit of junk. Closing his eyes, he tried to convince the piece to reveal its secrets to him. Trees and plants, not metal, were his specialty, but he should be able to get something from it.
    He mentally reached out to the piece in his hand. Tell me your secrets.
    A blast of fire spread through his mind. No, this isn’t the staff of power, a female voice yelled as he watched the chaos play across his mind’s eye like a moving picture. This is the Staff of Eris and I expel it from this realm. You shall bear the cost as atonement for your sins.
    Steven ripped himself from the memory ingrained in the piece. The Staff of Eris? Eris was the Greek goddess of discord. Considering the Greek Pantheon meant nothing in the Otherworld, it was probably more figurative than literal. Still, it gave him a place to start.
    Besides, anything that could cause discord had no place in the hands of his uncle.
    He continued to flip though Quinn’s journals. Staff of Eris. Staff of Eris. Was there even such a thing?
    Exile in the mortal realm suits me. However, I seem to have lost some of my research. Considering it concerns the Staff of Eris, I’m a little worried. At least I never kept all of my research in one place. Still, once I realized the truth about it, it was a folly to