Read Child of Blackwen (An Artemis Ravenwing Novel Book 1) for Free Online

sweet, light wine. “I’ll have less to worry about now that Jack will be under Talisa’s care.”
    “Well, you may want to worry
more
now that he’ll be Talisa’s apprentice.” Shadow chuckled. “He’s going to have to endure quite a bit these next few years. If Jack can last for more than that, then he’ll be considered worthy enough to be called her student.”
    “His life
is
hers then.” I laughed uncertainly. I lightly smacked the armrest after a realization. “Ugh! So much for his chase of Lilith!”
    “Ah, so I’ve been told.”
    I raised an eyebrow. “You have?”
    “I have. Jack was asking me for advice.” Shadow stood up and smirked. “Apparently he needed a male point of view, since he had plenty from the female end of the situation.”
    I stood up as well, frowning at his jest. “Very funny.”
    “I try.”
    Shadow led the way out of the main room and into the dining room. There was plenty of food for the both of us on the cherrywood table, and I tried not to rush to the seat; I was hungrier than I first realized. It was comforting to know that I was hungry for
real
food. The blessing of being a dhampir was that I could eat what others could; the curse was that I still needed to drink blood in order to keep up my strength. My refusal to drink blood more than I already do made me weaker, but I did not care. I always wondered how Mother lived with the vampire’s curse.
    Once Shadow reached his chair, I sat down and quickly took a plate, filling it completely. Shadow was amused at my actions while he took his time choosing his own food. “I wasn’t sure if you’d had your ‘other’ source of sustenance, so I left that well alone.”
    I couldn’t help but shake after that statement. I silently cursed, because I knew Shadow caught the action.
    “It’s not necessary,” I said after a moment’s silence.
    Shadow watched me carefully.
    “Because you already had it,” he stated. “Jack informed me about your increasing blackouts.”
    I cringed.
    “I do not drink as often as I should,” I started, “and I don’t intend to unless I have no other choice.”
    “That’s not wise, Artemis.”
    “Leave it be, Shadow.”
    “You are
not
a monster, Artemis,” Shadow insisted. “You need to accept what you are. You’ve only killed foxes…for now. The more you restrain your natural urges, the more they will struggle to take over. There are safer and less complicated ways to deal with this. You know this, my dear.”
    “I’ll say it again, Shadow,” I warned. “
Leave it be
.”
    Shadow shook his head before taking a bit of fruit from his plate. I was grateful for him backing off. I then remembered an earlier part of our conversation. “What exactly did it cost you for Talisa to become Jack’s teacher?”
    It was now Shadow’s turn to be uncomfortable. “She earns the right to collect on favors I have no choice but to perform. She prefers calling them favors rather than demands.”
    “Of course she does.” Laughing while taking a few grapes, I asked, “Did she at least tell you what they were?”
    “I only know of one,” he answered. “For the rest, I’ll just have to wait and be surprised.”
    “What is the one you do know of?”
    Shadow grew silent, and I felt a twinge of anger from him; I felt uneasy.
    “Apologies. You don’t have to answer that.”
    “No need to feel sorry,” he said, now smiling again. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m just a bit agitated because I’ve finally returned home after all these years and my plans of rest are interrupted yet again by the Elders.”
    I felt my heart drop. “Are you being sent away again?”
    “No, no,” Shadow reassured. I breathed a sigh of relief. “However, Talisa was asked to scout a disturbance that’s been occurring near her cottage.”
    “What sort of disturbance?”
    “According to the Elders, there has been an odd string of deaths and attacks within the Woodland Realm. The range has now extended near