<- Chapter 30 Chapter 32 -> Riley had never seen Cora in trousers before.  They suited her. Cora kept slipping behind a divider in the room and returning with a different pair and a different leather jerkin.  Her hair was up in a tight bun. Lissie sprawled out next to Riley, but the bed was…

<- Chapter 29 Chapter 31 -> “I was thinking about having people call me ‘Ormand the Lion’” The king was sprawled on an enormous pillow.  “Maybe ‘the Bear.’  I haven’t decided.” “They called my father ‘the Eagle’ sometimes.”  Gavin was pacing around the room, admiring the swords.  Each one was illuminated by an Ellium dome-light…

<- Chapter 28 Chapter 30 -> Riley felt cozy in Lady Maribelle’s tea room after walking through the rest of the castle.  It was at the top of the highest tower.  Windows lined the walls letting in light between shelves of books, matching tomes with austere gold print.  They sat in four high-backed leather chairs in…

<- Chapter 27 Chapter 29 -> Gavin stared at the vast portrait and tried not to look at the line of supplicants waiting to see the king. I am not a supplicant.  I am nearly his equal. L’Marc interrupted his thoughts.  “The king is prone to mercurial fits of rage.” Gavin’s father smiled down at…

<- Chapter 26 Chapter 28 -> As Riley walked through the halls and up the stairs, she thought about what her father had told her about the design of forts.  Stairs should spiral counter-clockwise because most soldiers are right-handed.  The palisades should be solid, with crenelation spaced six feet apart.  The walls should have holes…

<- Chapter 25 Chapter 27 -> Gavin was surprised that L’Marc had found him a sparring partner in five days.  He was grateful for the exercise.  He loved to read, but that was all L’Marc ever did and his legs were growing stiff. It was four hours yet until he’d meet the king.  There would…

<- Chapter 24 Chapter 26 -> Crossing the border from Switforst to Terndowns was like traveling through time into civilization.  With one step, the bank of the river was no longer sand.  It became a road.  Paved in neat white stones, inlaid with different carvings of fawns.  There were lampposts on the side.  There were…

<- Chapter 23 Chapter 25 -> Ruskin started whining and lay on his belly, one paw over an eye.  Riley stopped on the path and stared at the little dog. “It seems like he doesn’t like Fairfield,” suggested Lissie. Alexander took a deep breath before picking up his companion, and whispered something to him.  He…

<- Chapter 22 Chapter 24 -> The sky was still clear the next morning.  The horses seemed fresh from oats and sleeping in a stable.  Riley felt refreshed as well. As they tacked the horses and strapped on the packs, Cora gazed at the river.  She said, “It sure would have been nice to clean…

<- Chapter 21 Chapter 23 -> Riley thought the ‘inn’ was really just a house.  The bedrooms shared a bathroom at the end of the hall.  The shutters used to be blue, and the curtains used to be flour sacks.  The common room was where Alexander was playing.  He had worked out a deal in…