Sharon Shinn - Reader And Raelynx

“No, no, you display it, you don’t ruin it by sleeping on it,” Kirra said. “I had one made for Justin and Ellynor, too, would you like to see it? I wasn’t sure what colors Ellynor might like, so I used the king’s black and gold. It turned out very nice, I thought.”

“I like that one even better,” Cammon said.

Senneth gave him a look of derision. “As if Justin would ever want a thing like that! That’s why she bought it, of course.”

“Well, of course he’ll make fun of it,” Cammon said. “But it will please him that she did it.”

And since they all knew that to be true, they laughed.

“He’s not back yet, is he?” Kirra said. “We’re not too late?” She appealed to Cammon. “I could tell you wanted us to return, and I could tell that it was because Justin was on his way, but I couldn’t actually sort out dates and times. You have a very strange way of communicating. It’s just this-odd feeling-this belief that something needs to be done. Right away. And it’s very clear what that thing is , but the rest of the details are murky.”

“They’re not here yet,” Cammon said. “But they’re over the mountains.”

Kirra clapped her hands together. “So they’ll be here in a few days! The king has granted them a cottage, of course. Have you done any work on it yet?”

Senneth shook her head and resettled herself on the sofa. “I was waiting for you.”

Something about Senneth’s movements had caught Kirra’s attention. “Oh, but what’s this?” she said, stepping closer to Senneth and bending down to inspect her throat. “You’re wearing a new necklace, aren’t you? Hold it up and let me see. You’ve got such a nice figure-I don’t know why you insist on walking around in high-necked shirts and trousers . When you could look so pretty!”

“You sound like my sister-in-law,” Senneth said, tugging at the gold chain just visible under the collar of her shirt. For years she had worn a necklace hung with a simple gold sun charm, but she had given that to Justin when he was wooing Ellynor and needed a gift with some history to it. “Tayse bought this for me. Had it made especially. I can’t tell you how much I love it.”

It was a small sphere made of many fine gold wires; inside the mesh cage was a tumble of jewels. Brassenthwaite sapphires, Danalustrous rubies, Fortunalt pearls-all the great Houses were represented. “Oh, yes, indeed, that is quite a marvelous piece,” Kirra said, examining it closely. “He must have spent a whole Rider paycheck on such a bauble! Clearly the man loves you.”

“It’s not like you needed proof,” Cammon said, and was a little annoyed when both women burst out laughing. “What?”

“Never mind,” Kirra said, reaching over to ruffle his hair. “And how are you ? Why are you at the palace tonight? Merely to tell Senneth I was coming and ruin my surprise?”

“No, indeed, he gave us barely a second’s warning,” Senneth said. “I think he thought that because he knew you were on the way, we all did. Cammon is living at the palace now.”

“Really? In training to become a Rider?” Kirra said in a mocking voice.

“Much more specialized than that,” Senneth said. “Mystic’s work.”

Kirra’s eyes widened, but before she could ask another question, Donnal came back carrying a tray of food. “Wild Mother kiss you,” Kirra said fervently. “I have to eat before I say another word.”

Tayse stayed by the fire, but Senneth, Donnal, and Cammon joined her at the small table in the corner of the room. Dinner in the royal kitchen had been a long time ago, so Cammon helped himself to a bit of meat and a thick slice of bread.

“Where were you?” Senneth asked. “Danalustrous?”

Kirra nodded and talked around a mouthful of food. “Helping to plan my sister’s wedding. Scarcely two months away now. Impossible to believe.”

“You weren’t in Danalustrous the whole time,” Cammon said.

She glanced at him and tried not to laugh. “No, you’re right, of course. By all the sweet gods, Cammon, are you going to track my slightest detour?”

He shrugged. “Well, not on purpose. It’s just that I always know where you are.” He flicked a look around the room. “All of you. It’s not like I’m trying. You’re just there.”

Donnal was laughing silently, but Kirra looked a little unnerved. “But what if I want to run away? Disappear?”

Senneth put a hand to her heart and tried to look soulful. “Why would you ever want to run away from Cammon?”

“But if I did?”

“Leave Gillengaria,” Donnal said. “Am I right?”

Cammon nodded. “I think so. Although I could still feel Justin when he was in the Lirrens.”

“The Lirrenlands are part of Gillengaria,” Kirra objected. “Well, sort of. So that doesn’t really count.”

“Let’s commission a boat and sail for Sovenfeld,” Senneth said. “We’ll see how far we have to go before Cammon loses sight of us completely.”

He smiled. “I won’t lose sight of you at all,” he said. “If you sail away, I’m coming with you.”

“So tell us, then,” Kirra invited. “Where was I when I wasn’t in Danalustrous?”

He waved a hand, indicating a generally southern direction. “Somewhere else. Down near Fortunalt, I think. Donnal was with you.”

She nodded, trying not to look impressed. “We were at Carrebos for a few days.”

Senneth licked her fingers. She had just had another small sliver of pie. “Never heard of it.”

“I think it’s a place you need to explore,” Kirra said. At Senneth’s inquiring look, she went on. “It’s a coastal town that’s a little north of Fortunalt. Not very big, but it’s been settled mostly by mystics. They’ve developed this whole community there. It’s like a haven. Some of them are readers, so they’re posted as guards to make sure soldiers and Coralinda’s men don’t come calling in the night. Some of them can cast fire, like you-some have powers I don’t even know how to describe.”

Senneth’s eyebrows were still raised. “Oh, yes, indeed,” she said softly. “I would very much like to go meet a town full of mystics.”

“Carrebos,” Cammon repeated, pleased. “Is that what it’s called?” They were all staring at him with varying degrees of wrath. “What?”

“You knew about this place?” Senneth demanded.

He spread his hands. “Well, I could tell there was this concentration of magic somewhere over in that direction-I couldn’t tell exactly what it was.”

“Why didn’t you ever mention it? You know I’ve been looking for ways to recruit mystics to the king’s army.”

“I didn’t know you didn’t know about it! You never said so.”

“Well, I could hardly say I didn’t know about-oh, forget it,” Senneth snapped, and then they were all laughing again. “Sometimes, Cammon, you are far more irritation than you’re worth.”

Kirra laid a quick hand on his arm. She was still laughing. “Oh, no, he’s not,” she said. “Cammon is always worth any amount of trouble he causes. You just never know when he’s going to bother to justify his existence.”

THEYtalked so late into the night that Kirra decided she shouldn’t go strolling up to the palace to demand a room. She stayed in Ghosenhall so often and she was such a favorite of the king that rooms were usually kept ready for her; still, common courtesy required that she give Milo a little notice.

“We’ll sleep here,” she said, glancing around. “Except I can see there’s no spare bed.”

Donnal slipped from his chair and melted into a furry black dog. Well. Cammon could tell that Donnal had changed shapes, he could tell what that shape was supposed to be, but the creature now nosing around beneath the table still held the unmistakable essence of Donnal. The pointed face was not quite Donnal’s face, and yet it was; the dark eyes were exactly Donnal’s eyes.