In whatever brief moment he had with Raisa this time, he meant to show her how powerful he could be, that he could keep the Clans off their backs and they could reveal their romance to the whole Queendom.īesides, it isn’t really stealing, if it will belong to me anyway when Father eventually dies. Which was why, before heading to the castle, Micah had elected to pilfer a certain amulet in their family’s possession. But power was stronger than the Clans’ stupid rules. As far as Micah was concerned, the only thing standing in their way was the irritating factor of the Naeming. Every time they’d encountered each other in Raisa’s brief sojourns away from the mountains over the past two years, the allure of their forbidden romance had helped rekindle their courtship.
Micah had no intention of objecting, not only for his father, whose motives he was never certain of. "The castle."Īs soon as Gavan Bayar had caught wind of Raisa’s return to Fellsmarch, however brief, he had instructed Micah to go to the castle immediately so that he could spend as much time wooing her as possible. I’m here to ask you to come with me."Īs if I could say no! He’s Averill Demonai! "Where to?"Īverill’s smile widened to a grin. But I am not here to talk about old times. When we were your age, we even traveled to Carthis to learn their fighting techniques. “He and I were friends for a long while, much like you and Fire Dancer. Han didn’t remember the room well it must have been before they’d moved above the stable. father?" A memory came to mind, a younger Averill without so much grey hair, speaking to Han’s father in low worried voices when they thought he had gone to sleep. “You know my name?” I an’t important enough for Lord Demonai to know my name!
"Greetings, Hunts Alone,” said Averill, with a smile. "Lord Demonai!" The grey-haired patriarch of the Demonai was seated, speaking with Dancer’s mother Willo. “Hunts Alone, watch where you’re walking!” He ducked through the doorway of the Matriarch Lodge and stopped short, Dancer bumping into his back. “Easier to pay someone to get them for you than go after them yourself, I guess.” They’d had the conversation before, and probably would again it was a way to complain about the work required and the mud it frequently added to their clothes. Why is it all the nastiest plants in the nastiest places are the most valuable, anyway?” “Tomorrow let’s go hunting, instead.”ĭancer nodded. Han was glad he’d decided to take a day away from Fellsmarch, time to think about what he wanted from life, but the day itself hadn’t turned out as well as he’d been hoping. Fifteen-year-old Hanson Alister stretched as he and Dancer returned to Marisa Pines Camp, their shoulder-bags annoyingly empty of valuable plants.