LITMIR.BIZ

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it floated up to eye level. Zagur made a sigil on the air with a polished wooden wand and the sphere flattened to a disk, forming itself into a silver mirror. Saruel stepped forward and wove a pattern on the air and the edges were transformed into a delicate frame of Aurënfaie floral tracery. Finally, Arkoniel cast a spell on the air, opening a small black portal. The mirror disappeared into it and dropped out of thin air into Tamír’s hands. The metal was still warm.

      She held it up, admiring the exquisite workmanship. The intertwined copper leaves and vines that framed it were as good as anything she’d seen in a silversmith’s stall.

      “It’s lovely!” She handed it to Ki to see, and it passed from hand to hand around the courtyard.

      “I’m glad it pleases you, Highness. Please accept this as a gift of the Third Orëska,” said Iya.

      “The what?” asked Illardi.

      “Orëska is an Aurënfaie word meaning mage-born,” Iya explained. “Their magic passed by blood to our people, the free wizards, or Second Orëska. We are different in our powers than the ’faie, and often not as powerful. But now we mean to make a new kind of magic and a new way of practicing it, as you have just seen. Thus, we are a new, third sort.”

      “And your Third Orëska will serve Skala?” asked Kyman.

      “Yes, my lord. It is Illior’s will.”

      “And you want nothing in return?” Kyman still looked skeptical.

      “We ask only for the queen’s trust, my lord, and a safe place to nurture and teach the wizard-born.”

      Tamír heard a few snorts and mutterings from the crowd but she ignored them, thinking of the orphans Arkoniel had already gathered and protected—just like he and Iya had protected her. “You will have it, as long as I have your loyalty.

      “Now, we must turn our thoughts to Ero. Duke Illardi, what do you have to report?”

      “The winter crops were not much damaged by the Plenimarans, but the grain stores were lost. If the spring crops aren’t planted, you risk starvation by winter. At the moment, however, it’s shelter and disease that most concern me. If the people scatter away to other cities, they may carry illness with them. But you can’t expect them to live on the plain in tents forever, either. Some sort of succor must be given, or you’ll have a rebellion on your hands before you’ve even begun.”

      “Of course, they must be helped.”

      “And they must know their help comes from you, Highness,” said Tharin. “Atyion has ample stores to draw from. Send for food, clothing, and lumber. Those the drysians deem healthy could be allowed to go there, or wherever they have kin. The rest must be looked after here.”

      Tamír nodded. “Send word to my steward there at once. Lady Lytia knows best what to do. I’ve also decided to make Atyion my new capital. It’s defensible and has the resources to supply and house an army. With the treasury at Ero lost, I’ve little to work with here.

      “Now, regarding Korin. I need to know where he is and if he can be reasoned with. I need to know how many wizards Niryn has with him, too. As long as old Fox Beard is with my cousin, I believe he’ll be a poisonous influence. Jorvai, Kyman, I want you to organize scouting parties. Make arrangements among your best riders and report back to me this afternoon. Thank you all again for your support.”

      The audience had gone well enough, but speaking for so long had left Tamír tired and off-balance. As a young prince, she’d been groomed for leadership, but she still felt far more at home on the battlefield with a sword in her hand. These people were not asking her simply to win a battle, but decide the fate of the land.

      All that, and learn to walk in skirts, she amended sourly as the assembly broke up. It was quite enough for one morning.

      She caught Ki by the elbow and drew him away with her. “Come on, I need to walk.”

      “You did well,” he exclaimed softly, falling in beside her.

      “I hope so.” She made her way up to the wall walk overlooking the harbor and the distant citadel. The long hem of her dress was a hazard on the ladder. She caught her foot and nearly fell on top of him.

      “Damnation! Give me a moment.” She braced her feet on the rungs and pulled up the edge of the skirt and undergown, tucking the hems into her leather girdle the way Iya had shown her. It worked rather well. By the time she reached the top of the ladder, she already had an idea for a special sort of brooch for the purpose. Her fingers itched for a stylus and tablet.

      The sentries on duty bowed respectfully as they passed. She and Ki paced the wall for a while, then stopped at an empty embrasure and leaned on the parapet, watching the gulls circling over the waves. The day was clear, the water green and silver in the afternoon light. If she only looked east, the world seemed clean and free. Behind her, the city still smoldered, a blackened ruin, and the beaches were littered with broken ships.

      “All that you said about advancing men on merit, and loyalty being rewarded? They could tell you meant it,” Ki said at last. “You had the heart of every warrior in that yard! I saw Iya whispering to Arkoniel, too. I bet even she was impressed.”

      Tamír frowned out at the sea.

      Ki rested a hand on her shoulder. “I know you’re still angry at her about all that’s happened, and the way they lied to you. But I’ve been thinking it over and I see why they did all that.

      “I’m mad at them, too,” he went on. “Well, mostly Arkoniel, since he was the one we knew best. Only … Well, I’ve been thinking. Don’t you suppose maybe it was hard on him, too? I see the way he watches you, and how proud he looks sometimes, but sad, too. Maybe you ought to give him another chance?”

      Tamír gave him a grudging shrug. Anxious to change the subject, she tugged at the skirt of her gown. “So you don’t think I look like a complete fool in this?”

      “Well, I’m still getting used to it,” Ki admitted.

      “And I have to squat to piss,” she muttered.

      “Does it hurt? Where your cock and balls came off, I mean? I damn near fainted when that happened.”

      Tamír shuddered at the memory. “No, it doesn’t hurt, but I can’t let myself think much on it. I just feel—empty there. I don’t mind the tits half so much as that. It’s like I’m one of those poor bastards the Plenimarans castrated!”

      Ki grimaced and leaned in beside her, resting his shoulder against hers. She leaned gratefully into him. For a moment they just stood there, watching the gulls.

      After a moment he cleared his throat and said without looking at her, “Illior might have taken that away, but you’ve got a girl’s—parts in their place, right? It’s not like you’re a eunuch or anything.”

      “I guess so.”

      He raised an eyebrow at her. “You guess so?”

      “I haven’t exactly explored,” she confessed miserably. “Every time I think of it, I feel sick.”

      Ki fell silent and when she was finally able to look at him, she found he’d blushed scarlet right up to his ears. “What?”

      He shook his head and leaned over the parapet, still not looking at her.

      “Come on, Ki! I can tell when you’ve got something to say.”

      “It’s not my place.”

      “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard that from you. What is it?”

      “Well—if you are a proper girl there, then—” He broke off, reddening even more.

      “Bilairy’s balls, Ki, just come out with it!”

      He groaned. “Well, if you are a true girl, then you haven’t really lost anything. For fuc—for fun, I mean. Girls tell me they enjoy

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