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would have to ask who designed her dress. The tailoring was superb.
 My greeting, he said, coming up to her.
Chime turned with a start, her face blushed from the wind. When she saw him, her tentative smile
transformed into a frown. She turned back to observe the view. Muller leaned against the wall.  Friendly
today.
She didn t deign to look at him.  I have no wish of friendship with you.
 Pity, seeing as we re to be married.
She gave him a haughty look.  I would marry a bog-slug first. Belatedly she added,  Your Highness.
 Chime, let us make a truce, yes? Now that Della had found a mage powerful enough to be his queen,
they weren t going to let him delay his nuptials any longer assuming the lady agreed, which seemed less
likely every minute. For some reason, the idea of her leaving Suncroft flustered him. It made no sense;
she was wild, rude, and uncouth. But he didn t want her to go.  My uncle wants us to marry, he said.
 Mistress No-Cozen wants it. Lord Firestoke wants it. Everyone does. We will exhaust ourselves
fighting them. He grinned at her.  Besides, you didn t find me so offensive in the cottage. She gave him
a quelling look.  That is because I wanted to enjoy myself before I had to marry Prince Muller
Dawnfield. I can t help it if I had the bad fortune to have my forbidden lover turn out to be my groom.
 You are the reluctant mage, eh? And I am the reluctant heir. He spoke wryly.
 We make quite a pair.
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 I m not a mage.
 Why not? He would have given anything to have her purity of gifts.
Chime averted her eyes.  I cannot handle it.
 I didn t take you for a coward.
She rounded on him, eyes flashing.  I fear nothing.
 You fear yourself.
 And you fear your title.
He had no argument with that.  At least I m not afraid to admit it. For a moment she simply looked at
him. Then she said,  You need to help your uncle more. He is tired, that bone-deep weariness that
comes when you have worn out your body and your health.
Panic sparked in Muller.  How dare you speak such of the king.
 It is true.
 How would you know this?
 I m not sure. She motioned at the castle around them.  Everything here is shapes, all the mosaics,
lamps, walkways, windows everything. Beautiful, perfect shapes. I feel& I don t know how to describe
it. Too sensitized. On edge with everyone. People s moods, their pain, their need for light I can t
escape it here.
An ache for the beauty of her power filled him.  And you claim you are no mage?
Her face paled.  I don t want this.
 You should. How could she throw away such a gift?
 As you should accept the truth about your uncle.
He wanted to deny it. He couldn t bear the thought. But he had seen Daron age this past season. The
weaker his uncle s health became, the more Muller longed to assure him that Aronsdale would continue.
It mattered to Muller, mattered a great deal, for he loved his uncle, who had been his guardian for half his
life. This country was Daron s legacy; the king deserved a strong heir to carry on for him after his death.
Unfortunately he had only Muller.
The ramshackle cabin stood high in the Boxer-Mage Mountains, surrounded by stunted trees. Its
thatched roof barely kept out the rain and the walls needed repair. The rocky earth couldn t support
much in the way of crops, but the man who lived there coaxed a garden out of the infertile soil, enough to
feed him and his ward.
The man s name was Unbent. Thirteen years ago, desperate and starving, he had made the worst
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mistake of his life, going on a midnight raid with Murk, a highwayman who robbed the gentry. They had
intended only to stop the orb-carriage and take jewels and coins from its passengers. Unbent had never
expected the carriage to go over the cliff and crash into a ravine. He never expected the man and woman
inside to die.
Their six-year-old son had survived.
Murk had decreed they must kill the child, lest he reveal what happened. Unbent had fled then, taking
the boy with him, determined to protect the orphan. He named the boy Dani and cared for him as best he
could at the cabin. The accident left Dani blind, deaf, and mute. He had no lasting injuries Unbent could
see, except for a scar on his neck, but his sight and hearing never returned, and he never spoke again
after that night.
So they lived, mired in poverty, hidden from the world, never coming down from the mountain, cut off
from humanity.
Unbent knew nothing about his ward s true identity.
8
The
Broken King
 I can t do it! Chime clenched the table, staring at the parchment inked in shimmering colors,  I can t
remember what all these shapes and hues mean. Della sighed.  We will try again.
Chime wanted to lash out in frustration, but she held back. It wasn t Della s fault she had trouble. In the
three days Chime had been here, she had learned so little. It was another reason she had dreaded coming
to Sun croft; no matter how hard she studied, she would never be quick.
They were sitting at a table in the parlor of Della s cottage at the castle. Sunshine slanted through the
windows, casting colored light over well-worn tables and chairs. The windows were lovely, with stained
glass in many shapes: diamonds, hexagons, squares, circles, and more. They made graceful patterns
around larger round windows with clear panes. Vases of rosy box-blossoms brightened the room even
more.
 Start with the colors, Della suggested.  What do they do for mages?
Chime hesitated.  Color specifies the type of spell.
 Yes. Good. In what way?
 Like a rainbow. Chime loved her mental image of a rainbow arching over sunlit towers of the castle. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]