Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey Read Free Book Online

hadn’t cared enough for her to stand up for her when she’d done something that truly enraged Keldar. Only those two had dared to brave the Firstwife’s anger. Vris acted covertly, smuggling forbidden meals when punishment included doing without dinner. Andrean had been more open, demanding she be allowed to do something or coaxing Father to forgive her sooner. It had been at Andrean’s insistence that she was allowed to continue her reading, for as Second son, his words had carried weight. And she and Vrisa had been closer than sibs; almost like twins in spite of the difference in their ages.
    Tears stung her eyes at the thought of Andrean—so gentle with her, protective; always with a smile and a joke to share. He had been with her such a short time—he’d been killed when she was only nine. She could still remember him clearly, looming over her like a sheltering giant. He’d been so kind and patient—so ready to teach her anything she wanted to learn. He was everyone’s favorite—except for Keldar. Truly the Goddess must have wanted him with Her, to take him so young—but Talia had needed him, too. They’d scolded her for crying at his wake, but it had been herself she had been crying for.
    And poor Vris; she’d been terrified at the prospect of Marriage to old Fletcher, and it seemed she had been right to be so fearful. The few times Talia had seen her at Gatherings, she’d been pale and taut-looking, and as silent as one of the Lady’s Handmaidens. All the sparkle had been snuffed out of her, and nothing was left but the ashes.
    Talia shuddered—Vris’ fate could so easily have been her own. The Companion’s timely arrival seemed little less than miraculous in that light.
    As she rode, she found her hands itching for something to do. Never since she could remember had there ever been a time when her hands hadn’t been filled with some task. Even her reading was only allowed so long as she was occupied with some necessary job at the same time. To have empty hands seemed unnatural.
    She filled her time with trying to take in as much of the changing landscape around her as she could, attempting to make some kind of mental map. Small villages appeared with greater frequency the farther she went toward the capital. The apparent lack of concern people showed over her appearance had her baffled. One could almost suppose that the sight of a strange adolescent riding a Herald’s Companion was relatively commonplace. The only answer seemed to be as the Guard had hinted, that this sort of thing happened all the time. But why hadn’t her tales made any mention of this? Companions were clearly of a high order of intelligence; look at the way he’d been caring for both of them all along this journey. Her first thought, that he’d run away like a common farmbeast, was obviously incorrect. At this point there wasn’t much doubt in her mind as to which of the two of them was truly in charge. The tales were all true, then—Companions were creatures of an intellect at the least equaling that of their Heralds. She weighed the little she knew of Companions against her experiences of the past three days. It wasn’t enough to help her. The Holderkin held themselves aloof from the Heralds, forbidding the littles to speak of them, and dealing with them only when they must. Only the Elders had any contact with them. And the little illicit gossip she’d heard had concerned only the Heralds and their rumored licentiousness, not the Companions.
    But if you had to draw conclusions—Rolan must have chosen to have her accompany him, for there was no question that he could have returned to the Collegium perfectly well on his own. And if that were the case—could he have purposefully selected her for some reason? Perhaps even arrived at the Holding with the express intention of acquiring her and escorting her off to the capital? That