Exodus of the Xandim (GOLLANCZ S.F.) by Maggie Furey Read Free Book Online

his
quarters so early that he had barely finished eating. ‘Yesterday I was being feted and feasted by the Queen, then out of the blue she’s sending me packing in what feels very much like
disgrace.’
    ‘Do
you
think you’ve done something wrong?’ Ardea’s face was expressionless.
    ‘I told you yesterday when you dragged the truth about Incondor out of me!’ Yinze said exasperatedly, too anxious to remember the usual terms of respect between pupil and teacher.
‘I’ve practically turned myself inside out over the last few months to keep out of trouble. I don’t want to drag the good name of the Wizards through the mire – let alone
what Cyran would do to me if I did.’
    ‘There you are, then,’ Ardea said briskly. ‘You’ve just answered your own question. You know perfectly well that you’ve done nothing wrong. You’re guilty of
nought but stupidity for worrying yourself over nothing. The Queen is very pleased with you, and so is Crombec, and so am I.’ Her voice softened. ‘We’re all very proud of you,
Yinze, and what you’ve achieved here. But you’ve learned all you need now.’
    ‘But if I stayed I could learn more.’
    ‘Then the Skyfolk student who is accompanying you to Tyrineld can continue to teach you. What’s wrong with you, boy?’ She flung out her arms in exasperation. ‘You never
actually said anything, but all during the winter I got the very distinct impression that you were desperate to go home.’
    ‘That was then. At that time I was still very homesick, the weather was absolutely dreadful, and I wasn’t making any progress. But now that I am, and I have friends—’
    ‘Kea, you mean?’
    Yinze, to his horror, actually felt his face his face go hot. ‘I have other friends here,’ he protested.
    ‘But you weren’t talking about them, were you?’ Ardea took a deep breath. ‘Yinze, I will be frank with you. I want you to be very careful about getting too close to Kea.
Such a coupling is against the laws of both the Wizard and Winged Folk. You must know that it would result in a great deal of trouble for you both.’
    Horrified at how close he’d come to revealing his most secret yearnings, Yinze forced himself to laugh. ‘Couple with Kea? I can get enough girls of my own kind, thank you. And
you’re right. The female population of Tyrineld must be pining for me, and it’s time I was getting back to them.’
    On the same day, not very far away, Kea, having just received a similar warning, was giving a very similar reply to her own mentor. ‘Mate with Yinze?’ She looked guilelessly –
she hoped – at Crombec, her eyes wide open in surprise. ‘Why in all the wide skies would I want to do that?’
    She hoped that he couldn’t hear her heart hammering. If she failed to convince him now, her plan, her dearest dream, would come to nothing. Kea’s scheme – or maybe she should
call it a hope – had been born while she and Yinze had been working together on his harp. Ever since he’d first arrived she had liked the Wizard, with his handsome face and those
laughing eyes that, until he’d finally developed the notion of using sound to give him control over Air magic, had become ever more sombre. She had been delighted to play a part in helping
him to solve his problems and master the powers of her people, but while they worked together her bond with him had grown ever stronger. She had found herself thinking:
    What if he succeeds? There’ll be no need for him so stay here any longer.
    As the harp took shape and they had closed in on their goal, Yinze looked happier and happier, while Kea’s unhappiness had grown. She couldn’t possibly be in love with him of course,
she kept telling herself. That was taboo between their people. If she loved him, then she’d be honour bound to stay away from him – and she couldn’t bear the thought of that. No,
she told herself, they were
friends
, that was all. It was the notion of losing a friend that was