In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce Read Free Book Online Page A

his glass of brandy. “Not sociable, Alan?” Myles asked. “You’d better learn to be. A knight is a social animal.”
    â€œI’d sooner kiss a—”
    â€œDon’t, please. Sometimes you’re too frank for an old man.”
    Alanna looked him over. “Need help getting back to your rooms?” she asked.
    â€œNo. I’m staying to watch the pretty little Eldorne girl try to hook every eligible male at Court.”
    Alanna clenched her jaw. “If she doesn’t succeed, it won’t be because she didn’t try.”
    Myles lifted both eyebrows. “Jealous about Jonathan?”
    â€œWhy should I be jealous about Jonathan?” she snapped.
    Myles shrugged. “Some women like to break up men’s friendships. If I were you, I’d keep that in mind.”
    I’ll stop by in the morning with my hangover remedy. It sounds as if you’ll need it.” Sometimes the odd things Myles told her made too much sense for her peace of mind.
    â€œYou’re a good human being, Alan. Too good to be caught up in Court games. Run along to bed.”
    Alanna obeyed, thinking. By “Court games” Myles meant the tricks people used to win favor with important nobles, to get revenge on each other or to acquire power. Was that the kind of game Delia played? Whatever it was, it left a sour taste in Alanna’s mouth.

    It was a hard winter for Alanna, and she sometimes wondered if she spent all of it in a bad temper. The cold was worse than she could ever remember, biting into her bones at every turn. Too often she awoke shivering in the night, despite Faithful, plenty of hot bricks, and a well-banked fire. Once or twice she caught herself wondering what would happen if she climbed in with Jonathan! When the cold got that bad, she used her Gift to warm herself. The effort left her tired and cross in the morning, but to Alanna anything was better than feeling cold and thinking such thoughts. On days when she worked in the outdoor practice courts, she remembered the heat of the Great Southern Desert with longing.
    The temperatures meant trouble at home, as well. Coram wrote her that early frosts had hurt the harvest,and Alanna found herself busy arranging for food and warm clothing to be sent to Trebond. Coram was doing his best, but he had not had a great deal of time to bring the fief back from Lord Alan’s neglect. More than once Alanna went to Myles and Duke Gareth for advice. For someone who’s never going to run a fief , she often thought wryly, I’m certainly getting plenty of practice.
    That winter, as a preliminary test to prepare the squires for the Ordeal, they were required to spend a January night out in the open in the Royal Forest. Biting back an unreasoning feeling of terror—she would not freeze to death, if she took care—Alanna readied the things she would need. Out on her own, she burrowed deep into a snowbank and made a snug little cave for her tent and her furlined bedroll. A tree behind would keep off the worst of the drifts if more snow should fall. Faithful chose to keep her company, and he seemed much warmer than she felt (even though she wore fleece-lined leather over several layers of wool and silk clothing).
    She had planned to go ice-fishing for her dinner, just to show Duke Gareth she could survive in the cold; but late in the afternoon a sudden blizzard rolled in, dousing the woods in the snow. Alannaand Faithful secured themselves in their burrow, and from time to time Alanna thrust Lightning through the air to keep them from suffocating. For the rest of the night she and the cat slept—and talked. She knew it sounded like meowing to most other people, but to her Faithful talked as understandably as any human.
    They had both fallen asleep toward dawn, when the blizzard’s howling winds finally stopped. Alanna was dreaming of the desert and of a warm nap in the sun when she came wide awake. Something