River Secrets by Shannon Hale Read Free Book Online

harmless—how wretched his Bayern wool clothing was in the bursting spring. The freckled girl claimed to know the palace thread-mistress, another worked as a morning maid for Lady Dasha, and within hours he had permission for new clothes and an appointment for a fitting.
    That night as he entered Enna’s room, he felt as splendid as one of the peacocks in the palace garden.
    “What on earth are you wearing?” Enna’s face scrunched as though she smelled something foul.
    Razo raised his hand as if requesting silence. “I’m pretty sure I can guess your opinion of my new wardrobe, but nothing you say’ll make me toss it. What we need in all this gloom after Veran’s death is a bit of Bayern and Tira playing together nice, that’s all I’m saying.”
    The thread-mistress had made him loose-fitting leggings and a white tunic. The chest cloth most Tiran wrapped around themselves was called a “lummas,” and Razo discovered it had some practical purposes, such as wiping sweat or pulling onto his head for shade. Instead of a sash he tied his distance sling around his waist, and he kept his same boots. It was a curious blend of both countries’ styles, and he thought it quite natty. He wished only that he could get his hands on the Bayern dyes brought for trading. His eye missed bright colors.
    “You look ridiculous…,” Enna started.
    Razo raised his hand again. “That’s not what the girls in the pastry kitchen say.”
    “Really?” Finn grinned.
    Razo laughed suggestively. “Indeed. Well, some I’d give a wide berth while they’re sharpening a chopping knife, but others… let’s just say that my fingers and toes can’t keep track of all the winking. Too bad I can’t go out in the city tonight and show off my new goods.”
    Ingridan was celebrating one of its feast days, which the pastry chef claimed were as common as raisins in a raisin bun. Some of the girls had invited Razo to join them in the streets, draped in flowers and dancing until the moon was high, but Megina had judged it too dangerous yet.
    How are we ever going to make them our friends,
Razo wondered,
if we can’t run out into the streets and dance?
    “I’m sure we’re not missing much,” said Enna, but Razo thought she sounded sorry not to swathe herself in flowers.
    The door burst open. Razo flung himself behind a table while scrabbling for his sword. It was only Megina, and Enna laughed at him.
    “A bit jumpy, are we?” said Enna.
    “You can poke fun when Tumas and all his friends want
you
dead.”
    Megina shut the door behind her. “Unbelievable. A maid mentioned she thought two boys were sleeping in my waiting woman’s room, and here you are, bedrolls on the carpet as if setting up a war camp. How does it look for my waiting woman to have boys sleeping by her bed?”
    “Lady Megina,” said Enna, “I’m not really your waiting woman—”
    “I know that, but it matters what
they
think. We can’t give the Tiran any cause to doubt our character. You two, join the others in the barracks.”
    Finn argued silently with a firm stance, but Razo gathered both their bedrolls, put a hand on Finn’s back, and led him from the room.
    “We’ll appeal to Talone tomorrow,” said Razo. “He’s likely to oppose anything Megina says, as they’re not exactly grand pals, and besides, I think he’ll see good reason to keep someone near Enna.”
    Finn did not ask why. It made Razo wonder how much he knew.
    The snores of the barracks shoved and rattled Razo all night, and on top of that, those crazy Tiran were always ringing bells to tell the hour, as if time were more important than sleep. The twentieth instance he woke, Razo decided to just get up.
    The moon slumped low and fat on the horizon. He had been trying so hard to sleep, his body still felt heavy and worried with the idea, and he stumbled on the paving stones and tilted to one side. The sentries he passed frowned at the Bayern sun and crown on his cloak, and Razo felt a