The Gantean (Tales of Blood & Light Book 1) by Emily June Street Read Free Book Online

as these things are passed by blood, and I had shown no talent at all. Of course, you must be careful in Galantia. King Mydon punishes unsanctioned magic harshly, and he does not favor Ganteans.”
    “Why should I feel this magic now?” The sensation that moved up my arm distressed me.
    “The dance figure is a sigil, a symbol of magic. It stirs up the aetherlight. It’s harmless, but it may make you a sought-after partner in Galantia; it’s considered a pleasure to dance with a magitrix. Come, try again. Don’t worry about the feeling. It will come and go. I have danced with many a magitrix.”
    Again, I wondered where and when. I held the required position and the prickling sensation crawled up my arm again.
    “There,” Tiercel said. “I feel it now, too, though the power comes from you. How delightful.”
    Tiercel finally released me. “I think you’ve got the basics. Now I’ll show you the figure for the Balance. It’s more complicated.”
    I frowned. I did not want to dance anymore. The tingling magic unnerved me.
    Reading my reluctance, Tiercel explained, “You have a chance, Lili, that’s why I do this. This change in your status from mews girl to handmaiden is a fortuitous one. Handmaidens are trusted confidantes of their mistresses. It’s an honored position. You have a chance to be more, but as long as you act like a Gantean they won’t accept you. Certainly Ghilene won’t. You must learn the dances for the Brokering to fit in, and we have little time. So, practice.”
    I practiced. Tiercel put me through the paces as though I were one of his new birds: dancing, posture, comportment, the duties of a handmaiden. My new skills thrilled a part of me, but another part, the raw Gantean part, was ashamed. Any Iksraqtaq feared being taken captive by southerners for just this reason: sayantaq tainted too deeply to ever be washed clean. I did not know how to resist the change. Tiercel’s Lethemian world surrounded me, sucking me in and warming me up, cooking down all the Gantean purity I’d always held with such pride.
----
    T he Ricknagel family departed suddenly the following evening. After thoroughly cleaning the rooms the daughters had occupied, I returned to the mews to find Tiercel. He often had the household gossip before anyone else.
    “What happened?” I asked him as I arrived. He was reading in his room—he lived a strange life, neither servant nor master, with ample leisure time. “I thought the Ricknagels meant to travel to the marriage brokering with the Entilas?”
    “Ah.” Tiercel closed his book with a snap and set it aside on his desk. “There was a misunderstanding. Malvyna thought they meant to offer the elder girl, Stesichore, to Culan. But the Ricknagels wanted him to marry the younger one, Sterling. Malvyna was displeased; they were angry. The Ricknagels decided to proceed to Galantia on their own.”
    A passing sympathy for the poor younger daughter filled me. In Gante, I had not been considered desirable, either. She had been so miserable after overhearing Culan Entila’s harsh words.
    “Lili, I will be busy tonight,” Tiercel interrupted my thoughts. “Malvyna has asked that I attend her. Can you set my room to rights while I am out?”
    Later, as Tiercel headed to the Big House dressed in his finest clothing, I wondered, what duty did he perform for her? Why did he go so reluctantly, with such heaviness in his steps? And was he a servant, that he had no choice? His casual use of Lady Entila’s name suggested he was not, and he commanded Ghilene Entila like an equal. The man made no sense.
    Beset by curiosity, I tailed him through the white-bells in the meadow and the plush carpets of the house.
    Tiercel headed to the tower, Lady Entila’s domain. He moved like a sacrifice dragging himself to the altar, lifting a hand as heavy as stone to knock upon the door to Malvyna’s private chamber.
    I tucked myself against a window shrouded by velvet drapes. Lady Malvyna’s