Valiant by Sarah McGuire Read Free Book Online Page A

song.
    Who was this duke? And giants?
    He couldn’t be sane.
    What had the young man in Fine Coat’s wagon said? That there was a man who couldn’t be stopped and there were monsters. This Duke of the Western Steeps, then, and his warriors—his
human
warriors.
    I glanced up at Reggen’s walls. I didn’t care who this duke was. His army couldn’t breach our walls. And how
dare
he even try? We had done nothing to him.
    I realized in a rush that my hatred of Reggen had faded to a dull dislike. The city was mine, somehow, and the badgerlike stubbornness I’d inherited from the Tailor didn’t appreciate anyone, not even a duke, claiming my city.
    I stayed in the street till the sun slanted toward the west, hoping for more news of the duke. And then I remembered Will.

    My heart dropped the moment I stepped into the garret and saw Will’s face. He tried to run past me. I caught him, but he twisted away.
    “Don’t touch me, Sir! I’d have left already if it wasn’t for the Tailor.”
    I held Will by the shoulders and knelt so I could look into his face.
    “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have shaken you. I was—”
Half-crazy … and scared
. It didn’t matter. Didn’t the Tailor always have a reason for his outbursts? “I was wrong.”
    Will folded his arms. “You bet you were.”
    “I know.”
    The silence drew out. Finally, Will tipped his head toward the window. “What’s happening? People have been crowding the streets.”
    It was his form of a truce. I sat cross-legged on the floor and studied him. How exactly was I supposed to tell a boy that Reggen might be attacked?
    If the boy was Will, you just told him. I took a deep breath and waved the parchment. “A rider came into Reggen, scattering these. Can you read?”
    “Not good.”
    I read the notice to him, then tossed it aside. “I don’t think we need to worry. We’ll be safe behind the walls. Even if there were a siege, the city has reservoirs that pull water from the river. But—you’re not to play in the fields past the Kriva. Not till we know more.”
    “Does the duke really get to rule Reggen?”
    “No. King Eldin is the rightful ruler, like his brother and father.” I shrugged. “The duke can’t be completely sane.”
    Will sat down, too. “What if he
is
coming with an army of giants?”
    “There’s no such thing as giants.”
    “But there are stories about giants,” he pressed. “That they laid the city’s foundation … that they—”
    “It doesn’t mean the stories are true! I told you about the dragon but it doesn’t mean one will ever fly over Reggen.”
    Will didn’t seem to hear me. “I bet it was giants that attacked the villages. They’re the monsters everyone talks about! What if they’re the reason Pa hasn’t come back?”
    I put a hand on his knee. “People could mistake warriors for monsters, especially if they attacked at night. Giants don’t exist.”
    Will shook his head. “You don’t know that!”
    For a moment, I almost believed him. Believed that monsters were traveling toward Reggen, that the Kriva wasn’t deep enough and our walls weren’t high enough to protect us.
    Ridiculous
. But I wouldn’t argue with Will. He just needed to believe that his father hadn’t been captured.
    “Very well, then,” I said. “Suppose giants do exist. Do you think they’d be able to sneak up on someone?”
    Will stopped to consider. “No …”
    “Your father, he sounds like a smart man. How would a giant sneak up on him? I’m sure there’s another reason why he hasn’t come yet.” I nodded toward the door. “Why don’t you run out and see if you can gather more news?”
    Will looked relieved. There were few things worse than sitting still when the world was falling to pieces around you.
    Even if it wasn’t really falling to pieces.

    Will was in fine spirits the next day when he returned from his midmorning trip to the fountain.
    “The king thinks there are giants, too!” He flopped down on the