I shall govern it, and bow to you, my High Queen.’ No, I cannot even remember what she looks like.’ He looked at the cauldron on its spit. ‘Is she pretty?’ Rhin said, still smiling, but with an edge in her voice. Gethin has arranged a marriage for me, to the daughter of the poorest baron in Ardan, I think.’ Then his mother, her lips twisted, judging, discounting. His brother’s face filled his mind, smiling, controlling, ruling him. They stood so close he could feel her breath. ‘It is not too late, you may still turn back,’ she said, tilting his head with a finger under his chin. She smelled sweet, heady, like overripe fruit. She smiled at him, wrinkles creasing around her eyes and held out her hand.Įvnis stepped forward hesitantly and kissed the ring on her finger, the stone cold on his lips. ‘My lady,’ Evnis said to Rhin, Queen of Cambren. She pushed the hood back, firelight making the silver in her hair glow copper. He ground his teeth and stepped into the firelight.Īn iron cauldron hung on a spit over a fire, water bubbling. His mother’s words, cold and sharp as the day she had died. You are nothing, will never equal your brother. Turn around, go home, a voice whispered in his head. He crept closer, stopping before the light touched him, scared to leave the anonymity of the shadows. Soon he saw a flicker amongst the trees: firelight. Nineteen summers old, yet he knew this part of the Darkwood as well as any woodsman twice his age. He knew where he was going, had walked the path many times before, though never at night. Branches scratched overhead, wind hissing in the canopy above as he sweated his way up and down slope and dell. It was long neglected, the giant clan that built it vanquished over a thousand years ago, great clumps of moss and mushroom growing between crumbling flagstone.Įven in the darkness he felt too vulnerable on this wide road, and soon slithered down its steep bank and slipped amongst the trees. He followed the giantsway for a while, the stone-flagged road that connected the kingdoms of Ardan and Narvon. He looked up at the forest, a wall of impenetrable shadow he pulled his cloak tighter and walked into the darkness. I have come this far, I will see it through. He felt a moment of vertigo, as if standing on the edge of a great chasm, and the world seemed to slow, waiting on the outcome of his decision. It would be so easy to turn back, to go home and choose another path for his life. Beyond the forest’s edge he could still see the stone circle, behind it the walls of Badun, his home, its outline silvered in the moonlight. He was scared, he had to admit, but who would not be? What he was doing this night would make him traitor to his king. The Year 1122 of the Age of Exiles, Wolf Moonįorest litter crunched under Evnis’ feet, his breath misting as he whispered a curse. Are you going to read this now?īut from the author of all ill could spring Oh, and a note to my oldest friend Sadak. Thanks also to my mate Andy Campbell for some cracking photos, affectionately referred to as The Blackadder Sessions. Thanks are due to John Jarrold, my agent extraordinaire, for his belief and guidance – a true gent and a scholar, if ever I met one – and also to Julie Crisp and Bella Pagan, my editors at Tor. Edward Gwynne, Mark Brett, Dave Dean, Irene Gwynne, Mike Howell, Alex Harrison, Mandy Jeffrey, Pete Kemp-Tucker, and my good wife Caroline, without whom I would never have put pen to paper in the first place. I would also like to thank those that took the time to read my doorstep of a manuscript, when I am sure they all had much better things to be doing. Firstly I must say a thank-you to Paul Isted, whose thumbs-up was just the encouragement I needed at a pivotal moment. There have been many helping hands along the way. H ARRIETT, J AMES, E DWARD AND W ILLIAM. If you want to report an instance of piracy, you can do so by emailing us. Illegally downloaded books deprive authors of their royalties, the salaries they rely on to write. We ask you for your support in ensuring that our DRM-free ebooks are not subject to piracy. For these reasons, we are committed to remaining DRM-free. It also makes building and maintaining your digital library more complicated. We understand that DRM can make your ebooks less easy to read. We believe that making our Tor ebooks DRM-free is the best for our readers, allowing you to use legitimately-purchased ebooks in perfectly legal ways, like moving your library from one e-reader to another.
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