“You’re right, I do know you,” Raoul said glumly. “No, no, you wouldn’t jest at a time like this. I’m afraid you’re stuck, though. No one has been allowed back inside that thing in all history. No one would ever want to go back. You’ll just have to settle for what you got in there the first time.” He held her questioning eyes with his own anxious ones.
Kel wished that she could explain, but she couldn’t. Knights were forbidden to tell what had taken place during their Ordeal. “I didn’t mean to worry you, sir,” she told him at last.
Raoul scowled at her. “Don’t frighten me like that again. I’ve put far too much work into you to see you go mad now.” He looked around. “What were we doing last?”
“Wagon requisitions, sir,” she replied as she held up her slate.
He took it and reviewed her numbers. “Let’s finish this now. I won’t be able to work on them this afternoon—the council will be meeting.”
Kel fetched the papers he needed. “There was a Stormwing in the courtyard this morning,” she remarked as she laid them out. “I think he already knows how bad things will be this summer.”
Raoul grunted. “I wouldn’t be surprised. They probably smell it. Now what’s this scrawl? I can’t read Aiden’s writing.” They spent the rest of the morning at work, sorting through the endless details that had to be settled before the men of the King’s Own rode north to war.
TAMORA PIERCE captured the imagination of readers everywhere with Alanna: The First Adventure. As of August 2002, she has written nineteen books, including two quartets set in the fantasy realm of Tortall, The Song of the Lioness and The Immortals, as well as the now complete Protector of the Small quartet. She has also written four Circle of Magic books and the first three books in The Circle Opens series. Her books have been translated into many different languages, and some are available on audio. Tamora Pierce’s fast-paced, suspenseful writing and strong, believable heroines have won her many fans and much praise; Emperor Mage was a 1996 ALA Best Book for Young Adults, The Realms of the Gods was listed an “outstanding fantasy novel” by VOYA in 1996, and Squire (Protector of the Small #3) was a 2002 ALA Best Book for Young Adults.
An avid reader herself, Tamora Pierce graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. She has worked at a variety of jobs and has written everything from novels to radio plays. She has also teamed up with writer Meggin Cabot (The Princess Diaries) to create Sheroes Central, a discussion board about female heroes and remarkable women in fact, fiction, and history.
Tamora Pierce lives in New York City with her Spouse-Creature, Tim, and their four cats, two birds, and various rescued wild animals.
Visit Tamora Pierce’s Web site for more information at:
www.sff.net/people/tamora.pierce
Sheroes Central at:
www.sheroescentral.com
TORTALL BOOKS BY TAMORA PIERCE
The Song of the Lioness Quartet
Alanna: The First Adventure
In the Hand of the Goddess
The Woman Who Rides Like a Man
Lioness Rampant
THE IMMORTALS QUARTET
Wild Magic
Wolf-Speaker
Emperor Mage
The Realms of the Gods
Protector of the Small
First Test
Page
Squire
Lady Knight
Copyright © 2001 by Tamora Pierce
www.randomhouse.com/teens
[1. Knights and knighthood—Fiction. 2. Sex role—Fiction. 3. Fantasy.] I. Title.
PZ7.P61464 Sq 2001
[Fic]—dc21 2001019280
RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are registered
trademarks of Random House, Inc.
www.randomhouse.com
eISBN: 978-0-307-43379-4
v3.0
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