“This one did.”
Kath-mah regarded her son irritably. “Who is she? Why don’t you tell me?”
“She was Dargu-yat. But since Fathma changes spirit, she’s Dargu-yat no more.”
Kath-mah stared at her son, momentarily dumbfounded. Then her expression hardened. “And because I forbade you to be with Dargu-yat, perhaps you think I’ll change my mind.”
Kovok-mah bowed humbly to his muthuri. “That’s my hope.”
“When Dargu was reborn, magic transformed her spirit but not her body. She was still as ugly as any washavoki. Now that she’s great mother, has that changed?”
“Thwa.”
“Then her body won’t bear me granddaughters.”
“Although I wish for daughters, I think other things are more important.”
“That’s because you’re young. Daughters give you standing. Look at my sister and me. Who greeted you to her hanmuthi?”
“But Dargu is great mother!”
“And her hanmuthi—however grand—will always lack children.”
“Then you won’t change your mind?”
“Thwa.”
“When I saw Dargu-yat in Taiben, she said you would bless us.”
“Where would she get that strange notion?”
“Perhaps from her muthuri. Didn’t you two speak together?”
“We did. And Zor-yat knew my mind in this matter. She sympathized and even warned me of Dargu-yat’s power.”
“What power?”
“Your attraction to her is unnatural. That’s magic’s doing.”
“Dargu knows no magic, though Muth la sends her visions. My feelings come from Muth la.”
“Don’t speak foolishly. Sons don’t understand such matters.”
Kovok-mah summoned his courage, and for the first time in his life, he refused to submit passively. “My chest is strong in this.”
“I know,” said Kath-mah. “Air is heavy with your atur. Whether it is due to magic or Muth la, I remain firm and withhold my blessing. Do nothing rash. Our laws are strict, and even great mothers must bend to them. Heed my wisdom, or your feelings will destroy our queen.”
Praise for King’s Property
Book 1 of the Queen of the Orcs
“An unusual tale…Howell’s depiction of orc culture is fascinating—these orcs are as big, strong, and dangerous as any in fantasy, but they also have moral and ethical issues of importance. This is not a book to read for fun on a rainy night—it’s a book to think about.”
—ELIZABETH MOON,
Nebula Award–winning author of
The Deed of Paksenarrion
“Dar never loses our admiration and compassion—qualities at the heart of any struggling hero. King’s Property tests your own presumptions of ‘the other’ and brings to mind the cultural prejudices and wars born from betrayal that are so sadly evident throughout our own history.”
—KARIN LOWACHEE,
author of Warchild
“In a crowded field, Howell has succeeded in creating an original and vivid fantasy. [The] characters display unexpected depths of humanity—even when they’re not human. I was captivated by Dar. Highly recommended.”
—NANCY KRESS,
Nebula Award–winning author of
Beggars in Spain
THE QUEEN OF THE ORCS TRILOGY
By Morgan Howell
King’s Property
Clan Daughter
Royal Destiny
Queen of the Orcs: Clan Daughter is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A Del Rey Books Mass Market Original
Copyright © 2007 by William H. Hubbell
Excerpt from Queen of the Orcs: Royal Destiny copyright © 2007 by William H. Hubbell
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Del Rey Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
DEL REY is a registered trademark and the Del Rey colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
This book contains an excerpt from the forthcoming mass market edition of Queen of the Orcs: Royal Destiny by Morgan Howell. This excerpt has been set for this edition only and may not reflect the final content of the forthcoming edition.
Map illustration: William H. Hubbell
eISBN: 978-0-345-50039-7
www.delreybooks.com
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