Barrenlands (The Changespell Saga) Read Online Free PDF Page B

having him at my side?" Rodar asked, in complete sincerity. "He's ranking Guard, and he was my father's most trusted protector."
    Halden contrived to look reluctant; Ehren suppressed a flash of irritation as Rodar picked up on it. "What's wrong?" the king asked. "Is there something I should know?"
    Halden said carefully, "There has been some discussion of this. While it's true Ehren was an important part of your father's court, some of the First Level have been concerned about the appearances of maintaining his presence."
    "What do you mean?" Rodar demanded. "How is it supposed to look? All of Solvany's monarchs have had their Guards beside them."
    "Exactly." Halden nodded with satisfaction, as if the conversation had taken just the spin he'd been aiming for.
    Ehren gave him a cold look, entertaining a brief fantasy of breaking the man's nose. The seamstress, a mature woman who knew well enough when to disappear, quietly moved back from Rodar's side to fiddle with some bright corded trim in her basket.
    Halden seemed oblivious to Ehren's inner seething; Ehren was certain he was not. The man said, "Ehren is your father's Guard, Sire, not yours. It might not be the wisest thing to retain him at all. In either case, celebrating the onset of your second year of rule by reminding the Levels that you have come upon your rule young and through the tragedy of your father's death cannot be a good thing."
    "My age has nothing to do with it!" Rodar said, but his voice squeaked a little in the saying of it. He gave Ehren a worried glance. "Do you really think— ?"
    "I think," Ehren said without hesitation, "that a king should weigh the advice he's given against his own judgment. And I think your father would prefer to see you as well-protected as possible, given what did happen to him."
    Halden ignored Ehren. "It's time to establish your own court, Sire, and your own Guard. All the rest of the palace shows the force of your personality; no one would mistake it for your father's." He left the conclusion dangling.
    Rodar glanced at Ehren and then quickly away, perhaps knowing the decision was already in his eyes. "I'll have to think about this, Ehren."
    And Ehren knew when there was no point in pushing a young monarch's patience. He might need it for another time. "Thank you, Your Majesty," he said. Halden he gave only a hard look. You, I'll remember.
    A short time later, Rodar sent Ehren a sincere but firm note validating Varien's assignment. And Ehren, exasperated and angry, went straight to the Guard practice room. If nothing else, it was time for him to check in with the new Guard master, a position that had not been filled when Ehren had left Kurtane, hot on the heels of fleeing conspirators.
    Now, his frustration eased, Ehren shoved the dummy back against the wall. When he turned around, the little group of Guards was moving his way. He recognized a few faces— at least two of them had started training before Benlan was killed. Jada and Algere were their names, and it was Jada who stopped in front of him, her broad, pleasant face troubled beneath its freckles. As he recalled, she was normally cheerful, more than a little flirtatious, and unquestioningly dedicated.
    "Ehren," she said. "You've only been back a few days, and we've heard— already you're off again?"
    "We've wanted to see you," Algere said. "We've honed our swords down to nothing, waiting for you to get back with some word of Benlan's killers."
    "Is that what happened to those weapons?" Ehren said, deadpan. "I wondered."
    It took them a minute; it was one of the young women in the back who giggled. Then Algere snorted, and nodded back at the other end of the paneled wood floor, where the Guard master was checking the practice equipment. "Varien seems to have connections in Loraka. He's been encouraging Rodar to make more open trade agreements. You should stick around, and get an idea of just how many things have changed around here."
    Yes, I should. But Ehren gave a