By the Silver Wind Read Online Free PDF

him.”
    Shard watched as Asrik glanced casually toward his son, and Asvander glared back at him, then looked resolutely away. Dagny shifted uneasily.
    “They found them there, on the shore of the sea
    Together, Oster and En.
    They made their stand, with the waves at their feet
    And made their vow again.”
    “We will fly beyond the Dawnward Sea . . .
    Asvander stood slowly, politely, as subtly as his large frame would allow, and left the fire. Dagny blinked, stood, and with one look over her wing, followed him. Shard looked at Brynja and she gave her head the slightest shake.
    “It’s enough that he left,” she said under her breath. “If we all do, it’ll insult the singers.”
    “Is his father trying to prove some point to shame Asvander?” Shard muttered darkly. “To remind you of your glorious history?”
    “It is a glorious history,” Valdis said from her spot, and Shard looked to her in surprise, unaware she’d been listening. “Oster and En were the first gryfons to ever break the barriers of clan bloodlines. The unity of the Ostral Shore and the gryfons of the Dawn Spire stretches back to the Second Age, sundered only when Per left.”
    “Fled,” Stigr reminded her, and she rustled her wings in a shrug. Nearby gryfons glared at them for talking as the song wove on through verses of fighting by the sea, En admitting she already carried Oster’s kit, and pleas for peace.
    Valdis continued, “Asvander and Brynja’s mating was to remind both the Dawn Spire and the Ostral Shore of that glorious history, to reflect that first union between Oster and En.”
    “But Kjorn is back now,” Brynja said stiffly. “So the line of En and Kajar will be restored, and any promises that King Orn made on behalf of other gryfons made irrelevant. Unless Kjorn plans to honor arranged matings and other such things.”
    Challenging, she looked around Shard to Kjorn, who’d been listening to them and to the song in thoughtful silence.
    “I would never force a mating,” he said quietly. “I’d never heard of such a thing until coming here. Perhaps that, at least, is a change Per and my father made for the better in our pride in the Silver Isles.”
    Stigr snorted. “But the killing and the stealing remained—”
    Valdis nipped his ear sternly, before Shard could say anything. “You speak to your future king,” she reminded. “Unless you’ve decided not to remain at the Dawn Spire, after all, and force me to live as a rogue.”
    Stigr stared at her a moment. “He doesn’t mind. He’s heard how I speak to Shard.” He looked over at Kjorn and Shard saw a challenging, but friendly gleam in his eye. “You should’ve heard how I spoke to Baldr. It would’ve shocked you, my lord.”
    Despite themselves, they chuckled, and Shard was relieved that Kjorn didn’t seem offended one way or the other. Stigr had earned a place at the Dawn Spire and meant to keep it. Which meant, Shard reflected with an odd pang, that he would bow to an Aesir king after all. But then, it was not Kjorn or Sverin who’d conquered Stigr, but his own heart.
    “Anyway,” Valdis said, “I wouldn’t worry too much. It’s mostly hot wind, and what will he do anyway? Lash them together and force them to make vows?”
    That image was so ridiculous that even Brynja huffed a short laugh. Shard felt uneasy, and looked into the dark where Asvander had gone.
    Brynja said softly to Shard, “It would be nice if a few gryfons actually wanted us to mate and be happy.”
    He knew she was thinking of Ketil and the Vanir. Now Asvander’s family, and clearly other members of the Ostral Shore pride, were disappointed that her union with Asvander was not to be. As much as it irritated him that even though he was a prince, his choices were still questioned, it bothered him still more that it caused problems for Asvander.
    “Well you’ve got our support,” Stigr said, speaking for himself and Valdis.
    “And mine,” Kjorn said drily. “If I