Flame of Sevenwaters Read Online Free PDF

way from the far shore.
    While the crew unloaded our baggage, Emrys walked Swift on the shore to calm him. Two of Uncle Bran’s men-at-arms had come with us as an escort. There was a settlement nearby with an inn where we could be accommodated for the night. We reached the place to find several of Father’s men-at-arms waiting for us, alongwith one of the Sevenwaters grooms. This was unsurprising. Father’s special bond with Aunt Liadan, his twin, allowed them to communicate mind to mind over distance: she had let him know we were coming.
    The men from Sevenwaters did not look askance at me; they had been warned, I supposed. Their leader introduced himself as Cerball. “Lord Sean said to tell you, my lady, that he regrets not being here in person to welcome you. There’s been a death in the family, and there were various arrangements to make.”
    “A death?”
    “Lord Sean’s uncle, Master Conor, the chief druid. Passed away only yesterday. A sad loss.”
    “Yes, it is.” I meant it. I remembered Uncle Conor as a wise, kindly old man, always ready to spend time talking to us children. He had told very fine stories. I was sad that I would not see him again.
    “Lord Sean suggested you might wish to spend two nights at the inn, since you’ll be weary from the trip over the water,” Cerball said.
    It would give Swift time to settle before we rode on. And it would mean I did not have to face my family quite so soon. I opened my mouth to say yes, and heard Uncle Bran’s voice in my mind: Best face your fears straightaway; putting things off only makes them harder. I’d had ten years of putting this off. “If Swift is calm in the morning, we may as well go straight on,” I said.
    Thanks to the presence of Irish grooms at Harrowfield over the years, Emrys knew enough of the language to make himself understood. He offered to sleep in Swift’s temporary stable; the yearling was too valuable to be left unguarded in such a place overnight. I helped settle Swift, stroking him in the way he was accustomed to and whispering in his ear. “I want to run away, too. I want to cast off the ropes and run wild in the woods, leap into the sea and swim away, anything so I need not go home tomorrow.”
    I stayed in the stables so long that Rhian came out to look for me. When we walked through the communal dining chamber people peered at me and spoke behind their hands. I was tooweary to stare them down. I asked Rhian to fetch some food and retreated to the sleeping quarters we’d been given. My status as a chieftain’s daughter had earned us a small chamber to ourselves. We ate and slept. We woke next day to find our escort preparing for departure. Emrys had judged Swift none the worse for wear, and well able to move on without further rest. The men from Sevenwaters had brought riding horses for us, along with a pack animal for our bags, such as they were. After a hasty breakfast we were on our way.
    Riding, for me, meant sitting on a horse behind Rhian with my arms around her waist. I could maintain a reasonable purchase this way provided the road held no sudden surprises. We’d had plenty of practice over the years, mostly on an amiable old mare that had once been Aunt Liadan’s riding horse. A broad-backed, quiet gelding was led forward now for my maid and me to ride. Emrys chose a steady-looking mare for himself, and took Swift on a short leading rein, riding at the back of the line in the hope that this would keep the yearling calmer. I’d have liked to go directly in front of them, but Cerball insisted Rhian and I ride with men-at-arms before and behind us. With my mind on the Disappearance, I did not argue.
    I had wondered when I might start to feel a sense of homecoming. This was the land of my birth, after all; the land of strange tales, warrior queens, wise druids and peerless heroes. After we had ridden some way I saw wooded hills in the distance, and folds of land that had a certain shadowy charm. We passed a chain