Gambit of the Glass Crowns: Vol. I of epic fantasy The Sundered Kingdoms Trilogy Read Online Free PDF

listening in,” he finally whispered, realizing he had studied the boy’s features for far too long. “I am the reason, at least in part, they are having such discussions.”
    “Have they said much on the attack?”
    He shook his head. “Not much. They are preoccupied with the Gethin horde in the north.”
    “My father’s main concern, no doubt.”
    He nodded.
    Connor followed Gawain’s gaze to those below. The Meïnir elder, Rhiannon, seemed to be looking at them. The room fell silent as Connor stared into her piercing eyes. He felt as though she could see through him, into his very soul. Overwhelmed with a strong feeling of complacency, something pulled at him from within and he could hear the sound of wings fluttering about.
    He looked up to the ceiling to see two sparrows perched upon the rafters, huddled together from the wind. They shook the water from their bodies. He looked out the window to see that a storm had blown in and bathed the castle in rain. It lasted but a few minutes, and almost as fast as it had started, the rain stopped, and the clouds moved on into the distance.
    “Will you attend the banquet?” Gawain’s voice snapped Connor back to reality.
    He looked to Rhiannon, but she was no longer there. The room was filled with guests, and he realized quite some time had passed. “No…‌no, I do not think I have the appetite for it.”

Connor collapsed onto the mattress. He wrapped his arms around the bolster and buried his face, inhaling the soft vanilla aroma of the maiden’s straw within. The din of the crowd in the main hall clamored up the stairs to his quarters.
    “I should make an appearance,” he whispered.
    He shivered and rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. The large tapestries covering the window did little to keep the noise out of the room. He watched the glow from the rushlight dance upon the ceiling, casting shadows through the rafters. His gaze travelled down the wall, following the light across the gold thread woven into images of a hunt, bringing the entire scene to life.
    He closed his eyes and tried to block out the clamor from the event by pulling the linen blankets and the skins over his head. Despite the light, summer deer skins having been replaced with a thick, bear fur for the cooler seasons, it did little to muffle the ruckus from outside.
    Connor shifted his feet toward the copper warmer tucked into the furs at the foot of his bed. He did not care to fetch a servant to stoke the hearth, so he would have to be satisfied with what embers remained.
    He allowed only the top of his head to emerge from beneath the blankets. The rushlight burned down to the iron stand in which it was placed at some point during his burrowing. He reached for the wooden box under the bedside table and felt around for a remaining rush.
    A knock came from the door, but he did not move, hoping that whoever stood on the other side would go away. Another rapid succession of three knocks. Sighing, he sat up in bed and shoved the blankets away, certain his uncle had sent for him to attend the banquet.
    He grabbed the door handle and pulled it open with a lurch.
    “Hello, Connor.”
    “Ceridwen?”
    Even she was dressed differently for the clansmeet.
    On another day, the length of her auburn hair would have framed her face with only two small braids from her brow. But today, she wore it in long plaits, fastened with an ornamental golden hairpin. No doubt a gift from his uncle to impress the nobles‌—‌she did not normally wear jewelry.
    Connor stepped aside as Ceridwen entered the room.
    “Why have you cloistered yourself away in your quarters and not attended the banquet?”
    “Did my uncle send you to fetch me?”
    “No. I worried when I did not see you.”
    “Worried?”
    “There is talk of strange folk in the castle.”
    “Strange folk? Whom?”
    “One of the scullery maids said she witnessed someone lurking in the hallway that leads to the gallery before the