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the terrible events, but since that time he has failed miserably to uphold the dignity of the Royal Palace."
    "I did hear that he loved Princess Orenda," shrugged King Hector. "Perhaps he suffers from a similar fate as that of King Eugeon. We should not be so quick to judge others."
    "I am not judging them," countered King Caedmon. "At least not in the sense that you are talking about. My heart goes out to both men. I would never want to be in their shoes."
    "Then what are you saying?" King Hector asked with an air of frustration.
    King Caedmon turned and glanced back along the corridor before answering. "There is foul play afoot here, Hector," the Arin king declared. "I can not put my finger on the source of the troubles, but I am willing to wager that it is magical in nature."
    "Magical?" balked the Salacian king. "I pray that you are wrong. Only a fool would use the Talent for nefarious ends. It will consume its wielder completely. Are you suggesting that the wisper, Flori, really killed the queen?"
    "I am suggesting nothing of the sort," King Caedmon shook his head. "I am a fairly good judge of character, and that young woman was mortified that the queen had died. I think she would have preferred her own death to that of her patient. No, Hector, I am not accusing the wisper, but wispers are far from the only wielders of the Talent. Wispers are the public face of magic. They are the ones who openly declare their Talents and offer them to those in need. For every declared wisper, there are probably a dozen others who are capable with the Talent. Some hide it out of shame, others out of fear. A few others declare their capabilities but refuse to use the Talent. I presume that a city the size of Tarent might have thirty or more people capable of using the Talent to one degree or another."
    "If what you say is true," frowned King Hector, "Eugeon should have them all rounded up until he finds out who is trying to usurp his power."
    "King Eugeon is unaware of what is happening," replied the Arin king. "In any event, the one using the Talent would be the last one caught as he would be expecting such a move. I do not know the answer to the problem, Hector, but we can discuss it on our ride home."

Chapter 3
Talent Discovered
    Lavitor woke up and smiled at the springtime sun shining through the window. Outside the birds were already chirping noisily, and the king's advisor wondered what the hour was. Being careful not to wake Naveena, he slowly got out of bed and tiptoed to the window. He eased the window open and deeply inhaled the brisk, fresh air. The chill invigorated him.
    "Are you trying to freeze me?" groused the wisper. "Shut the window."
    "Sorry," apologized Lavitor. "I didn't mean to wake you, but it appears that we have slept in quite late this morning. We should hurry up and get downstairs."
    "And who is going to complain if we are late?" retorted the wisper. "You don't think after ten years of sleeping in that someone is suddenly going to complain to Eugeon, do you?"
    "Actually," frowned the advisor, "many have already complained to the king. He has spoken about it to me many times over the past few years."
    "And you never told me?" questioned Naveena. "Why?"
    "I knew that it would upset you," shrugged Lavitor. "Besides, you know he has trouble concentrating on any thing for longer than five minutes. I merely change the subject, and he forgets that he has spoken to me about it."
    Naveena looked thoughtfully at her lover as she got up and got dressed. Suddenly a smile spread across her lips.
    "Prince Garrick will need a regent soon," she stated casually. "How is that handled?"
    "The Crown Prince will not need a regent as long as the king lives," frowned Lavitor. "Eugeon may be senile, but he is in very good health. He has many years left in him. He has just never recovered from Abigal's death."
    "Perhaps you are right," pushed the wisper, "but I am still curious about how a regent is selected, and you avoided answering