tales of the latter kingdom 08 - moon dance Read Online Free PDF

ever heard her utter a word of criticism about her daughters. Oh, she would rebuke them from time to time when they did not seem overly inclined to do their needlework, or, in Carella and Theranne’s case, spend adequate time on their studies, for they were still young enough that a tutor came to see them four days each week. But never once had I heard my aunt say anything to make me believe she thought them deficient in any way. That she had uttered such a statement now seemed to indicate how much she had been moved by my words.
    “Oh, they are sensible enough, I think,” I replied. “And indeed, I believe Annora would smile to hear you call me wise, for I know she often thought me quite foolish, always with my nose in a storybook, dreaming of princes and knights errant and days of magic gone by.”
    “Only they are not so long gone as we once thought,” my aunt said. “Indeed, I certainly never thought magic would touch my family, and yet here is your sister married to a great mage.”
    “I don’t think he believes himself to be a great mage.”
    “Perhaps he does not, but I know of no one else who could have achieved the things that he did. Indeed, I would not have believed such exploits were even possible, were it not that there were so many witnesses to his deeds.”
    I could not argue with her assessment. Indeed, while I had read of the great feats of magic performed by sorcerers of those long-ago days, in my mind I had always thought of those stories as nothing more than that — stories. But stories often had their basis in fact, as I had come to learn.
    “That is only because there are so few mages left, I suppose,” I said. “When there are probably fewer than fifty on the entire continent, it would make sense that any of their exploits would be cause for comment.”
    “Goodness!” my aunt exclaimed. “As many as fifty?” She both looked and sounded quite horrified, although I knew she had never blamed my brother-in-law for any of his actions. He had been forced to violence; it was not something he had sought out. But as open-minded as she appeared to be on the subject of magic, I knew the very notion of it still discomfited her somewhat, for it had been forbidden in our land ever since the conclusion of the mage wars, nearly a thousand years before.
    “Only a guess, dear aunt,” I replied. “For there is Tobyn, and the Markess of North Eredor, and no doubt others who have kept their talents a secret. But still, that is not so many when you consider how widely scattered they must be.”
    “Ah.” She said nothing else just then, and I thought I guessed the reason why. Although she chided her daughters to attend to their studies, she herself was no great scholar. I imagined that she had only a very hazy idea of how great the continent where our homeland of Purth lay actually was. Then her manner became brisk, and she went on, “Well, if you will not accept Lord Mayson’s suit, then I suppose that is the end of the matter. Go along to the solar, and then down to dinner at seven.”
    I took these words for the dismissal they were, and nodded before hurrying off to the sunlit chamber. A sense of relief filled me, for it seemed she was content to let the matter go.
    For the time being, at any rate.
----
    None of my cousins appeared all that puzzled by my delay in joining them. Or rather, they were busy enough with their own conversations that my absence had barely been noted. They were chattering about which of the young men in the area would be attending Adalynn’s wedding, and whether there would be any appealing candidates among them.
    I was rather surprised to see Carella so engaged in this discussion. Perhaps she had already decided that Lord Mayson was not as likely a prospect as he had once appeared, and so she must set her sights elsewhere. If that was the case, she did not appear overly upset by the notion, for she seemed quite lively as she debated the qualities of one young lord over