The Jewel of Kamara (The Delthenon Chronicles) Read Online Free PDF

such a large guard when he himself was undefeated as a knight.
    “He’s
very big on security,” Lindow said.
    “Of
course.” She turned to the men and was about to order them to the stables, but
they were already on their way.
    Lindow
ushered Tempani inside as the servants rushed forward to gather her bags. She
was led up the wide staircase, but instead of heading to the right wing of the
house where she had stayed as a child, she was led to the newly refurbished
left wing.
    “I
apologize that we have moved your room, my lady,” Lindow said as her eyes
lingered on the right wing. “Your father has moved everyone over here. Much
nicer rooms.”
    “I
don’t mind taking my old room.”
    “No,
my lady. Sir Otto uses that wing for storage now. Strictly off limits to
everyone except him.”
    She
frowned as Lindow opened the door to her new room. Life as she knew it was
over.

 
    ~2~
     

BEYOND THE IRON GATES
     
     
    Tempani
woke the next morning, confused by her surroundings and lack of bells chiming.
And then she remembered. She rolled over in bed, her bare legs enjoying the
feel of soft sheets after years of coarse ones. She stretched out her arm to
pat Tilaw , but the space beside her was empty and a
sudden rush of loneliness washed over her. He had been her constant companion
for five years and waking up in a strange room without him wasn’t a pleasant
feeling. But he would be around somewhere. Perhaps he had just gone outside to
relieve himself.
    She
sat up and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. Someone had already been
in and unpacked her belongings. A dress had been laid out on her table, and a
pair of slippers had been left on the floor.
    The
paintings that had hung in her old room had been moved into her new one. So too
had the books she had read over and over again as a child. In the corner of the
room she saw the two dolls she had once slept with each night. Well someone had
wanted her to feel at home again.
    She
slipped on the dress and then sunk to her knees, closing her eyes as she began her
morning prayers. It felt strange to be kneeling at her bed instead of at the
shrine to the Goddess, but it would feel even stranger to not pray at all.
    She
padded down the stairs to the kitchen, where she greeted the old cook Leela
with a peck on the cheek and grabbed a cold sausage from the plate. She took a
bite and chewed it slowly before offering the rest of it to Tilaw ,
who was happily lying beside Leela as she worked, catching any crumbs that fell
to the ground.
    She
was licking her fingers when she walked into the drawing room, hoping to find
her father but instead finding two men deep in conversation.
    “Oh,
I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she said quietly and took a step back
towards the door.
    “Since
when have you ever been sorry for anything?”
    Tempani
froze and then her face broke into a smile as she recognized one of the men
standing before the hearth, “Chae!” She cried before running across the room
and throwing herself into his arms. He hugged her back fiercely as tears
trickled down her face.
    He
laughed and pulled free of her grip to get a good look at her. She in return
studied him. His eyes were still warm, intelligent even. His nose was long and
sat above a pair of full pink lips and his hair now fell to his shoulders. He
was only slightly taller than she and had a lean, wiry build.
    “Just
as I remembered,” he said. “And you still lack decorum I see.”
    She
followed his gaze down to her bare feet and bit back a grin. “Why change what
isn’t broken?”
    “My
thoughts exactly,” he said and wiped the tears from her cheeks. A cough from
behind him interrupted their brief reunion. “Now I’ve forgotten my manners,” he
laughed. “I brought along an old friend to say hello.”
    Tempani
looked over his shoulder at the sandy haired young man. She stared at him,
bewildered for a moment until he smiled, causing his blue eyes to sparkle with
a joy that she