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

envied. As though untouched from any despair.
    “Teddy?”
She cried again and went to hug him also before she stopped suddenly and sank
into a curtsey instead. “Apologies, Prince Theodore, I forgot my place.”
    Teddy
gripped her arms and pulled her up to face him. “To you, I am always Teddy.”
    “I
almost didn’t recognize you. What happened to my little runt?”
    “I
grew,” he laughed. “But I’m still no match for my brother.”
    “He
is no match for you.” She grinned at how easily they fell back into their
patterns of old, but it made her face burn with shame knowing that she had
ignored his attempts to contact her over the years.
    Before
Hamalia’s death, Chae and Tempani had spent half of their time at Amarill and
the other half staying in their manor in Fenella. When in Fenella, their days
were spent playing with the young princes, Nicolass and Theodore.
    Nicolass
and Chae had been the same age and had played together, often excluding the
younger two from their games. So Tempani and Teddy had stuck together, running
around outside pretending they were knights like Otto.
    And
during the summer when King Wimarc and Queen Tryphena made their visits to the
kingdom’s estates, the princes were left with the kingdom’s greatest knight,
Sir Otto, and his family. Tempani had loved those summers. Swimming in the lake
and sneaking treats from the kitchen. And then Hamalia had passed away, and
Tempani stopped visiting Fenella. She was glad she didn’t have to play nicely
with Nicolass anymore, but she had missed Teddy’s friendship.
    “I
hope you don’t mind my tagging along with Chae. I wanted to see you before
you’re launched on the court tonight,” he explained as they all sat down.
    Tempani
grimaced. “Of course not. I’m glad you came now while I’m in a good mood.
Needless to say by the end of tonight I will be grumpy from having to engage in
mindless conversations with boring nobles.”
    Chae
looked on nervously until Teddy laughed, and then he relaxed enough to let out
a sigh. “You may want to keep those thoughts quiet tonight,” he warned his
sister. “People here aren’t forgiving.”
    Tempani
groaned. “I have just spent five years biting my tongue at the convent. I get one
moment of freedom, and then it’s snatched from me again.”
    “Was
it really that awful?”
    Tempani
shrugged, not really wanting to delve into her life as a Daughter of the
Convent. “Tell me what is happening here,” she said. “It seems so long ago that
I received your last letter.”
    Chae
stretched his legs out before him. “There’s not much to tell. Since I was
knighted, I’ve been doing some work with the Raiders, which has kept me busy.
I’ve been lucky to have my friend, Xanthir, with me,” he said. “We were worried
that once we were all knighted we would be sent to separate parts of the
kingdom because of all the trouble we used to cause.”
    “Nic
would never allow it,” said Teddy.
    “I
don’t understand why you’re still friends with Prince Nicolass,” she said. “No
offence, Teddy.”
    Teddy
held up his hands. “None taken. I must admit my brother has matured since you
last saw him. He no longer pins me to the ground while he counts to one
hundred.”
    Tempani
snorted. “We’ll see.”
    —
    The
sun was high above in the vast blue sky that afternoon as Tempani sat beneath
the oak tree by the pond in the furthest corner of the manor grounds. A thick,
heavy book rested in her lap. Chae and Teddy had stayed for an early lunch and
then left to attend to business before dinner at the palace.
    She
had thought of them both many times over the past five years. Anytime she’d had
a problem, she had imagined conversations in her mind where they gave her
guidance and told her what to do. Or to calm down. That was Teddy’s voice. Chae
was her voice of reason, her conscience, but Teddy was her calming influence.
He always had been. And she saw herself as his protector. As the one who