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.Where was Averill Demonai, and why wasn’t he here, and what did it all mean?She wanted to stamp her foot and say, “This wasn’t my idea.”Ahead of her, she saw her mother sitting in the queen’s chair, her skirts spread around her, the heavier ceremonial crown on her head.And standing next to her, Raisa was surprised to see Speaker Jemson from Southbridge Temple, resplendent in gold and white.Even at that distance she could see the surprise on the speaker’s face as Raisa entered with the High Wizard.Then Raisa understood.Her father would have been in charge of the elements of faith.He would have been the one who invited Speaker Jemson to officiate.Raisa walked the length of the temple, doing her best to ignore the wizard beside her, doing her best to keep her face a mask of solemnity while her heart pounded within her chest.Despite this distraction, a few images crystallized in her peripheral vision—for instance, the smile frozen on her cousin Missy Hakkam’s face.Missy stood next to her brother, the handsome and equally vapid Jon.Kip and Keith Klemath were nudging each other, probably laying bets on who would win the game of courtship at the dance.Her grandmother Elena stood with a handful of clan elders in Marisa Pines and Demonai ceremonial robes.With the elders were several Demonai warriors, including Reid Nightwalker, Raisa’s rumored highland suitor.As Raisa passed with the High Wizard, Elena leaned over to whisper something to Reid.Elena’s face was impassive, but Reid was scowling.Miphis and Arkeda Mander stood toward the front with Micah Bayar, a triple of wizards.Micah’s banishment was over, it seemed.He was impeccably dressed, as usual, breathtakingly handsome, as usual, but he had a pale, rather feverish look, as if something didn’t agree with him.His dark eyes followed her to the front of the temple.A small honor guard stood to either side of the dais.Raisa looked for Captain Edon Byrne, who’d accompanied her father to Chalk Cliffs.He was missing also, but Amon was there in his dress uniform, standing ramrod straight, his hand on the hilt of his sword.He stared straight ahead, cheeks flushed, but she knew he saw her.I dreamed about you, she thought.And finally she was before Speaker Jemson and her mother.Lord Bayar released her elbow and stood to the side, next to her sister, the Princess Mellony.Raisa looked into Speaker Jemson’s eyes and saw compassion there.The speaker smiled.That buoyed her somehow, and she smiled back.Her pulse quieted and her fears ebbed.She would be queen, and queens ruled over wizards in the Fells.“Friends, this is the season for name day ceremonies, and I have presided at many already,” Jemson said.“It is always a privilege to launch a child into adulthood and to welcome a new citizen of the realm.But today we are assembled for a very special naming—one that builds on a tradition that has lasted for a thousand years.Today we name Raisa ana’Marianna, heir to Hanalea and the Gray Wolf throne.”Jemson looked out over the assembly.“The princess has already proved herself to be compassionate beyond her years.Her Briar Rose Ministry at Southbridge Temple serves hundreds of people every week.Families are fed and clothed, and children are educated because of her generosity.She is a fitting heir to Hanalea’s legacy.”The queen looked up at Raisa, a startled expression on her face.Comment rustled through the crowd like wind through winter branches.Speaker Jemson’s voice flowed over Raisa, prompting her as she rededicated herself to the Maker, the Fells, and the line of queens.Her mother asked her the Three Questions, and she gave the Three Answers in a loud clear voice so she could be heard to the far end of the hall.Raisa mounted the stairs onto the dais and knelt before her mother.Queen Marianna set the glittering Gray Wolf tiara on her head and said, “Rise, Princess Raisa, heir to the Gray Wolf throne.”Outside the temple, the storm broke, and hail clattered against the leaded windows.Her ancestors proclaiming their approval.Or were they shouting a warning?Applause rolled from one end of the hall to the other, probably because it was time to go to dinner.The main ballroom had been transformed into a fairy forest, its borders softened by groves of bare-branched trees sparkling with tiny wizard lights.The dining tables were set up at one end, in a woodland bower.The trees were hung with silver cages filled with songbirds.At dinner, she sat next to the queen at the head of the table.Raisa insisted that Speaker Jemson take the chair on her other side, which should have been her father’s (mostly to prevent Lord Bayar’s occupying it).She was surprised when the queen readily agreed.Marianna seemed eager to please her often difficult daughter, anxious to fill the hole left by Averill’s absence in any way she could.While protocol would dictate that the southern princes be seated next in line after the royal family, Raisa noticed that her mother had seated them rather far down the table.Not only that, the Tomlins were seated across from a stranger, which, from his elaborate dress, must be the ambitious Gerard Montaigne, the youngest prince of Arden.He was slender, with hair the color of wet sand, and pale, almost colorless, blue eyes.Elena Demonai and the other clan representatives were also seated at the far end of Raisa’s table.Raisa ate very little, feeling the weight of the tiara and her new title and the sting of her father’s absence.She said very little too, but Speaker Jemson and Queen Marianna and Lord Bayar made up for her lack of conversation.Their voices splattered against her skin like rain on canvas, scarcely penetrating.The queen seemed nervous, her smile forced, and she glanced anxiously in Raisa’s direction as if unsure what the new princess heir might do.Speaker Jemson pretended to be relaxed and chatty, but Raisa thought the speaker missed nothing.“The Princess Raisa has been a wonderful ambassador for the Gray Wolf throne in the city,” he said.“Has she now?” the queen said, fussing with her napkin.“Oh yes.The street musicians sing her praises.The children at Southbridge Temple school leave flower garlands beneath her portrait in the sanctuary, and the temple dedicates have opened a new healing hall in her name.”“I had no idea,” the queen said, poking at her roast quail, a faint frown on her face.“Everyone praises you, Your Majesty, for raising a daughter with such a compassionate nature,” he added, and the queen smiled [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]