We were nearing East Tower now, and she nodded to a woman shaking a rug out in her doorway and her husband who was lounging near the laundry hanging from a line that stretched to the side of a neighboring house.All the houses inside the castle walls were built close together.It was partly for protection and partly to make the most of the limited space.Sometimes it annoyed me to live so close to so many others, but after being on patrol, I appreciated the community.After all, that was what I’d been out there protecting.The people.
Mypeople?
I shook my head.That was years in the future, and my father could be capricious.He had another sixty or seventy years of life left.He might choose another heir in that time.I wouldn’t worry about that.The Zulenii prince was of more immediate concern.But there I had no great fear.“He won’t choose me anyway,” I told my mother.“If he’s a typical man, he’ll choose Finnrey.She’s the prettiest.If he wants to follow protocol, he’ll choose Cameed since she’s the eldest.If he wants to feel important and smart, he’ll choose Riah.Everyone feels clever after talking to her for a few minutes.I’m just the daughter of a third wife.There’s nothing particularly remarkable about me.”
My mother gave me one of her long looks that usually indicated I was being a dusthead.
“What?”
“Are you my daughter?”
“Yes.”
“Do you not look like me?”
“I suppose?”
“Was I not chosen by a king?”Here was her vanity, rearing its head again.
“What’s your point?”
“You are beautiful—far more beautiful than Finnrey.Your eyes alone are captivating.I have the same eyes, and many men have told me I’m irresistible, including your father.”
“You are my mother.Of course, you think I’m beautiful,” I protested.“You forget I tower over most men.”
“If what your father says is correct—and he is always correct—you won’t be taller than these Zulenii.When the foreign prince sees you, he will be smitten.”
“Then I’ll slouch, wear my ugliest clothing, and rub compost all over so I stink.”
My mother almost tripped on her skirts, which was not like her.She was graceful to a fault.“You will not.My daughter must be the most beautiful, most sought-after—”
“Mama, before you wanted to hide me.Now youwantme to be carried away to another kingdom?”
“Of course not!But if you can’t be hidden then it would be an honor for you to be chosen by him.”
I blew out a breath.I loved my mother, but sometimes her need for validation frustrated me.That desire to feel chosen—to have me, her daughter chosen—could blind her and make her behave illogically.
“I remember my grandmother telling me stories of royal weddings,” she said, sounding wistful.“The princesses were bedecked in gossamer gowns of the finest material and ornaments of gleaming tertanium.Of course, this was in the time when divorce was outlawed, and even women who lived in the castle walls were encouraged to have as many children as possible.They weren’t all crammed together like cattle.”She sniffed.“Back then they had cattle.”
I wasn’t so sure this past sounded as shiny as she made it out to be.“But back then women’s only role was to care for children.We couldn’t fight, couldn’t defend the kingdom.”
“Why would we want to?Only the need for so many men at the Barrier require women to fight now.Before, women learned defensive skills only to keep fit.”She waved a hand.“I suppose we should be thankful for your training with this Claiming Rite looming over us.Mara, if the Zulenii chooses you, you must not allow him to win.This is why you must go to the training fields.You need to be ready to defeat and kill him.”
We were at the door to our house now, and I stopped and put my hands on my hips.“I’m ready to fight him now.I can defeat some...artist from Zulen.”
“Lower your voice.Theud is still sleeping.”
Theud was my mother’s third partner, and he absolutely worshipped the ground she walked on, which was why he had lasted so long.He owned a pub and rarely rose before noon as he worked until after midnight.Unlike my mother’s second partner, who behaved as though he was my father and tried to tell me what to do, Theud and I had an understanding.We stayed out of each other’s way.I didn’t think of him as a father, and he didn’t try to tell me what to do.He only cared about my mother anyway, which suited both her and me.
“I am pleased you have confidence in your abilities, but I’d rather not leave everything to chance.”
“What does that mean?”
“That’s not your concern.”
Apparently, even though I was the heir-apparent, that new status didn’t entitle me to share in her confidences.She reached for the door to the house.“Now go inside.Eat, bathe, and sleep for a few hours.You can go to the training field this afternoon.”
“Where are you going?”I asked.
