who knew odd herbal remedies, rather than a sorceress of the old ways. But someone had been watching the night Meath had delivered the scrolls—watching not on sun or moons, but the faint thin glow of stars. Andry continued down the stairs, shivering slightly, and resolved to find out more from Sejast about his witch.
He made his way to the library wing through the silent halls of the keep. He was nearly at the locked door of the chamber where the scrolls were kept when he realized Hollis had the key. So much for spending the night in soothing research, Andry thought ruefully, and wondered what else might ease his restlessness. A brisk walk around the gardens? Perhaps he could visit the stables to check on his horse. Maycenel had been sadly neglected while he worked on the scrolls, and he felt guilty about it. His father had given him the young stallion when he had become Prince Davvi’s squire—a mount fit for the knight Andry would never become. Sorin had been gifted with Maycenel’s twin brother on his departure for Prince Volog’s court that same year—a nice piece of work, twins for twins. But Sorin had put his Joscenel to the use their father had intended, and would be knighted this year. Andry wondered suddenly if Chay was terribly disappointed that he had not done the same. And, if he was, whether he would ever show it.
The courtyard was empty but for cats on the hunt. Andry crossed the flagstones to the stables, expecting to hear only the drowsy sounds of horses in their stalls. The clink of a bridle startled him. He followed the sound to the far end of the building, stepping noiselessly on fresh straw.
“Hollis!” he blurted, unable to prevent the exclamation when he saw her long tawny hair. “What are you doing here?”
She whirled and dropped the bridle in her hands. A saddle was propped in the straw near a fleet little mare that had been his father’s gift to Andrade a few years ago; old as she was, the Lady of Goddess Keep could still appreciate a fast ride on a good horse. Hollis stared for a moment, then bent to retrieve the bridle. The metal clanked with the shaking of her fingers.
“I just—I thought I’d go riding—”
“At this time of night? Have you slept at all?”
She shrugged, back to him as she fitted the leather straps over the mare’s head. Andry leaned his elbows on the half-door of the stall and frowned. Hollis loved horses and riding—she would hardly have been a suitable wife for the next Lord of Radzyn Keep if she had not—but this was more than a little strange.
“Want some company?” he finally asked, a deliberately casual offer.
She shook her head violently, untidy golden braids whipping around her shoulders. Her fingers were wound in the mare’s black mane, and her body began to shake. Andry’s jaw dropped when he heard a tiny sob claw up from her throat. He hauled open the door and went to her, patting her back awkwardly, wishing Maarken were here to comfort her. He must be the reason she wept, Andry told himself.
When she stopped crying, she faced him and attempted a smile. “I’m sorry. I’m not usually so silly.”
“You don’t have to worry about the Rialla, you know,” he said, trying to explore his surmise about Maarken. “My parents will love you, just as Maarken does.”
She blinked, and he realized that his brother was the farthest thing from her mind. She didn’t even bother to cover the reaction, and that startled him even more.
“You’re tired,” he went on, floundering for excuses to explain her behavior. “You haven’t gotten any sleep. Go back upstairs, Hollis.”
She nodded feebly. Andry took the bridle from the mare’s head, hung it on a nail, and heaved the saddle back up onto its stand. When he turned, Hollis was gone.
He caught up with her in the courtyard and touched her arm. She gave a little cry and started away from him.
“Oh! Don’t sneak up on people! What are you doing out this time of night?”
It was as if the moments in the stables had never occurred. He could find nothing in her face or her eyes to indicate she was not seeing him for the first time that night. “I couldn’t sleep. I went to the library to work on the scrolls, but you’ve got the key.”
“It’s up in my room.” She cast a glance back over her shoulder at