The Will of the Empress - By Tamora Pierce Page 0,131

"I want her for our service even more now. When she swears to us, you will bind her so she knows who is her mistress, Isha."

*

It took a while to treat Sandry's hands and feet — she was in such a fury that it was hard to make her sit quietly. Briar had sent Gudruny for mint tea to calm Sandry down, but Sandry threw the cup into the hearth.

Gudruny looked at the mess, her mouth twisted to one side. "You don't need me if you mean to have a child's tantrum, my lady," she said, sounding like the experienced mother that she was. "Wake me when you come to bed and I'll help you with your nightgown. I'll clean up whatever else you throw in the morning."

Briar hid a smile and went back to wrapping clean linen around one of Sandry's feet.

"I am not a child," Sandry muttered.

From long experience with his sisters, Rosethorn, and Evvy, Briar knew when to keep silent. Instead, he tried to remember if he had ever known Sandry to be in such a towering rage. Even her anger when pirates had attacked Winding Circle was not the same as this. A lot of it's fear, he thought, drinking the other cup of tea that Gudruny had poured for him. But she's just not used to being treated like she's of no account. I only wish she could see that she's treating her Landreg people the same way, but I can tell it's not worth talking to her about it right now.

Tris had left when Gudruny fixed the tea, but Chime stayed behind, chinking at Sandry with worry. It was Chime who finally calmed Sandry down. The dragon simply curled up in Sandry's lap, chiming in a low, clear tone that penetrated the young noble's rage. The more Chime sang, the slower Sandry's hands petted the dragon, until Sandry finally smiled ruefully.

"I'll be fine," she assured Chime. "Truly." Sandry looked up at Briar. "I don't need nursemaids."

"Then it's me for bed," said Briar with a shrug. "You know Her Imperial Majesty will put obstacles in the way, right? Neither you nor she knows how to leave well enough alone."

Sandry blew out a windy sigh. "Did I ask you?"

Briar propped a fist on one hip. "Since when do I ever need you or anybody to ask?"

That actually got a thin smile from her. "You're Rosethorn's boy, all right. You sound just like her." She kissed the top of Chime's head. "I really will be fine," she whispered.

Chime voiced one last sweet note, then took flight, shooting through an open window. They didn't have to worry about where she would go: Tris had developed a disconcerting habit of sleeping with all of her windows open.

"Then I'm off, too," Briar told Sandry. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Sandry's voice stopped him with his hand on the latch. "You don't have to come. I can't offer you an empire to garden. And you're still my brother, even if you choose to stay here."

"For your information, Countess" he retorted without turning around, "I ain't going 'cause of you." As always when he was truly angry, Briar lapsed into the thieves' cant that was his original language. "I've a mind of my own and I can make it up without you sticking your neb in. In case you didn't notice, if someone of rank like you don't have safety here, nobody does. Nobody, from the biggest noble to the smallest street rat. If you ain't safe, where does that leave folk like Gudruny, and Zhegorz? I'll tell you where — crated up in a secret chamber somewhere. Or just dumped off a cliff." He slammed the door behind him when he left.

He used the familiar routine of meditation to calm down after he had brushed the dust and dirt from his magic-woven party clothes. Finally he clambered into bed and blew out his candle. Beds on the road won't be so soft as this, but they'll be an oceans worth of safer, he thought. The night's weariness swamped him, and he slid into sleep.

Armies moved in his dark dreams, killing and burning. The flames of the towns they had set alight formed bright spots on the mountain horizon. This was the rocky hidden road into the heart of Gyongxe. The villages that burned were as much Yanjingyi as Gyongxian.

They're burning out their own people! the dreaming Briar thought in panic. He was small and rabbit-like, fleeing the army as if