The Will of the Empress - By Tamora Pierce Page 0,25

to the family. Berenene remembered it well.

Then word came from so far south, it's barely on my maps that his skill is better than ever — he's making glass that lives — and this girl Trisana had something to do with it, Berenene thought. A merchant's daughter, allied to my cousin and these other two, the student of the great mage Niklaren Goldeye. A loner. A puzzle.

The notes read:

What is provable about her is that she is a weather witch of some skill, can manipulate winds, and has been able to earn sums by calling rain, finding water for farmers and towns, and supplying winds to ships. She invests what she earns, has added to her savings, and is respected by her bankers in Emelan.

Other tales are unconfirmed: Emelan — she destroyed an entire pirate fleet with lightning. Tharios — she can scry the wind. Ninver, Capchen — she caused it to hail indoors, created windstorms in her parents' home, made her father sink into the ground when he punished her. Winding Circle temple — she may have put a temporary halt to the change of tides.

Berenene smiled and closed the folder. It must have embarrassed my agents so, to pass on such wild tales. But they did it, which is what they were ordered to do. I will make sure they are duly rewarded. Whatever else, the presence of a girl who can cause such rumours would give my enemies something to think about.

The empress nodded. The notes had confirmed the conclusion she had already reached: Each of these four young people would be an asset to the empire, and well worth any trouble it might take to convince them to stay. My court and I will put out our best efforts, Berenene told herself, closing the folder and locking it once more. They'll be so enraptured with us and with Dancruan, they won't even remember there is an Emelan.

* * *

Chapter Four

It's one thing to know Sandry is wealthy, thought Daja when the gates opened and guards bowed them into the courtyard of the Landreg town house. I'm wealthy, after all. So's Briar, for all he keeps it to himself. And it's even one thing to know Sandry's a noble, a clehame. I always thought I could handle it. Now — I'm not sure I can handle this.

"This" was the sprawling marble pile that was the Landreg home in the capital. Two-thirds of it wasn't even in use at present. Sandry's mother's family — whose title passed to daughters and sons — had not lived there in years; her cousin Ambros's family seldom stayed there. "This" was also what looked to Daja like a small army of servants and men-at-arms, tricked out in matching liveries, lined up on the house's steps and in the courtyard, bowing or curtsying as Sandry walked past. "This" was gilding on the edges of the furniture inside; hardwood floors polished like glass; tapestries glinting with gold and silver thread; branches of candles hung with crystal drops. Even the rooms prepared for the other mages seemed like suites for royalty, with heavy brocade drapes and plush, intricate carpets. The baths assigned for the use of Sandry and her guests were luxurious works of porcelain, marble, and crystal.

If Daja hadn't been so overwhelmed herself, the sight of Tris mincing her way through such elegance like an offended cat might have given her a bad case of the giggles. Tris had never liked a display of wealth, Daja remembered now. She approved of spending money only on books and the tools with which to work magic.

That first evening at supper, watching Tris handle her gilded cutlery as if it were red-hot, Briar said abruptly, "Why'd you ask for a room all the way at the top of the house? Some poor girl has to go climbing up all those stairs to get you to come down and eat. If you were on the same floor as Sandry and Daja, or on the ground floor with me—"

Tris glared at him. "I like it higher up, if it's all the same," she said flatly. Then she charged the subject. "Sandry, I thought your cousin, Lord — Saghad — Ambros was going to be here to meet you. To start showing you around your holdings and so forth."

Sandry looked up from the note she was reading. "He was, but this says there was a minor emergency on the estate that he had to attend to. He says he'll be