shone in the young face. “Home? Really?” Then, realizing that his reaction might be taken amiss, he hurried on, “I mean, I like it here and I’ll miss you and my lord Chadric and my friends—”
“And we’ll miss you, Pol.” Audrite smiled her understanding. “But we’ll bring you back to Graypearl with us after the Rialla so you may continue your training. It’s unusual, you know, for a squire to be allowed a holiday from the work he must do in order to become a knight and a gentleman. Do you think what you’ve learned thus far is enough to uphold Prince Lleyn’s reputation?”
Pol gave her a cheerful grin. “If it isn’t, then Father will know it’s my fault, not anyone else’s!”
Audrite grinned back. “Yes, we had a long letter about you when you first came to us.”
“But I was just a child then,” he assured her, blithely forgetting the transgression of the previous day. “I won’t do anything to embarrass anyone. I’ve outgrown all that.” He paused, glancing at the sea far below. “Except—I’ll have to cross water, won’t I? I’ll try to behave better than I did the first time.”
The princess ruffled his blond hair. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Pol. Indeed, you ought to be proud. All Sunrunners lose their dignity along with their breakfast when they cross water.”
“But I’m a prince, and I should be in better control of myself.” He sighed. “Oh, well. Once to Radzyn and once coming back—I suppose it won’t be too bad.”
“There’s a silk-ship leaving in two days for Radzyn port, and Prince Lleyn has bespoken a place for you on it. He’s sending Meath with you for company.”
Pol made a face halfway between a grin and a grimace. “Then we can be sick together!”
“I’m convinced it’s the Goddess’ way of keeping you faradh’im humble! Why don’t you go upstairs now and start packing?”
“I will, my lady. And tomorrow—” He hesitated, then went on, “Could I go down to the harbor and find presents for my mother and Aunt Tobin? I’ve saved almost everything Father’s sent me since I got here, so I’ve money enough.”
He had the right instincts; he was already generous and thoughtful about pleasing ladies. That face and those eyes would be breaking hearts before he was too much older, Audrite reflected, and relished the notion that she would be around to watch. “You and Meath may be excused tomorrow for the day. But I seem to recall you have a certain project to complete for me first. How many lines was it?”
“Fifty?” he asked hopefully, then sighed. “One hundred. I’ll have them done by tonight, my lady.”
“If they’re not in my hands until tomorrow evening, I’ll understand,” she suggested, winning another of his wide smiles and a bow of thanks. Then he ran back up the terraces to the palace.
Audrite spent a few more moments enjoying the shade before she, too, left the gardens. Her steps were lithe and energetic as she climbed; a passion for riding had kept her slim and supple for all her forty-nine winters. She unlatched the gate that led into the private enclave and paused to admire the oratory that rose like a shining gem from the formal gardens. It was said that the one at Castle Crag, a crystal dome built into the side of the cliffs there, was the most splendid in all the thirteen princedoms, but she could imagine nothing more beautiful than this oratory at Graypearl—and not only because she had had a great deal to do with its construction.
Carved stone columns had been taken from an abandoned keep on the other side of the island to support walls of pale wood and brilliant stained glass. The painted wooden ceiling rose far above, punctuated with small, clear windows in an uneven pattern that looked random but was not. It could be said that the oratory was in reality a temple: lit by the Fire of sun and moons, open to the Air, built of the things of the Earth, and circled by a stream of Water that irrigated the gardens below. Audrite crossed the little footbridge and stepped between the columns, catching her breath as always at the beauty of the place. It was like walking into a rainbow. And if standing here embraced by all the colors in the world was a moving experience for her, it must be near ecstacy for farad-h’im.
The ceiling had been the hardest to reconstruct. Some of its supports had been