Free Griffin's Daughter by Leslie Ann Moore

answering. Magnes, so much like his father physically, had nothing of Teodorus in his own personality. The two men were a study in contrasts.
    “ Magnes, remember up on the wall, you told me Duke Sebastianus was looking for a wife?” she whispered. Magnes nodded. “Well, he didn’t come to Amsara to get one.”
    Magnes looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”
    Hot tears welled up and spilled down Jelena’s cheeks. Magnes gasped in dismay and gathered Jelena close against him, cradling her head on his shoulder.
    “ Your father has sold me to the Duke of Veii. I am to be the duke’s concubine, Magnes…his slave,” she sobbed into the soft leather of his jerkin. “I told Uncle that I refused, and that’s when he hit me.”
    Jelena felt the curve of her cousin’s shoulder tense in outrage. “He can’t do this to you,” Magnes whispered. “I won’t let him.”
    “ But he can, Magnes. He has every right to do with me whatever he wills.” Jelena pushed away from Magnes and wiped her eyes. Her head ached abominably, but her mind had focused more clearly now. “I can still refuse to allow this to happen to me. No matter what, I am not going back to Veii as Duke Sebastianus’s concubine.”
    “ What are you going to do, then?” Magnes asked.
    “ I’m going to go search for my father,” Jelena replied.
    “ You what?” Magnes exclaimed. He took Jelena’s hands into his own. “Cousin, you can’t. It’s too dangerous. You don’t know anything about your father’s people. They might just kill you outright as soon as they discover you trespassing in their territory. You may not look wholly human, but you look human enough.”
    “ I’m willing to take that chance,” Jelena said quietly.
    Magnes shook his head. “How do you even know where to look for him? You don’t know anything about him, except that he’s an elf. Let’s suppose you do find him, and he rejects you, what then? Jelena, this is crazy!”
    “ So what would you have me do, Magnes?” Jelena asked. “Go with Duke Sebastianus? My only other alternative is a dive from the battlements.”
    Magnes buried his face in his hands. “Gods,” he sighed. “Of course you can’t go with Veii.” He stood and went over to a sideboard where an earthenware jar and two mugs waited. He poured cider into the mugs and brought them over to the couch where he handed one to Jelena.
    “ The last of last season’s batch,” he said. “One of our best.” He took a long pull and wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve. Jelena chose to sip hers slowly. “Have you put any thought at all into this plan of yours?” he asked, sitting back down beside Jelena.
    “ No, but then I just found out a little while ago that your father has sold me.” She made no effort to hide her bitterness. “I only have three days.”
    Magnes rubbed his chin the way he always did when thinking about important things. “We’ll need some supplies and weapons. I can get most of that for us. The toughest thing will be a horse for you. We might have to go on foot.”
    “ What do you mean we, Magnes?” Jelena set her mug down on the sanded plank floor and looked her cousin in the eyes.
    “ I’m going with you, of course. You didn’t think I’d let you go alone, did you?” he answered.
    Jelena shook her head vigorously. “No, you can’t. I won’t let you pay the price for helping me,” she stated firmly.
    Magnes laughed mirthlessly. “You met the odious creature who is to be my wife at the feast last night. Charming, isn’t she? That is what I have to look forward to, if I stay—marriage to that shallow, stupid girl. It makes me sick just thinking about it. I could have killed her where she sat, for her cruelty to you.”
    Jelena sighed. “Magnes, you’ve been my protector since we were children. If it hadn’t been for you, I never would have learned to read and write, or handle a sword, or shoot a bow. You and Claudia have made my life bearable. I love you, and