Free Changespell Legacy by Doranna Durgin Page A

after only a day so strong he felt it in his very bones . . .
    Do something.
    Anything.
    Make it better.
    Arlen had always counted on him to fill that role, to be the one who acted when acting became necessary.
    But this time, he didn't know what to fight for. He didn't know how to win, or what it meant accomplishing . . . or if given their losses, it was even possible to win at all.

Chapter 7
    J ess sat cross-legged in Second Siccawei's first-floor window seat, staying out of the flurry of hold activity while she waited for Suliya to present herself as ready to go and for Dayna to be sure she'd said all she wanted to say in the letter she was sending back to Anfeald. Unlike yesterday, the rest of the hold bustled in preparation for the arrival of several new Council members—wizards who were skilled enough to use the new anchor point positioned by Second Siccawei's advanced apprentices to spell themselves here.
    In fact, from the general tenor of conversation in those who rushed through this main sitting room, Jess thought they'd recently arrived. Upstairs somewhere. She wasn't concerned with them and she was sure they weren't concerned with her. She was just a courier, even if she happened to be one who counted slain Council members among her close friends.
    She twisted around to watch the yard as another courier left, trotting out at a smart pace with bags bulging. She'd be surprised if they had any more horses left to go out, though she hadn't seen Garvin, the head rider, leave yet. She'd be just as glad not to encounter him again; they'd met him last night over the dinner meal and he'd been brusque and unpleasant, a bandy-legged and barrel-bodied older man that Dayna admitted had been the only adequately experienced person available after the sudden demand for couriers.
    From her seat Jess could watch not only the yard, but the stairs to the second level that ran along the side wall; even as her gaze lingered on the departing rider, she caught movement from the corner of her eye and found Suliya descending the steps, her corkscrew hair caught back in two tight braids and her winter gear and saddlebags slung over her arm. She looked decently refreshed after the night's sleep; Jess herself had been up early, unable to rest and equally unable to find anything on which to act; normally drawn to the stable, she hadn't found solace in the thought of sharing space with Garvin.
    Breakfast turned out to be a grab-it-yourself occasion full of eggs and chunky pepper sauce and thinly sliced salted steaks, none of which Jess had ever been inclined to eat. She'd found one of last fall's apples and gotten the cook to remove the preservation on it, but now her stomach growled in hollow resentment.
    "Nice place," Suliya said, encompassing in her praise the room they'd shared the night before, the breakfast-scented sitting room and, Jess thought, the cook who had been so accommodating to her requests for more thoroughly warmed eggs. She shrugged on her thin silken underjacket and said, "Ready to go?" although Jess hadn't made any move to get up.
    "I'm waiting for Dayna," Jess said.
    "She still wants to ride out as far as the, er . . . problem spot?" Suliya said, and at Jess's nod, frowned slightly. "Are you sure you want to wait? They might need us at Anfeald."
    Jess didn't hide her surprise. "Dayna is a wizard," she said. "She asked to ride out with us. We wait."
    Suliya shrugged, a large gesture. "You've got the say."
    "Yes," Jess said, looking steadily at her, not sure but that some human behavior of Suliya's eluded her.
    After all that, the wait was short; Dayna came pounding down the stairs, still pulling on a dark brown sweater that only made her look grim in nature.
    Or maybe, Jess thought with a second look at her face, she was grim all on her own.
    "Damned wizards," Dayna muttered, only confirming the thought.
    Suliya raised an eyebrow at Jess, who ignored it to eye Dayna warily and say, "What—"
    "They don't believe me," Dayna