Free The Last Wizard of Eneri Clare by April Leonie Lindevald

over behind those columns for a bit, out of the way?”
    Jorelial let herself be led aside to a quiet corner, suddenly not caring if she was late for Lord Drogue’s audience. Delphine hesitated and turned pink in a way that always made Rel laugh. “Well, what is it? Out with it. You’re making me fall off schedule.” She chuckled, feeling lighter just to be in Delphine’s presence.
    “I’m sorry, Rel, but it’s just that I need to ask you…beg you… if you could just find a few minutes today to see Mark. He’s been waiting for days and days. He even got himself on a list, but he keeps getting bumped by more impressive dignitaries. At this rate, he’s afraid he’ll never get in to see you.”
    Rel looked blank, “Mark. Mark… Mark the bard? Is that what this is about? Oh, Delphie, you are just too easy. I won’t be able to take you seriously at all if you let every pitiful young tradesman with an agenda persuade you to take his part.”
    “But, Rel, that’s not…”
    “I know you mean well, but I am dealing with matters of grave consequence here, and I can barely keep my head above water…”
    “No, Rel, listen to me! It’s not what you think…” Delphine looked devastated.
    “Look, if it makes you happier, dearest, you go and tell your little friend Mark that he is by all means hired for the coronation, and that we’ll go over the program closer in, OK?”
    Tears formed in the corner of the younger girl’s eyes, and she stamped her foot. “Ooooh, Rel, you can be so infuriating! Of course I wouldn’t bother you with such trivia now. This is something of a …a more…personal nature…”
    Rel looked puzzled, “What on earth are you talking about?”
    “Sister, where have you been for the last six months that you don’t know? He wants to…well, you know…he wants to ask you for my…my hand.”
    “Your hand?”
    Delphine near exploded in frustration, “To marry me, Rel. We need your permission to get married.”
    As the meaning of these words found its way into Jorelial’s stunned brain, her eyes widened and her breath stopped. When she was finally able to form words, they sounded considerably like shouting. “Married! Get married? Where have I been indeed? What are you thinking? You’re only 16.”
    “Seventeen, Rel, and lower your voice, please. I thought you knew – almost everyone else does. We’ve been seeing each other for a year. He would have asked sooner, but then everything happened and it seemed a bad time to bring it up. So we waited and waited, but, Rel, it’s never going to be a good time. Can’t you just talk to him?”
    “Delphine, he’s older than you. And he’s a travelling minstrel. He doesn’t even have roots or a home. He’s not of noble birth – not that that should be the only criteria – but Father would never have approved.”
    “Father isn’t here. You are, Rel, and you know me. I am not foolish and impulsive, am I?” Delphine’s face was red, but her lovely chin was lifted and her eyes stared into her sister’s unflinchingly. Jorelial found herself speechless, her sensible arguments beginning to evaporate beneath that gaze. She never could deny Delphine anything. But, then, it was true, the girl had never been flighty or fickle. She stared into her sister’s green eyes, trying to read their depths. The younger girl moved closer, and laid her flaming head on Jorelial’s shoulder, dropping her voice to an intimate whisper, “Rel, he’s a wonderful man – kind and smart and funny, and so very talented. And he has plans for us. You always liked him…”
    “I hardly know him! Gods, Delphine, it’s not that I don’t trust your judgment, but you are still so young, and it’s been such a trying year for us all. Are you sure you know your own mind?”
    “Rel, we know we belong together. We don’t want to wait forever. Who knows what challenges tomorrow might bring?”
    Well, she had a point there. It was hard to imagine any future at this