Free Lord of the Sky (The Young Ancients: Timon) by P.S. Power Page B

of the best young builders in the Kingdom, not including Tor. There wasn't a lot that Tim could do that they couldn't.
    The same followed for almost everything else too. The only thing that he had, that she didn't, was contacts in other lands. Not that they wouldn't listen to her if she showed up, but it really would be easier for him to do something there. Except that, in his own organization, there was one person that was probably better connected that way then he was. Mark Morgan, Trice's older brother.
    So, while there were things that he could do for her, none of them seemed to be all that pressing. Or at least shouldn't be. It probably came down to her not wanting to spend time with someone unpleasant, or possibly knowing she needed to be in more than one place at a time.
    It didn't really matter, since he'd find out what she really wanted later that night, most likely.
    Looking up he saw the Fast Craft first, a tiny black rectangle on the horizon. It came at them fast, but no one else really noticed it until he pointed.
    "I bet that's Ali and her friend Sherri. Nice girl, Sherri. Chatty." It wasn't exactly a major sin, but the girl annoyed him a bit at times because of that. It made him cranky, which wasn't fair to her, since, as he'd just mentioned, she really was sweet, most of the time.
    Also sleeping with his sister, which set off his brotherly Two Bends protectiveness. It was stupid, but still there, inside of him. Girls were supposed to get married to one man and that was all. Not have a dozen lovers, and if they did, the idea that some of them would be women was...
    Strange.
    He accepted it for all the nobles, but Tiera wasn't one of them , she was his sister .
    Trying to let that go he forced him mind to go completely blank. After all, it wasn't Sherri's fault that he'd been raised in the woods, was it?
    Not at all.

Chapter three
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    "Well, that's different." Tim put a pleasant expression on his face when he saw who was actually piloting the craft. It wasn't Ali, or even Judith, though she was riding with them for some reason. That was a little odd, since she had her own craft to use. She worked for him as a pilot after all.
    It was Sherri that had flown them in. That reminded him that he needed to attend to his own Fast Craft grow operation. He hadn't that morning, but the whole thing was almost ready. He just wanted to make certain it had a chance to keep getting stronger for a while before testing them. If everyone was going to be learning to fly, he needed to hire as many of them as possible right off the start.
    Otherwise it would be too hard to hold his monopoly on the Kingdom's fast transportation services.
    Stealing the march, he moved in and gave Judy a quick hug. It was hard, since she was so tall that he actually felt a bit afraid of her, for all that they were friends. Then he gave a hug to Alyssa, who patted him on the back firmly.
    "Tim! We came to help set things up for later, so that Countess Montblanc won't be caught out. I brought some friends, is that alright?" She searched the courtyard, but the only people left all seemed to be attached to the house. The remaining servants, most likely.
    The Countess bowed toward her and managed to seem pleased, rather than put out.
    "Lady Alyssa, I see that one should not take your words lightly? Welcome. Thank you all for coming. I'm afraid that we aren't really prepared to host guests, given the plague, but it's good to see new friends. I hope that next time we'll have things better prepared for your comfort."
    Judy, who was busy giving a small hug to Petra, turned and shrugged.
    "No one would expect anything, given the situation on the ground here. That's why we came, to make certain you don't have too much stress. Sorry, I should have introduced myself, we've met, but I was shorter then..." She bowed, which got everyone else to do the same. It was kind of the rule. If you met people and anyone bowed, then everyone in your group