Free The Jewel of Kamara (The Delthenon Chronicles) by Bridie Blake

her smile was forced.
    “You
are different, Tempani. I knew that as a boy, and I know it now.”
    They
reached the manor and came to a stop at the gates.
    “Can
I call on you tomorrow so we can continue this discussion?”
    “I’m
busy.”
    “Then
perhaps I can come in now, and we can spend some time together.”
    “I
have chores to do,” she said quickly.
    “Chores?”
He laughed. “You have servants for that.”
    She
straightened in her saddle and glared at him. “Unlike you, I take pride in my
land and home. I don’t expect people to do things for me.” She pushed Mincha
ahead of him and left him standing outside the gate.
    She
avoided the eyes of her men-at-arms as she led Mincha to the stable. She had
announced in front of them all that she had chores, and now she had to do
something. Perhaps she could brush down Mincha and muck out her stall. She knew
how to do that. It had been one of her chores at the convent. 
    Rando
watched her go with a smile and then closed the gate behind them.

 
    ~3~
     

THE THIEF, A COMMONER & THE
PRINCE
     
     
    Tempani’s
days in Fenella had slowly settled into a routine. Not as strict as her years
at the convent but a routine nonetheless. She would rise each day and say her
prayers before joining Chae, and occasionally her father, for breakfast, before
she headed to either Lord Darby’s manor or into the city center with Dahlia,
Chae or Teddy.
    She
was trying to fill her days as she had at the convent. She even enjoyed helping
Leela in the kitchen. She found Leela refreshingly honest and looked forward to
their chats. She even had her own little garden where she grew herbs and
vegetables for the kitchen.
    Keeping
her hands busy distracted her from the niggling need she had to use her magic.
She felt it in her blood, like a gentle hum, and she itched to use it and go
back to healing but she knew doing so would end in her death. It pained her to
walk through the city and see so many people starved and sick and not do
anything. She hoped the feeling of helplessness would pass but she doubted it
ever would.
    Prince
Nicolass had continued to visit, but she found she was able to avoid him if
Teddy was quick enough to give her notice of his impending visits. Word had it
that he wasn’t happy about her elusiveness, but could he really blame her?
There was too much water under the bridge in her eyes.
    Most
nights were spent at the palace as there was always some formal dinner on.
Teddy was always quick to offer his arm, and it distracted her from the fact
that no other man did. Not that she minded. She wasn’t interested in them
either so she was better off being alone than having a boring suitor. Well,
that’s what she told herself each night as she watched the young men fawn over
Dahlia.
    She
had been expecting it. But it still hurt when people refused to take things she
had been holding or refused to dip their fingers in the same cleansing bowl
over dinner.
    She
would go back to the manor, and the anger she suppressed over dinner would boil
under her skin. She would feel it pumping through her veins, threatening to
explode until she would pick up her dagger and make it all better. Anything to
make her feel calmer. She had found it worked in the early days at the convent.
Those days when her grief over losing Hamalia threatened to consume her. And
then she lost the need for it. Until now.
    Zadi
rubbed a healing ointment into her mistress’s skin and said nothing as she
winced at the coolness of it. The slave girl knew better than to mention
anything about it. She knew her place and knew to keep her mouth shut. What
went on in a lady’s room was private.
    “That
will be all,” Tempani said after Zadi tied her into the green wool dress she
had picked out for this morning’s trip into Fenella.
    “Yes,
my lady.” Zadi bowed her head and backed away.
    Tempani
hurried down the stairs to wait in the drawing room for Teddy to pick her up.
She pulled up short when she saw they